1 African HRC PDF Scribd Asylum Refugee Guide

www.AFRICANHRC.COM
I am LGBTI and I Want to Leave My Country For Asylum or Refugee Resettlement in Another
Country
Many LGBTI people, or those perceived as LGBTI are subject to persecution as a result of
homophobia, recent anti-‐homosexuality laws and draconian penal codes. Such persecution can be
at the hands of government authorities, police, employers, landlords, chiefs, powerful elders,
neighbors, friends, church, religious personnel and even family members. Not a day goes by here at
African Human Rights Coalition without several requests for help or information, citing one or
more forms of such persecution. Most of those making contact are people asking how they can
leave their countries.
We do not generally recommend that people leave their home countries. However we do look at
each individual’s situation on its own merits, verify circumstances to the best of our ability and
then determine whether we are able to offer assistance for strategies of survival, whether that
includes remaining in one’s home country or exile.
Please note this commentary is not legal advice. Everyone’s situation is unique and people should
consider contacting a lawyer for direct legal advice. We provide this information merely as a
guideline. This is also not everything one needs to know about asylum, visa laws, or refugee
resettlement. This is not a discussion of all the legal requirements involved. This is not a way to
determine if you qualify for asylum or resettlement. This is ONLY a basic guideline to shed a limited
light on the realities of the process and costs involved. This does not tell you if you qualify or not.
Please note if you have a partner of fiancé in the U.S.A. you can apply for a Fiancé visa if you have
met in person, can prove your relationship and intend to get married.
TOPICS:
A. I AM PERSECUTED/AFRAID LGBTI – what do I do?

B. ASYLUM SEEKING
C. REFUGEES RESETTLEMENT
D. THE HARDSHIPS ONCE YOU REACH A NEW COUNTRY
You can either become an Asylum seeker in a new country or a refugee in a new country. As an
asylum seeker you will be asking to resettle in the a country of your arrival and your choice – you
will not be involved with UNHCR, but directly with the Government of the Country where you are
seeking asylum. As a Refugee you will arrive in a new country, register as a refugee and sign up

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Contact: Nathan@AfricanHRC.org | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/africanhrc |
Twitter: @AfricanHRC

with UNHCR, you may receive a mandate if accepted by UNHCR and then wait to be resettled in
another new country.
A. I am being persecuted for being LGBTI – what do I do?

1) First contact local LGBT or Human Rights organizations in your area which helps LGBTI
people. Only make direct contact if you feel safe doing so and if they are known to you. Ask
what emergency plan they can provide you with and follow their advice. If you do not have
access or do not know such people in your area, please contact us and after a safety and
verification process we will try and refer you to the right people.

2) Find a safe place to go. Avoid being on the streets. If you seek help from a friend, do not
reveal that you are gay, lesbian (LGBTI) even to family or friends, unless you are sure they
will not harm you or turn you into authorities.

3) Be careful who you reach out – be careful who you trust -‐avoid arrest -‐ avoid blackmail -‐
be careful not to engage in sexual activities where you can be seen or heard. Many people
are caught because they leave doors unlocked.

4) and maintain telephone and computer safety at all times, by emptying history and cache
as well as password protection.

5) Do everything you can to secure a safe place to reside and where you can seek work
without harm. Unfortunately in many countries you will not be able to be open about your
sexuality – unless you choose to be a human rights defender and join an organization –
which poses many risks – and should be done cautiously.
If you are unable to continue to live safely or survive in hiding you can consider exile options. You
can travel overseas, on a visitor, student or business visa, and then once there, apply for asylum in
that new country or you can become a refugee in another African country to seek resettlement in a
country overseas.

As an asylum seeker you will be asking to get legal resident status in that country of your choice
after you have entered the country – AND you will not be involved with UNHCR, but directly with
the government of the country where you are seeking asylum – you may or may not be awarded
asylum. That depends on you’re the facts of your case, whether or not you qualify and if your story
and evidence is believed by authorities.
OR

As a Refugee you will arrive in a new African country, register as a refugee and sign up with
UNHCR; you may or may not receive a mandate if accepted by UNHCR and then wait to be resettled
in another new country.
B. ASYLUM:
To get asylum you must already be in the country where you are seeking the asylum. There IS NO
SUCH THING as an Asylum Visa or a Visa that will give you asylum. It does not exist.

Question: So how do people in the USA or UK or EU or Canada get asylum?
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Answer: They get a visitor or student visa or business visa to get into those countries and once
they are there they apply for asylum under the laws of the country they are in.
The U.S.A.:
Most people who have managed to get to USA and applied for asylum have come in on a visitor (for
vacation or workshop or conference) or a student visa. I am not discussing business visas here.

