Procedure for Granting Refugee Status

Legal basis and international commitments

The authority is anchored on Section 47(b) of Commonwealth Act No. 613, authorizing the President, for humanitarian reasons and when not opposed to the public interest, to admit aliens who are refugees for religious, political, or racial reasons, under conditions the President prescribes.
The President’s authority is delegated to the Secretary of Justice through Presidential Decree No. 830 (dated 27 November 1975) and Letter of Implementation No. 47 (dated 18 August 1976).
The procedure is meant to be consistent with obligations under the 1951 United Nations Convention and the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees.

Policy, objectives, and basic principles

The rules seek to establish a fair, open, effective and speedy process for determining refugee status consistent with domestic laws, international commitments, and humanitarian traditions and concerns (Section 2).
An applicant, during the pendency of the application, or a refugee must not be expelled or returned to a country where there are valid reasons to believe that life or freedom would be threatened on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion (Section 3(a)).
An applicant must not be punished on account of illegal entry or presence, provided the applicant presents himself without delay to authorities and/or shows good cause for illegal entry or presence (Section 3(b)).
The rules promote and preserve family unity (Section 3(c)).

Definitions and key terms

Alien refers to any person not a citizen of the Philippines (Section 1(a)).
Application refers to a claim filed by an alien for the grant of refugee status under these rules (Section 1(b)).
Applicant refers to an alien in the Philippines who has filed an application, and includes the spouse and dependent children under eighteen (18) years of age of the applicant (Section 1(c)).
Act refers to Commonwealth Act No. 613, the Philippine Immigration Act of 1940, as amended (Section 1(d)).
Government refers to the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (Section 1(e)).
Secretary refers to the Secretary of the Department of Justice (Section 1(f)).
Bureau refers to the Bureau of Immigration (Section 1(g)).
Commissioner refers to the Commissioner of the Bureau (Section 1(h)).
UNHCR refers to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (Section 1(i)).

Eligibility and disqualification rules

Refugee status is granted to an applicant who, owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted, is outside the country of nationality and is unable or unwilling to avail himself of that country’s protection, for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion (Section 4).
Refugee status is also granted to a stateless person who, owing to such fear, is unable or unwilling to return to the country of former habitual residence (Section 4).
Refugee status must not be granted if it is found that the applicant already has refugee status in another country and enjoys effective protection of that country (Section 5(a)).
Refugee status must not be granted if the applicant previously had an application for refugee status denied by the Government or by UNHCR, unless the applicant presents substantive new information pertaining to the application that was not previously disclosed (Section 5(b)).
Refugee status must not be granted where there are serious reasons for considering that the applicant committed:
- a crime against peace, a war crime, or a crime against humanity as defined in international instruments (Section 6(a));
- a serious non-political crime prior to entry into the Philippines (Section 6(b)); or
- an act contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations (Section 6(c)).

Filing and processing steps

An alien may file an application at the time of entry or at any reasonable time thereafter (Section 7(a)).
An application may be filed directly with the Secretary, or in the Bureau’s central office or any field office at the port of entry/admission (Section 8(a)).
If filed with the Bureau at the port of entry/admission, the Commissioner or the immigration officer concerned must forward the application to the Secretary within ten (10) days from receipt (Section 8(a)).
The application must be in a form prescribed by the Secretary.
The application must be accomplished in triplicate and placed under oath or affirmation by the applicant, with the applicant’s right thumbprint affixed (Section 9(a)).
Each copy of the application must have a passport-size color photograph taken within thirty (30) days of the date of application, without a hat or glasses, with a white background, glossy, unretouched, and not mounted (Section 10(a)).
The application must be accompanied by the applicant’s passport or other travel document, national or state identification card (or similar identity document), and, for family claims:
- the marriage certificate (or similar document) for the spouse; and
- the birth certificate, baptismal certificate, or other evidence of birth for a dependent (Section 11(a)).

