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If someone flees their country to another country as a refugee due to war , outbreak of disease , civil unrest etc , without any visa , is it legal for them to stay, work and have home etc as any other citizen of that inhabiting country ?

Yatin
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  • A lot depends on whether they're refugees or economic immigrants... – JonathanReez Jan 09 '17 at 08:49
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    This is very broad. We have a number of questions for people who already hold refugee status who wish to travel elsewhere temporarily, and such a question can't be answered without details of the planned trip. Or are you asking how someone becomes a refugee? – Zach Lipton Jan 09 '17 at 09:07
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    They would have given you a brochure when they issued your document. Did you read it? – Gayot Fow Jan 09 '17 at 09:49
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    The way to become a refugee is to show up in a foreign country under circumstances where they cannot send you back to your home country -- either because you convince them that being sent back would be so dangerous for you that they refrain from doing so, or because you're part of a crowd of escapees so large that trying to evict you all by force would become a massacre. Visas do not enter into that (except that having a visa can be necessary to convince an airline to take you to the country you want to show up in). – hmakholm left over Monica Jan 09 '17 at 12:45
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    There are several interpretations of your question - 1. when refugees flee their country and arrive in a safe country. 2. when a group of countries move refugees around to balance the load. In the first case, no visa is required (there would be a hell of a lot less refugees and a lot more dead people if they were required), you must abide by the laws of the country and follow their asylum processes however. In the second case, the hist countries will sort it out amongst themselves and you will not need to apply for additional permissions, you simply go where you are sent. –  Jan 09 '17 at 13:23
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    However, if you have applied for asylum and wish to travel to a third country, all usual restrictions still follow - if you want to travel from Germany to the UK (both picked at random), you will need all the usual visas applicable for your original nationality - even if you are granted asylum, you do not qualify for visa free travel in the EU or to other countries, your original nationality still applies. –  Jan 09 '17 at 13:26
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    @Moo visas applicable for original nationality apply only when the refugee is traveling with a passport from the country of original nationality, which is often not the case. Refugees commonly travel with a travel document issued by the country where they reside, and then the rules are different. Some countries allow visa-free travel for refugees from some other countries, while in other cases the traveler will need a visa. – phoog Jan 09 '17 at 15:15
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    @Moo Also, "you must abide by the laws of the country": countries cannot prosecute refugees for immigration violations committed in the process of reaching the country, and they can't hold these violations against the refugee in deciding the application for asylum. So there are some laws that you can break as a refugee, for example, applying for a visa under false pretenses or even sneaking across the border illegally. – phoog Jan 09 '17 at 15:17
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    I've edited the question to be clear and answerable. Yatin, if that wasn't what you meant, please edit. Vote to reopen (although I'm not sure that Expatriates wouldn't be a better fi). – DJClayworth Jan 09 '17 at 15:34
  • @DJC IMO not Travel but, as you say, maybe Expats or even Law. –  Jan 09 '17 at 15:53
  • @phoog: What countries "can" and "cannot" do is a rather non-exact science. There are international agreements that attempt to regulate that, but not all countries are parties to them -- in particular, some large countries such as India and Indonesia are not parties to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, whose Article 31 is the main source of the rule you cite. So those countries, at least, can do whatever they please ... – hmakholm left over Monica Jan 09 '17 at 16:50
  • This will be much more suitable on Expats – VMAtm Jan 09 '17 at 17:10
  • Lots of confusion in these comments about 'asylum seeker' versus 'refugee', suggest commenters double check their terminology. Including the OP. – Gayot Fow Jan 09 '17 at 17:11
  • @Moo That's not really the logic of international law in this matter, you can't "move" refugees around. Australia outsources refugees to third countries, the EU put the Dublin system in place and has been talking about relocating refugees for years now, etc. but there is no basis for it and it's clearly in violation of all international agreements to which these countries are party to. Similarly, people are simply refugees by virtue of their personal situation, not as the outcome of some bureaucratic process. – Relaxed Jan 09 '17 at 17:34
  • @phoog there are situations in which the host country can prosecute the asylum seeker for violations of local law, including not declaring their intention to claim asylum at the earliest possible opportunity. This law in the UK is to ensure that illegal immigrants do not hide behind the asylum seeker persona once they are discovered. –  Jan 09 '17 at 17:53
  • @GayotFow up to a point, they are the same thing, and thus many of the same comments apply. –  Jan 09 '17 at 17:54
  • @Relaxed can you cite any of those international agreements being violated? –  Jan 09 '17 at 17:56
  • @Moo up to which point are they the same? – Gayot Fow Jan 09 '17 at 18:03
  • @Moo I said "in the process of reaching the country"; not claiming asylum at the earliest opportunity is something that one does after reaching a country. The convention says The Contracting States shall not impose penalties, on account of their illegal entry or presence, on refugees who, coming directly from a territory where their life or freedom was threatened in the sense of article 1, enter or are present in their territory without authorization, provided they present themselves without delay to the authorities and show good cause for their illegal entry or presence. – phoog Jan 09 '17 at 18:06
  • @phoog and my original comment was not limited to "in the process of reaching the country". And for many countries, the article you cite does not apply - for instance, the "asylum seekers and refugees" camped out in France trying to get into the UK. –  Jan 09 '17 at 18:10
  • @GayotFow in both cases they may gain illegal entry to a country for many of the same reasons. –  Jan 09 '17 at 18:11
  • @Moo of course people have to obey laws, generally. My point is that there are exceptions: certain laws that refugees are allowed to violate without being penalized. – phoog Jan 09 '17 at 18:17
  • @Moo and how does that affect anything? – Gayot Fow Jan 09 '17 at 19:04
  • @GayotFow in that overlap you can use the terminology interchangeably. –  Jan 09 '17 at 19:06
  • @Moo LOL, OK. Small, inconsequential overlap, but sure. For this thread, however, people could do with more educated precision. – Gayot Fow Jan 09 '17 at 19:08
  • @GayotFow I note that the question has been edited to remove certain ambiguity without any input from the original asker as to what his intent really was. My comment covers his original potential misuse of the term, depending on intention. –  Jan 09 '17 at 19:11
  • @Moo have you actually researched the difference? – Gayot Fow Jan 09 '17 at 19:15
  • @GayotFow common sodding sense... –  Jan 09 '17 at 19:16
  • @Moo, OK, let your common sodding sense proceed then :) I'll stick to the correct terminology. The last word is yours if you want it... – Gayot Fow Jan 09 '17 at 19:25
  • @Moo The 1951 Convention primarily. People camping in France do not cease to be refugees, lose their protection or become removable because they have violated this or that rule (whether it's a national rule, EU rule or some other disposition of the convention). France still has obligations towards them. – Relaxed Jan 09 '17 at 19:44
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    As just edited by Yatin (the OP) this is now not a good fit for Travel. Can we migrate it to Expatriates? – DJClayworth Jan 17 '17 at 16:31

1 Answers1

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Most countries (if not all) allow refugees to stay, work, and establish a home, though not necessarily with the same rights as citizens. The Hague Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees of 1951, which most countries have implemented, provides that refugees should be treated like citizens in some respects, and like other non-citizens in other respects.

Their right to stay is governed by protection against expulsion and the principle of non-refoulement (articles 32 and 33). These protections differ from those afforded to a country's own citizens.

Their right to work is the same as other non-nationals. This is governed by articles 17 through 19.

Their rights to own property, to housing, and to freedom of movement and of choice of residence are the same as other non-nationals, and are governed by articles 13, 21, and 26.

Countries that are not parties to the convention, including the US, nonetheless grant similar rights to refugees.

phoog
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