Visitor Visa:
In order to come to USA on a visitor visa, you must prove to the U.S. Embassy in your country that
you intend to and are likely to return to your home country. That is not easy to do. If you are under
35 years old it is especially harder, as well as if you are single and have no children.
The Basics of what you need to PROVE to obtain the visa:
• That you have a job and you have had the job for a decent period of time,
• That you get a regular and good salary every month
• Or that you are a student enrolled in school and you are coming back to study
• That you have a rental agreement with your landlord and have stayed there for some time
• Or that you own a home or land
• That you have some money in a bank account or own assets
• That you can prove that you can support yourself on your visit to America
• and more… in the discretion of the interviewing embassy official
In order to come to USA on a visitor visa you must have a reason such as you are coming on
holiday, to visit family or close friend, or to do a workshop or conference – then you need to show
enough money for a hotel for the time you are saying you will be in the USA. You also will have to
show that you can afford or have a return air ticket or have an organization sponsoring such for
you. You should show you have bookings and what your plans are.
If you have an invitation to a workshop or a conference, you still need to prove everything above
and if your conference will be sponsored by a USA or home-‐based organization – you will need
proof of that too. If you are coming on vacation then you have to say where you will be staying and
show you can afford it, unless you have a friend you are staying with and then you will need to
provide the address. If the Embassy official suspects that you do not intend to go home to your
country, they will not give you any visa.
Below I have provided a financial outline, which is very much an estimate to give people an ide of
what this all costs to do.

It is based on a request for a visitor visa, showing what it would cost to be in the U.S.A. for a 2 week
period.

It then goes on further to outline what people need financially if they decide to outstay their
visitor visa and to apply for asylum. You are NOT allowed to get a job in the USA if you are a visitor
or an asylum seeker for the first 6 months after filing your asylum application. Sometimes it can
take up to 2 months to find free legal help and file an application and so it could be 8 months
before you are legally able to work as an asylum seeker. How will you survive?
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Some people show up and rely on the grace and kindness of community and church communities –
which is not an easy thing to do or expect and may often not be available.

There are no organizations that provide comprehensive humanitarian resources or financial help
to asylum seekers in the USA. No LGBT group has set aside or raised funds to provide direct
humanitarian assistance to asylum seekers. So unless you have several thousand dollars, or a
supporter, or good contacts to help you, it will be almost impossible to survive in the USA. This is
an area that LGBT groups need to work on urgently, but as of yet have done nothing that I have
found. We at African HRC are currently seeking funding to assist in this regard.

So this is a very basic outline of what an asylum seekers needs to survive as a visitor and then as
an asylum seeker, for 6 months, while applying for asylum. Remember one is not legally allowed
to work in the USA on a visitor visa and one has to wait six months AFTER applying for asylum to
work. So you need to be supported for the 6 months – shelter – food – accommodation – medical-‐
transport. If you come on a student visa – it costs a lot more because you have to add the school /
course fees, which vary.
NOTE: Of course if you have a friend or family you may have a free place to stay and food and then
the entire costs will be less, but you will at least have to show PART 1 to the Embassy to be able to
qualify for the visitor visa. If the Embassy thinks you are not going home and that you intend to
apply for asylum when you get to USA, they will not give you a visitor or student visa. If you have
the FULL support of someone in USA you then only have to pay for an air ticket and so actual
amount spent to get here will be tickets and transport costs. However you should be 100% sure
that you have the support in the USA or you could end up homeless, on streets, in dangerous
shelters and possibly placed in awful detention centers and then deported. To get the visa you will
have to show actual financial ability to the Embassy.
C. REFUGEES and RESETTLEMENT
If you cannot get a visa to another country such as USA, UK, EU, CA etc., or if you do not have the
money and support, and you are being persecuted, or have an arrest warrant due to
criminalization under your country laws, and you feel unsafe and need to leave your country, then
you can go across the border of your country to a foreign country in Africa, and claim refugee

