Hong Kong law does not provide legal status or protection to refugees, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (“UNHCR”) conducts Refugee Status Determination (“RSD”) to identify refugees who need international protection and resettle them to third countries.

The Hong Kong Government also neither provides free legal aid services to refugees making asylum claims with UNHCR, nor contributes to private representation for them. As such, the vast majority of claimants represent themselves.

What happens to people who are accepted

As recognized refugees are still not permitted to remain in Hong Kong, UNHCR has to resettle them to third countries that are willing to offer them protection. Resettlement countries each have their own processes and often subjects the refugees to additional interviews.

What happens to people who are rejected

The rights at stake for asylum-seekers could not be higher: A mistaken rejection could mean deportation back to persecution in the form of arbitrary imprisonment, torture, or even death.