Asylum and refugees

Aliens who, being outside the country of former habitual residence, are unable or unwilling to return owing to the well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, can apply for asylum by submitting an application for the recognition of ‘refugee status’.
Besides refugee status, subsidiary protection as an international protection status is also applicable.

A person eligible for subsidiary protection is a third country national or a stateless person who does not qualify as a refugee but in respect of whom substantial grounds have been shown for believing that the person concerned, if returned to his or her country of origin, or in the case of a stateless person, to his or her country of former habitual residence, would face a real risk of suffering serious harm.

Acts of persecution are:

• acts that, on account of their nature or frequency, are serious to such an extent to be considered a serious violation of fundamental human rights, in particular those which cannot be derogated from, as provided for by article 15, paragraph 2 of the European Convention for Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms;
• when various measures – including the violation of human rights – add up to a considerably serious impact on the individual.

Examples of acts of persecution: acts of physic or psychic violence, including sexual violence, legal, administrative, police and/or judicial measures that, for their very nature are discriminatory or are carried out in a discriminatory way, judicial actions or criminal sanctions that are excessive or discriminatory, refusal to have access to legal remedy and ensuing excessive, discriminatory sanction, judicial actions or criminal sanctions resulting from the refusal to serve the army in a war, when this would imply the commission of crimes, acts specifically aimed against a person because of his/her sex or against minors.