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Recognised Refugee and Family Residence Permit

DjiboutiHumanitarian protection

Explore the five recorded questions, answers and sources for this pathway.

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What exactly is this: asylum, temporary protection, humanitarian admission, resettlement or another protection mechanism?

A protection status granted after the asylum procedure: an asylum decision is either recognition of refugee status or rejection, and an accepted applicant receives a document proving refugee status. People under international or humanitarian protection fall under a special residence regime, and the ordinary residence card may be provisionally replaced by special stay titles for a foreigner recognised as a refugee.

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Which population, circumstances or geographic group does the mechanism cover?

It covers beneficiaries of refugee status, who obtain a refugee card issued by the Ministry of the Interior; refugee status follows an interview that aims to determine whether the person meets the refugee definition. The official source does not define which relatives count as the refugee's family.

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Limits of the record
  • The sources do not define which relatives count as the refugee's 'family' for the special permit.

Where can protection be requested, and is this a direct application, border/in-country request, referral or other process?

The immigration law establishes that a special residence permit may be issued after refugee status is obtained, but the official law does not state a specific application office or filing channel.

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Limits of the record
  • The supplied official law does not identify the filing office, application channel or procedural steps for this post-recognition permit.
  • Loi 40/AN/19, Article 25
    Le permis de séjour spécial peut être délivré à un étranger qui a obtenu le statut de réfugié ainsi qu’à sa famille.

What happens after the request: registration, family handling, major support and rights where officially stated?

The refugee card is valid for five (5) years, renewable, and also serves as residence authorisation and work permit in Djibouti. Refugees receive the same treatment as nationals regarding national labour and social security legislation and access to primary, secondary and higher education and vocational training; they have access to basic social services; commercial activity is subject to the same conditions and formalities as for nationals; and refugees may apply for naturalisation under national law. The official source does not state how family members are registered or documented.

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Limits of the record
  • Family handling after recognition (registration or documentation of family members) is not described in the rights decree.

Which competent authority, UN body or official assistance channel should the person use?

ONARS and UNHCR are the channels: refugees must request renewal of expired attestations or identity cards from ONARS and/or UNHCR (ideally in the month before expiry), lost or stolen documents are re-issued by ONARS, and ONARS informs refugees about the naturalisation procedure. Fraud or attempted fraud by a refugee, or corruption by UNHCR or partner-organisation staff, must be reported to the UNHCR Representation in Djibouti or the Office of the Inspector General at UNHCR headquarters.

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These are the answers currently recorded in the catalogue. A missing or partial answer is not an eligibility decision.

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