Asylum and Refugee Status in Malawi

## Chapter 15:04

An Act to give effect to refugee conventions as defined in the Act; to make provision relating to refugees; and to provide for matters incidental thereto or connected therewith

"refugee conventions” means—(a)the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, done at Geneva on 28th July, 1951;(b)the Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees of 13 January, 1967; and(c)the Organization of African Unity Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa, adopted at Addis Ababa on 10 September, 1969.

(1)The Committee shall receive and hear applications for refugee status and may—(a)grant refugee status;(b)deny the grant of refugee status; and(c)cancel or revoke its decision granting status.

“family member” means any spouse or spouses, unmarried children under the age of twenty-one and any other dependant relatives of the refugee;

“refugee” means a person who-(a)owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to that country; or(b)owing to external aggression, occupation, foreign domination or events seriously disturbing public order in either part or the whole of his country of origin or nationality, is compelled to leave his place of habitual residence in order to seek refuge in another place outside his country of origin or nationality;

A person shall not be considered to be a refugee under this Act if the Committee has serious reasons for considering that—(a)he has committed a crime against peace, a war crime, a crime against humanity, as defined in the international instruments drawn up to make provision in respect of such crimes;(b)he has committed a serious non-political crime outside Malawi prior to his entry; or(c)he has been guilty of acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the Organization of African Unity; and(d)he has been guilty of acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations Organization.

“competent officer” means any immigration officer, border officer, police officer or security officer;

(2)A person claiming to be a refugee shall be permitted to enter and remain in Malawi for such period as the Committee may require to process his application for refugee status.

A person who presents himself to a competent officer at a border and applies for admission into Malawi for the purpose of proceeding to another country where he intends to seek asylum as a refugee shall be permitted entry in Malawi upon such conditions as may be determined by the Committee either generally or specially.

(4)A person who has illegally entered Malawi for the purpose of seeking asylum as a refugee shall present himself to a competent officer within twenty hours of his entry or within such longer period as the competent officer may consider acceptable in the circumstances and such person shall not be detained, imprisoned, declared prohibited immigrant or otherwise penalized by reason only of his illegal entry or presence in Malawi unless and until the Committee has considered and made a decision on his application for refugee status.

(2)Where a decision has been made under [section 6](https://malawilii.org/akn/mw/act/1989/3/eng@2014-12-31#sec_6) (1) (b), (c) and (2), the Committee shall record its reasons for such decisions and in all cases the Committee shall in writing notify its decision to the applicant.

(1)Any person who is dissatisfied with a decision of the Committee in regard to—(a)his application for refugee status; and(b)revocation by the Committee of its decision granting to that person refugee status,may, within fourteen days of the date of the decision of the Committee, or within such longer period as may be accepted by the Minister, appeal to the Minister and the Minister may confirm, set aside or vary the decision.(2)The decision of the Minister made pursuant to subsection (1) shall be final and shall not be subject to appeal to, or review or question by, any court and the Minister shall not be required to assign any reasons for such decision.

Access to asylum procedures remained guaranteed in 2025, with all individuals seeking international protection able to register and enter the asylum system.

Individual registration remained at 100%, with 2,218 individuals registered, ensuring that both newly arrived and existing populations were documented. Biometric enrolment for persons aged five years and above reached 86.52%, strengthening identity management, reducing fraud risks, and supporting access to essential services.

On health front, all refugees and asylum-seekers have access to free comprehensive primary health care services.

This high incidence of poverty reflects profound economic vulnerability driven by limited livelihood opportunities, restrictive encampment policies, and rising costs of basic goods and services.

The most significant barrier remains the restrictive legal and policy framework. Although the Refugee Act review advanced to the validation stage in December 2025, refugees continue to face limitations on freedom of movement, access to formal employment, property ownership, and full inclusion in national systems.

The absence of an effective appeal mechanism following first-instance asylum rejection remains a critical protection gap.