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status from UNHCR. You have to be qualified and able to prove that your qualify under their rules
and laws to receive a UNHCR mandate.
First you register with UNHCR. Then you await an interview – which at this time is a six month
wait. If they accept your story and evidence, UNHCR will possibly give what is called a “MANDATE”
and then put you through a series of procedures towards final resettlement in a new country,
overseas. You generally cannot control what country you will be resettled in. If you have a partner
with you should tell UNHCR you are together so they send you to same country. This can take 8
month to 2 years. If you go out of the country where you are a refugee back to your home country
to “wait out” your time as a refugee – you are breaking rules and are no longer a refugee as you
obviously then lied about being afraid to be in your own country. Some Ugandans have been doing
this and if caught by UNHCR will not be mandated and their quest for resettlement will be denied.
Example for Ugandans:
• Make sure you speak to someone who has gone through the process so you know what you
are in for
• There are tens of thousands of refugees awaiting resettlement in foreign countries
• LGBT refugees face special challenges and more discrimination in camps
• It takes anything from 12 months to 2 years to get resettled
• You are placed in a UNHCR camp-‐ a transition camp or Kakuma camp – read this article –
Dangers include population of other anti-‐gay straight refugees attacking and targeting
gays. http://oblogdeeoblogda.me/2014/06/16/ugandan-‐gays-‐in-‐kenya-‐desperate-‐sick-‐
and-‐fear-‐death/
• Many Ugandan who have been mandated and some resettled have managed to stay outside
of the camp – to do so you need at least $200 per month to rent a safe room and for food.
As well as transport money to get to interviews. (You need support for at least 1 year =
$3,600 sent through the year)
• There are dangers in staying in Nairobi – Currently there is terrorist activity in Kenya,
which places all “foreigners” under suspicion. The police have been known to arrest and
round up foreigners, often going door to door. You are less likely to be protected from such
arrests by UNHCR if you are outside the camps. People who are gay in Kenya often get
beaten too, and if found to be from Uganda, you can be suspected of being LGBTI.
• Some Ugandans in Kenya have had to resort to sex work to survive. We know of at least 14
Ugandan refugees who contracted HIV while in Kenya.
• Some Ugandans have been there for many months and are still waiting for their mandates.
However if you are in danger of attack, death, or imprisonment in your country you may want to
weigh all these risks and consider going to a country where you can become a UNHCR refugee
awaiting resettlement. – because you do stand a good chance of being resettled overseas after a
year to 2 years. You will have to fend for yourself and fight there for your rights to ensure you
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receive the proper process. If our case roster is not full we may be able to help you navigate this
process or refer you to our Ambassadors who have already been through the process.
Other Countries:
If you are from The Gambia, Cameroon and Nigeria – you need to find country where you can cross
into and register with UNHCR to receive your refugee mandate. You must be able to show you are
from a class of persecuted people and that you are escaping persecution.
Unfortunately there are no magic ways to resettle in a new country – and there are no miracles.
D. THE HARDSHIPS ONCE YOU REACH A NEW COUNTRY
Many people who make it to the USA or other countries still continue to struggle to make a good
life and it can take years to settle down. Immigrating to a foreign country where culture is different
and where people do not have the support of family and friends can be very difficult. Many come to
the U.S.A. under the false belief that it is easy and that everyone accepts immigrants.
There is a significant difference between Refugees and Asylum Seekers:

1.) Asylum seekers need a visa from a USA Embassy with intent to return home but when they get
into USA they then apply for asylum |

Refugees cross over into a foreign country, become mandated by UNHCR and then get resettled in
a country that you may not be able to choose
2) Asylum seekers do not get any funding or services from the government when they first arrive
in USA. Unless you have your own money, getting financial help is almost impossible. If you do not
find community help, which is almost impossible without contacts, it will cost you at least $1300
per month to live minimally for a shared room and some food and transport. That is living below
the poverty line. You have no work permit and are not allowed to work for at least 6 months |

Refugees get assigned to an agency who helps with services and also $1,125 starting settlement
amount per refugee plus $333 per month, food stamps. Medical, and limited dental.

This is very little money to start a new life on and many refugees have to start out in jobs they may
not like while improving their education, their English and making contacts so they can further
advance their careers and life. There are cultural challenges, which take time to overcome. There
is also not enough money provided for one’s own apartment, and so you may have to share with
other refugees, a room in someone’s home or find a shared room in a residence. The agency you
have been assigned will usually help you figure this out. It takes at least 2 years to truly get on
your feet for survival.
3) Asylum seekers cannot work on a visitor or student visa and cannot work for the first 6
months from the date they apply for asylum | Refugees have a work permit when they arrive for
settlement in the USA.
Website: www.AfricanHRC.org | Contact: Nathan@AfricanHRC.org | Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/africanhrc | Twitter: @AfricanHRC
African HRC | African Human Rights Coalition ©2014
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Droits d'auteur :

1 African HRC PDF Scribd Asylum Refugee Guide

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Droits d'auteur :

A. I AM PERSECUTED/AFRAID LGBTI – what do I do?

D. THE HARDSHIPS ONCE YOU REACH A NEW COUNTRY

A. I am being persecuted for being LGBTI – what do I do?

C. REFUGEES and RESETTLEMENT

Example for Ugandans:

D. THE HARDSHIPS ONCE YOU REACH A NEW COUNTRY

There is a significant difference between Refugees and Asylum Seekers:

Website: www.AfricanHRC.org | Contact: Nathan@AfricanHRC.org | Facebook:

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