Claiming Asylum from Bangladesh as a stateless citizen

[anancy2020]

Hello,


I am UK citizen enquiring about Canadian refugee and asylum procedures on behalf a stateless person in Bangladesh with whom I am in contact. I was wondering if anyone would be able to assist me in advising him on his best course of action moving forward. The details of his situation, according to our email correspondence, are as follows:


He is an orphan living with a foster family in Bangaldesh (his country of birth). He normally lives in the countryside but is currently in Dhaka (until December). His foster family is abusive and he wishes to escape from them, yet seems scared to do so. He has repeatedly asked if someone could escort him from his location as he is worried about what might happen if he tries to escape and fails. He is also a stateless person, in that he has no legal documentation, such a birth certificate or passport. As a result, I do not believe he is able to seek recourse through the Bangladeshi legal system. This lack of documentation means he would also struggle to travel to Canada in order to make a claim in person.


My two main questions are:

1) Would he at any point be eligible to make a refugee or asylum claim in Canada?

2) If so, what steps would he need to take so as to maximise the chances of his claim being accepted?


Based on my untrained opinion, my current thinking is to advise him that his best chance is to:

1) Collect as much evidence as he can on how his current situation, including:

• How his human rights have been abused. This might include photographic evidence or written statements from witnesses.
• That the Bangladeshi state is unwilling to offer him support (e.g. evidence of refusal to help by the police). I am hesitant to advise this as it might be dangerous from him. However, evidence of a lack of support from your country of residence seems necessary, as part of an asylum claim.

2) Present himself at the UNHCR offices in Dhaka and apply for asylum on the grounds that his human rights have been violated and he is unable to seek protection from the Bangladeshi state (https://thevisa.ca/immigration-blogs/can-i-apply-for-refugee-protection-from-outside-canada.html). Technically, he is within the country that he normally resides. However, as a stateless person with no state protection, I thought he may be able to apply within Bangladesh. I am also aware that he may not end up in Canada, but this seems like his best shot.

I did also consider the possibility of applying for a stateless person's travel document, then making a claim from within Canada. However, I can't find any information on how these documents might be obtained. I suspect it would be through the state within the claimant currently resides (in this instance the Bangladeshi government), or the UNHCR. In either case, I still feel that presenting himself to the UNHCR would likely be his best chance of obtaining one.

Many thanks in advance for your advice!

 

[scylla]

Hello,


I am UK citizen enquiring about Canadian refugee and asylum procedures on behalf a stateless person in Bangladesh with whom I am in contact. I was wondering if anyone would be able to assist me in advising him on his best course of action moving forward. The details of his situation, according to our email correspondence, are as follows:


He is an orphan living with a foster family in Bangaldesh (his country of birth). He normally lives in the countryside but is currently in Dhaka (until December). His foster family is abusive and he wishes to escape from them, yet seems scared to do so. He has repeatedly asked if someone could escort him from his location as he is worried about what might happen if he tries to escape and fails. He is also a stateless person, in that he has no legal documentation, such a birth certificate or passport. As a result, I do not believe he is able to seek recourse through the Bangladeshi legal system. This lack of documentation means he would also struggle to travel to Canada in order to make a claim in person.


My two main questions are:

1) Would he at any point be eligible to make a refugee or asylum claim in Canada?

2) If so, what steps would he need to take so as to maximise the chances of his claim being accepted?


Based on my untrained opinion, my current thinking is to advise him that his best chance is to:

1) Collect as much evidence as he can on how his current situation, including:

• How his human rights have been abused. This might include photographic evidence or written statements from witnesses.
• That the Bangladeshi state is unwilling to offer him support (e.g. evidence of refusal to help by the police). I am hesitant to advise this as it might be dangerous from him. However, evidence of a lack of support from your country of residence seems necessary, as part of an asylum claim.

2) Present himself at the UNHCR offices in Dhaka and apply for asylum on the grounds that his human rights have been violated and he is unable to seek protection from the Bangladeshi state (https://thevisa.ca/immigration-blogs/can-i-apply-for-refugee-protection-from-outside-canada.html). Technically, he is within the country that he normally resides. However, as a stateless person with no state protection, I thought he may be able to apply within Bangladesh. I am also aware that he may not end up in Canada, but this seems like his best shot.

