You cannot officially apply for asylum in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). You want to go to the Abu Dhabi office of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) for more information and to find support. See below for contacts and more details.
The UAE does not have a formal asylum system. But Emirati authorities do not send you back to a country where you can be in danger. That is because of the non-refoulment principle in international law, which the Emiraties follow in most cases. You can enter the UAE with a short-term visa and then apply for a longer-term visa that suits you. That can be a way to get international protection in the United Arab Emirates. You can also find a durable solution in a third country with the help of the UNHCR.
Citizens of many countries in the Americas and Europe can visit the UAE without a visa. Citizens of other countries can apply for a tourist visa. You can read more on how to get a visa for the UAE. Ukrainians and Russians don’t need a visa to come to the UAE.
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The United Arab Emirates is a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member. Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and the UAE are all members of the GCC. Citizens of a GCC country can travel and live in any other GCC country.
Here is a brief description of how to apply for asylum or international protection in the UAE. This is the best information I could find. If something is not accurate, please comment below.
Most websites linked in this article are in Arabic or English. Please use a translation app if you need it.
International protection in the United Arab Emirates
If you fear persecution or inhumane treatment in your home country, you can seek international protection in the UAE. You can contact the United Nations Refugees Agency (UNHCR) office in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
If the UAE authorities want to offer international protection to a group of persons, they can offer working visas or residence permits. Therefore people can live in the UAE. That’s how most Gulf Countries, like the UAE, offer international protection.
UNHCR advocates for refugees with the UAE authorities. The UAE authorities may also offer temporary international protection to groups waiting to be resettled in third countries. That is done in collaboration with the UNHCR. The relationship between UNHCR and the government has no legal structure.
You can contact UNHCR in the UAE at uaeab@unhcr.org. Follow these links for more contact details.
United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Refugees in the United Arab Emirates
As of mid-2022, less than 1500 refugees and more than 7000 people seeking asylum live in the UAE. Therefore some asylum seekers and refugees are accepted to live temporarily in the UAE. They are registered with the UNHCR. In most cases, the UNHCR takes care of refugees’ status in the UAE. Most people are from Syria but also some from Iraq. Other refugees and asylum seekers come from Afghanistan, Egypt, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Palestine, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Pakistan, Russia, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has let vulnerable people stay in the country through its existing migration system. They do this by giving people temporary visas.
The UAE is not a state party to the 1951 Conference on the Status of Refugees and its Protocol of 1967. The UAE does not adhere to the Refugee Convention of 1951. The UAE is also not a state party to the Convention on Stateless Persons in 1954 or the Convention of 1961 Convention on Statelessness Elimination.
The relationship between UNHCR and the government has no legal structure. UNHCR advocates for refugees with the UAE authorities.
Support services for victims of trafficking
UAE authorities, the UNHCR, and other organizations support services for victims of trafficking. They protect and assist all victims of trafficking, including male victims, with full respect for their human rights. You can find more information on this official UAE portal.
Contact the Dubai Police-Control Center of Human Trafficking with any concerns regarding human trafficking at +9714-6082347 or htccc@dubaipolice.gov.ae.
The hotline for labour complaints is 8005005.
The hotline for human trafficking issues is 8007283.
Sources: Migrant Refugees on the UAE
The cover image is somewhere in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Photo by Juliia Abramova on Unsplash
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