Interview, due course, and decision

If the Secretary finds the application is complete in form and accompanied by all required documents, the Secretary must give due course and must interview the applicant to determine the veracity of the allegations (Section 12(a)).
The Secretary must notify the Commissioner in writing that the application has been given due course (Section 12(a)).
Upon receipt of notice of due course, the Commissioner must suspend all cases for deportation or exclusion of the applicant being undertaken by the Bureau for alleged violations inherent to illegal entry or residence (including absence of valid travel documents) (Section 13(a)).
If the applicant is under detention, the Commissioner may order provisional release under the recognizance of a responsible member of the community (Section 13(a)).
In proper cases, the Commissioner may require the applicant to post a bond in an amount fixed by the Commissioner for release (Section 13(a)).
A certified true copy of the release order must be sent by the Commissioner to the Secretary (Section 13(a)).
During the interview, the applicant has the right to be represented by counsel, to have the services of an interpreter if necessary, and to have the interview conducted in private (Section 14(a)).
Upon request, the applicant has access to UNHCR (Section 14(a)).
The applicant must provide, during the interview, all relevant and true information to prove the claim, and any person included in the application may present evidence to support the claim (Section 15(a)).
The Secretary must decide on an application within thirty (30) days after the last date of the interview, unless further inquiry is required (Section 16(a)).
The decision must be in writing; if disapproved, it must state the reasons, and a copy must be furnished to the applicant (Section 17(a)).

Effects of disapproval or approval

If an application is finally disapproved, the Commissioner must determine whether the applicant shall be removed from or permitted to remain in the Philippines (Section 18(a)).
Pending immigration cases against the applicant suspended under Section 13 must be automatically reactivated upon final disapproval (Section 18(a)).
The applicant may be rearrested and placed in detention after reactivation (Section 18(a)).
If an application is approved, the Commissioner and the Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs must be notified (Section 19(a)).
Upon application of the applicant, the Commissioner may issue an Alien Certificate of Registration and a Certificate of Residence for Temporary Visitors for the refugee and the spouse and dependent children under eighteen (18) years of age named in the application (Section 19(a)).

Appeals and finality

If the application is disapproved, the applicant may file a motion for reconsideration with the Secretary within fifteen (15) days from receipt of the adverse decision (Section 20).
The motion must clearly specify the grounds, and only one motion for reconsideration is allowed (Section 20).
The Secretary must act on the motion for reconsideration within fifteen (15) days from receipt (Section 20).
The applicant may file a judicial appeal from the decision of the Secretary that denies the motion for reconsideration (Section 21(a)).
The decision denying an application becomes final if no motion for reconsideration or judicial appeal is filed within the prescribed period (Section 22(a)).

Revocation, cessation, and criminal removal

The Secretary must revoke refugee status if the Secretary finds, after investigation, that it was obtained through willful misrepresentation of material facts (Section 23(a)).
Refugee status ceases if a refugee:
- voluntarily re-avails himself of the protection of the country of nationality (Section 24(a));
- voluntarily re-acquires lost nationality (Section 24(b));
- voluntarily acquires a new nationality and enjoys protection of the new nationality’s country (Section 24(c));
- voluntarily re-establishes himself in the country he left, or outside which he remained owing to fear of persecution (Section 24(d));
- enjoys protection from the country of nationality because the reasons connected with which refugee status was granted have ceased to exist, provided this paragraph does not apply if the refugee can invoke compelling reasons arising out of previous persecution for refusing to avail himself of that protection (Section 24(e)); or
- not having a nationality, returns to the country of habitual residence due to changed circumstances, provided this paragraph does not apply if the refugee can invoke compelling reasons arising out of previous persecution for refusing to avail himself of protection in that former habitual residence (Section 24(f)).
Despite Section 3(a), the alien granted refugee status must be removed to the country of nationality or to the former place of habitual residence if finally convicted in the Philippines of a serious offense and considered a danger to the community (Section 25(a)).
An applicant who knowingly makes an untruthful statement in the application is liable for perjury under the Revised Penal Code (Section 26(a)).
If the perjury committed by the refugee consists of a willful misrepresentation of a material fact, refugee status must also be revoked under Section 23 (Section 26(a)).
A refugee convicted of a criminal offense must be removed from the Philippines only after service of the sentence imposed for the offense (Section 27(a)).

Confidentiality, UNHCR coordination, repeals

Information provided by an applicant is confidential and may be used only to determine the veracity of the applicant’s factual statements or to enforce penalties imposed under the Act; the information may be made available to UNHCR (Section 28(a)).
In implementing the rules, the Secretary may avail of cooperation of UNHCR (Section 29(a)).
UNHCR must be notified of the action/decision taken by the Secretary on an application (Section 30).
Section 31 repeals Office Circular No. 1 dated February 12, 1981 entitled “Prescribing The Procedure For Processing Of Applications For Issuance Of Visas, Or For Change Of Admission Status To Special Non-immigrant (Refugees For Humanitarian Considerations) Under Section 47 (b) Of The Philippine Immigration Act of 1940, As Amended” and other Department Orders and issuances inconsistent with DOJ Order No. 94.