How to apply for asylum in Brazil
The following information was compiled based on an exchange with Brazilian lawyer Dr Liliana Jubilut, as well as on an article she co-authored with Dr Silvia M. O. S. Apolinário, published in Refuge.
Background
In Brazil the refugee status determination (RSD) procedure is tripartite, involving the State, UNHCR and civil society, whose involvement dates from the early beginnings of refugee protection in Brazil when there was no government procedure and UNHCR relied upon the support of civil society.
The Brazilian government is responsible for RSD and UNHCR has a supervisory role. Cáritas Arquidiocesana do Rio de Janeiro and Cáritas Arquidiocesana de São Paulo continue to be the civil society organisations that provide reception, assistance and orientation for refugees and are directly involved in RSD. The decisions regarding refugee status remain a government one.
The National Refugee Act of 1997 established the CONARE (Comitê Nacional para Refugiados), a national collective body responsible for analysing and determining individual cases. CONARE has both governmental and non-governmental members, and UNHCR is a non-voting member. The Ministry of Justice presides and the administration is by a general coordinator.
RSD Procedure
The asylum seeker should make a request for refuge to the Federal Police.
This request will be turned into a standard formal Declaration Term (Termo de Declaração) that includes personal details (name, nationality, parents, date of birth) and the main reasons for leaving the country of origin. One Declaration Term is required for each adult but children are included on their parents’ document.
It should be noted that if asylum seekers do not respond to the proceedings requests or abandon the proceedings for six months or more, the refugee recognition procedure is archived.
Following the Declaration Term a more detailed standard questionnaire is completed — usually at a refugee centre run by one of the two Cáritas organisations. If there is no centre locally, this should be done at the nearest Federal Police Department.
The Questionnaire is sent to CONARE and the asylum seeker is granted authorisation for a provisional identification document, the Provisional Protocol (Protocolo Provisório), and also a work document (CTPS).
There will be at least two interviews during the RSD process:
- First interview with a lawyer from the civil society organisation
- Second interview with a representative of CONARE
These interviews are individual and wherever possible in the applicant’s own language. An interpreter will be instructed about the confidentiality of the interview.
The asylum seeker’s case is then assessed at a CONARE plenary meeting, where each member has one vote. Each case is decided by majority vote.
POSITIVE DECISION: the asylum seeker is recognised as a refugee in Brazil.
NEGATIVE DECISION: the asylum seeker may appeal. Appeal procedures take place within 15 days of notification. The final RSD decision lies with the Minister of Justice. RSD in Brazil is an administrative procedure and nowadays there is growing debate on whether final decisions can be brought to the Judiciary.
Upon recognition as a refugee
The refugee must register with the Federal Police and sign a Term of Responsibility (Termo de Responsabilidade) agreeing to respect rights and observe duties under Brazilian law and acknowledging conditions which may result in loss of refugee status (for example acts against national security, leaving Brazil without proper authorisation, etc.).
Family unity
All family members may become refugees at the same time or family unity may be applied where a family is separated. There is a standard Term of Family Unit Request, which can be used once relevant family members are located in Brazil, and a process with CONARE — similar to RSD — will be established.
