Asylum seeker

Asylum Seekers by Country of Origin
Total population
6,858,499[1] (2023)
Regions with significant populations
Venezuela1,200,130
Cuba329,692
Nicaragua308,032
Colombia301,824
Afghanistan296,033
Sudan253,902
Haiti228,443
Honduras216,873
Iraq192,202
Syria182,954
Somalia179,224
Guatemala176,035
Mexico156,309
Democratic Republic of the Congo153,142
India142,607
Ethiopia139,424
China137,143
El Salvador133,042
Russia114,669
Eritrea104,892
Unknown95,550
Asylum Seekers by Country of Asylum
Total population
6,858,499[2] (2023)
Regions with significant populations
USA2,601,467
Peru508,429
Germany361,493
Mexico257,396
Egypt232,244
Turkey222,069
Spain204,270
Canada197,961
Costa Rica193,718
Kenya152,942

An asylum seeker is a person who leaves their country of residence, enters another country, and makes in that other country a formal application for the right of asylum according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 14.[3] A person keeps the status of asylum seeker until the right of asylum application has concluded.

The relevant immigration authorities of the country of asylum determine whether the asylum seeker will be granted the right of asylum protection or whether asylum will be refused and the asylum seeker becomes an illegal immigrant who may be asked to leave the country and may even be deported in line with non-refoulement. Signatories to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights[3] create their own policies for assessing the protection status of asylum seekers, and the proportion of asylum applicants who are accepted or rejected varies each year from country to country.

The asylum seeker may be simultaneously recognized as a refugee[4] and given refugee status if their circumstances fall into the definition of refugee according to the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees[4] or regionally applicable refugee laws—such as the European Convention on Human Rights, if within the European Union.

The terms asylum seeker, refugee and illegal immigrant are often confused. In North American English, the term asylee is used both for an asylum seeker, as defined above, and a person whose right of asylum has been granted.[5] On average, about 1-2 million people apply globally for asylum every year.[6]

  1. ^ "Refugee Data Finder". UNHCR.
  2. ^ "Refugee Data Finder". UNHCR.
  3. ^ a b Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 14
  4. ^ a b Horning, A. (2020). "Double-edged risk: unaccompanied minor refugees (UMRs) in Sweden and their search for safety". Journal of Refugee Studies. 33 (2): 390–415. doi:10.1093/jrs/feaa034. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  5. ^ "Asylee Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster".
  6. ^ United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. "Asylum-Seekers". Unhcr.org. Retrieved 16 July 2016.

Developed by StudentB