I did also consider the possibility of applying for a stateless person's travel document, then making a claim from within Canada. However, I can't find any information on how these documents might be obtained. I suspect it would be through the state within the claimant currently resides (in this instance the Bangladeshi government), or the UNHCR. In either case, I still feel that presenting himself to the UNHCR would likely be his best chance of obtaining one.

Many thanks in advance for your advice!

To claim asylum in Canada, he would need to travel here on a TRV (tourist visa) and then make the claim once he physically arrives here. His chances of getting a TRV approved as a stateless person are unfortunately close to zero. To be approved for a TRV, a person needs to show they have strong ties to their home country and has no plans on remaining in Canada long term.

Most of the other avenues require him to first be recognized as a refugee by UNHCR.

If he knows someone in Canada (close friend or family member), then one option would be for them to sponsor him through the Group of Five program. This requires that five individuals who are citizens or permanent residents of Canada agree to financially support his application. He must also prove that he meets the criteria to be classified as a refugee. Similarly, if there is a church or other organization that is willing to sponsor him, that could also be done. This is really only doable if he has someone in Canada (family member or friend) who has close ties to that organization or church and can arrange the sponsorship.

There are also organizations called Sponsorship Agreement Holders which may support sponsorship. However experiences here are that none of them are accepting new sponsorships at this time. They are all already fully committed.

UNHCR does resettle individuals recognized as refugees. However the chances of him being resettled in Canada through UNHCR are extremely low. Most likely he would simply be resettled in the country where he is now. And no, he cannot pick where he is resettled.

 

[scylla]

Hello,


I am UK citizen enquiring about Canadian refugee and asylum procedures on behalf a stateless person in Bangladesh with whom I am in contact. I was wondering if anyone would be able to assist me in advising him on his best course of action moving forward. The details of his situation, according to our email correspondence, are as follows:


He is an orphan living with a foster family in Bangaldesh (his country of birth). He normally lives in the countryside but is currently in Dhaka (until December). His foster family is abusive and he wishes to escape from them, yet seems scared to do so. He has repeatedly asked if someone could escort him from his location as he is worried about what might happen if he tries to escape and fails. He is also a stateless person, in that he has no legal documentation, such a birth certificate or passport. As a result, I do not believe he is able to seek recourse through the Bangladeshi legal system. This lack of documentation means he would also struggle to travel to Canada in order to make a claim in person.


My two main questions are:

1) Would he at any point be eligible to make a refugee or asylum claim in Canada?

2) If so, what steps would he need to take so as to maximise the chances of his claim being accepted?


Based on my untrained opinion, my current thinking is to advise him that his best chance is to:

1) Collect as much evidence as he can on how his current situation, including:

• How his human rights have been abused. This might include photographic evidence or written statements from witnesses.
• That the Bangladeshi state is unwilling to offer him support (e.g. evidence of refusal to help by the police). I am hesitant to advise this as it might be dangerous from him. However, evidence of a lack of support from your country of residence seems necessary, as part of an asylum claim.

2) Present himself at the UNHCR offices in Dhaka and apply for asylum on the grounds that his human rights have been violated and he is unable to seek protection from the Bangladeshi state (https://thevisa.ca/immigration-blogs/can-i-apply-for-refugee-protection-from-outside-canada.html). Technically, he is within the country that he normally resides. However, as a stateless person with no state protection, I thought he may be able to apply within Bangladesh. I am also aware that he may not end up in Canada, but this seems like his best shot.

I did also consider the possibility of applying for a stateless person's travel document, then making a claim from within Canada. However, I can't find any information on how these documents might be obtained. I suspect it would be through the state within the claimant currently resides (in this instance the Bangladeshi government), or the UNHCR. In either case, I still feel that presenting himself to the UNHCR would likely be his best chance of obtaining one.

Many thanks in advance for your advice!

Just to add an important point - just realized that he's living in his country of birth. In that case UNHCR is really not feasible. He would need to move out of his country of birth to another country in order to seek UNHCR recognition.

 

[anancy2020]

Just to add an important point - just realized that he's living in his country of birth. In that case UNHCR is really not feasible. He would need to move out of his country of birth to another country in order to seek UNHCR recognition.

Thanks so much for the fast response scylla!

So just to clarify, his only chance of claiming asylum in a country subject to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol (https://www.unhcr.org/1951-refugee-convention.html), would be to travel across international borders without documentation, to a neighbouring country like India or Nepal, and present himself to the UNHCR once there?

