What do I need for a refugee claim?
What do I need for a refugee claim?
New Zealand is subject to international treaties which give rise to obligations to provide refugee or protected person status to claimants in some circumstances. These obligations have been incorporated into the Immigration Act 2009.
To satisfy the criteria for refugee status, you require more than just a risk of harm or danger in your home country. The requirements for recognition as a refugee are found in the Refugee Convention.
You must have a well-founded fear of being persecuted should you return to your home country. NZ cases have held that for a fear of persecution to be ‘well-founded’ there has to be real chance of it happening, rather than a remote or speculative one. ‘Being persecuted’ requires serious harm to occur as a result of a sustained or systemic violation of international human rights. This means that there must be a real chance of you experiencing serious harm due to a breach of your human rights.
This harm has to be for reasons of your race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion. It is not enough to just have a real chance of serious harm; there must be a convention reason for this harm. For example, if you were going to be persecuted because of your opposition of a political party, the fact that you are a Christian or your skin colour, this would fit into one of the categories. However, if you were subject to serious harm because of your involvement in a gang, it may not. Each case will depend on the facts.
Finally, New Zealand prefers that you receive protection from your own country if you can. If you cannot get the protection of your country, only then will you be granted refugee status. For example, if the persecution is by government officials or a corrupt police force, there is likely to be an absence of state protection. If however, the persecution is by an angry friend, it is likely that police could protect you, or you could move to a different part of the country.
In some circumstances, people who are not considered refugees can be eligible for protected person status. New Zealand will grant protection to people if there are substantial grounds for believing that they would be in danger of being subjected to torture, arbitrary deprivation of life or cruel/inhuman treatment if deported from New Zealand. To get this kind of protection, they must also be unable to access meaningful protection in their country.
Our immigration lawyers specialise in refugee matters. Please contact one of our lawyers for advice.
