Third country resettlement

Third country resettlement or refugee resettlement is, according to the UNHCR, one of three durable solutions for refugees who fled their home country. Resettled refugees may also be referred to as quota or contingent refugees, as countries only take a certain number of refugees each year.

"Resettlement involves the selection and transfer of refugees from a State in which they have sought protection to a third State which has agreed to admit them – as refugees – with permanent residence status. The status provided ensures protection against refoulement and provides a resettled refugee and his/her family or dependants with access to rights similar to those enjoyed by nationals. Resettlement also carries with it the opportunity to eventually become a naturalized citizen of the resettlement country."

Resettlement not only offers a perspective for refugees, but also for the first countries of asylum that may be overwhelmed with a large influx of refugees.

Precondition for resettlement is to be registered as a refugee with the UNHCR and to have undergone the Refugee Status Determination (RSD) process based on the 1951 Refugee Convention refugee definition. Among those refugees the UNHCR or other organisations (e.g. RefugePoint or HIAS) make referals for resettlement if they identify a high level of risk and vulnerability whilst being in the first country of asylum. They are selected from the refugee populations of refugee camps or urban centres, according to one or more of the following criteria, and cannot apply for resettlement themselves:

But the selection procedures can vary between UNHCR offices. If one or more of the the above criteria are met it still needs to be assessed whether third country resettlement is the most appropriate durable solution compared to voluntary return and local integration. After the refugees are referred for resettlement and agree to be resettled they are suggested to suitable countries that run resettlement programmes. Each participating government can select from the referrals and refugees themselves cannot choose their country of resettlement. Even though receiving countries should not select refugees according to their own criteria, it may be that societal and political desires influence which groups of refugees are received.

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Wikipedia