Also, were he to do this, do you think he could be eligible for an asylum claim? Based on the criteria outlined in page 21 of this guide (https://refugeeclaim.ca/wp-content/themes/refugeeclaim/library/guide/rhpg-vancouver-en.pdf), I believe that with sufficient evidence he could qualify as a ‘Person in Need of Protection’. I reckon the biggest weakness in his case would be whether he has an internal flight alternative (https://www.unhcr.org/3b83c1374.pdf). Given that his abuse is at the hands of a single family, he could in theory be resettled elsewhere within Bangladesh. However, given he is:

1) Stateless, and therefore unable to seek protection from the Bangladeshi state; and
2) A minor (he still relies on the support of his foster family);

It may not be considered reasonable for him to support himself in another part of the country. I was wondering if you had any thoughts on this?


Thanks again for your time!!


P.S. I do not believe he has any contacts in Canada, so I doubt he would be eligible to enter the Group of Five, or any other, Canadian sponsorship program.

 

[canuck78]

Thanks so much for the fast response scylla!

So just to clarify, his only chance of claiming asylum in a country subject to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol (https://www.unhcr.org/1951-refugee-convention.html), would be to travel across international borders without documentation, to a neighbouring country like India or Nepal, and present himself to the UNHCR once there?

Also, were he to do this, do you think he could be eligible for an asylum claim? Based on the criteria outlined in page 21 of this guide (https://refugeeclaim.ca/wp-content/themes/refugeeclaim/library/guide/rhpg-vancouver-en.pdf), I believe that with sufficient evidence he could qualify as a ‘Person in Need of Protection’. I reckon the biggest weakness in his case would be whether he has an internal flight alternative (https://www.unhcr.org/3b83c1374.pdf). Given that his abuse is at the hands of a single family, he could in theory be resettled elsewhere within Bangladesh. However, given he is:

1) Stateless, and therefore unable to seek protection from the Bangladeshi state; and
2) A minor (he still relies on the support of his foster family);

It may not be considered reasonable for him to support himself in another part of the country. I was wondering if you had any thoughts on this?


Thanks again for your time!!


P.S. I do not believe he has any contacts in Canada, so I doubt he would be eligible to enter the Group of Five, or any other, Canadian sponsorship program.

The majority of those claiming asylum in other countries never get resettled to another country so this is not a realistic plan to secure asylum in Canada. Not sure how you know this child but there best option is to find them another foster family.

 

[scylla]

Thanks so much for the fast response scylla!

So just to clarify, his only chance of claiming asylum in a country subject to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol (https://www.unhcr.org/1951-refugee-convention.html), would be to travel across international borders without documentation, to a neighbouring country like India or Nepal, and present himself to the UNHCR once there?

Also, were he to do this, do you think he could be eligible for an asylum claim? Based on the criteria outlined in page 21 of this guide (https://refugeeclaim.ca/wp-content/themes/refugeeclaim/library/guide/rhpg-vancouver-en.pdf), I believe that with sufficient evidence he could qualify as a ‘Person in Need of Protection’. I reckon the biggest weakness in his case would be whether he has an internal flight alternative (https://www.unhcr.org/3b83c1374.pdf). Given that his abuse is at the hands of a single family, he could in theory be resettled elsewhere within Bangladesh. However, given he is:

1) Stateless, and therefore unable to seek protection from the Bangladeshi state; and
2) A minor (he still relies on the support of his foster family);

It may not be considered reasonable for him to support himself in another part of the country. I was wondering if you had any thoughts on this?


Thanks again for your time!!


P.S. I do not believe he has any contacts in Canada, so I doubt he would be eligible to enter the Group of Five, or any other, Canadian sponsorship program.

To the best of my knowledge, he needs to be outside of his home country for the UNHCR recognition to be possible. Maybe the stateless situation changes things, I don't know. Hopefully someone else will comment. Yes, he needs to appear at UNHCR in person. No one can do this for him. Again, keep in mind that the majority of individuals recognized as refugees by UNHCR are resettled in the country they are already in.

Yes, having internal flight options generally weakens a case. I can't really comment on the rest and whether this would change because he is a minor. None of us here are lawyers. We are all normal people like you. You might be best off getting advice from a lawyer.

Based on the information you've provided, I unfortunately don't see a clear/easy path for him to get to Canada as a refugee. I think focus should be on taking actions that make life safer for him without specifically targeting Canada as a destination.