Temporary humanitarian admission programme for Syrian refugees (THAP)

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1 The identification of refugees under the Temporary Humanitarian Admission programme is one of the duties exercised regularly by UNHCR under its mandate and is generally conducted free of charge. UNHCR will in this context never request the payment of money or the provision of other services in return. If incidents come to your attention where in connection with the identification and admission of refugees under the Temporary Humanitarian Admission program money or other services are requested, please contact UNHCR. Temporary humanitarian admission programme for Syrian refugees (THAP) Notes and information on how to register an interest in the admission of relatives in the framework of the humanitarian admission programme for Syrian refugees 1. Background On 20 March 2013, the Federal Ministry of the Interior announced that in 2013 the Federal Republic of Germany, in cooperation with UNHCR, intended to offer temporary protection for up to Syrian refugees in the framework of a humanitarian admission programme (THAP). The Federal Ministry of the Interior and the interior ministries of the Bundesländer have indicated that the admission programme should focus on - Syrian refugees with humanitarian needs, - Syrian refugees with connections to Germany and - Syrian refugees who are capable, e.g. by reason of their professional qualifications, of making a significant contribution to the rebuilding of their homeland following the end of the violent conflict in Syria. UNHCR welcomes the German initiative as a useful contribution to improving the individual situation of refugees admitted. In addition, UNHCR recognises the initiative as an important gesture of solidarity and sharing in the responsibility with Syria s immediate neighbours which have admitted, at present, the overwhelming majority of the current 1.6 million Syrian refugees. UNHCR hopes that other States will follow Germany s example and establish humanitarian admission programmes for Syrian refugees or make places available for Syrian refugees within the framework of existing resettlement programmes. However, States are under no legal obligation to admit refugees from the region. Similarly, individual refugees have no legal right to be accommodated in a country of their own choice. That is why, working alongside the international community, UNHCR will continue and indeed strengthen its efforts to assist and support Syrian refugees on the ground in the region.

2 2. Selection process Given the extreme number of Syrian refugees currently present in neighbouring countries, selecting the refugees for admission under the humanitarian admission programme is a very difficult task. (a) General principles governing the selection To ensure an efficient procedure that also recognises the interests of the States in the region currently receiving Syrian refugees, the Federal Government has decided to focus the temporary humanitarian admission programme on Syrian refugees currently in Lebanon. To avoid the situation that this might encourage more refugees to head for Lebanon, as a rule, the admission programme will consider only those refugees who are registered already with UNHCR as seeking protection. To ensure the consistency, transparency and fairness of the programme, the individual selection process will take account of information provided by various actors. This allows the group of persons to be admitted under the programme to be identified and narrowed down in accordance with the general principles set out above. (b) Identification and selection of Syrian refugees in particular need of humanitarian protection The starting point for identifying Syrian refugees with particular humanitarian needs and Syrian refugees with particular professional skills is the data collected by UNHCR and its partner organisations in Lebanon as part of the registration process and information on particularly pressing protection needs obtained by visiting the refugees concerned. On the basis of this information, the UNHCR representation in Lebanon will compile individual case-files on the refugees and refugee families to be considered for admission under the programme. It will then forward these files to the German body responsible for administering the programme, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge), which will decide having regard primarily to protection needs. UNHCR is not responsible for taking the final decision on an individual s admission under the programme. The final decision rests with the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees. (c) Identification and selection of Syrian refugees with family connections or relatives in Germany As regards Syrian refugees with family connections or relatives in Germany, as far as possible, the programme will take account of the concerns and wishes of relatives living in Germany, at least in relation to some of those admitted. However, as the UNHCR representation in Lebanon does not have enough information on this matter, UNHCR and the German authorities have agreed on a mechanism to allow family members and relatives living in Germany to communicate to the UNHCR Representation for Austria and Germany their interest in admission and support of relatives currently in Lebanon. In consultation with the Federal Ministry of the Interior and the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, the UNHCR Representation for Austria and Germany has created an electronic form for this purpose ( This form allows information on individuals living in Germany to be matched with information on their Syrian relatives in Lebanon. As a next step, this information will be sent to the UNHCR Representation in Lebanon. There, having regard primarily to protection needs and, where appropriate, after contacting the Syrian refugees under consideration, the UNHCR Representation in Lebanon will compile a list of refugees proposed for inclusion in the programme and submit this to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees which will take the final decision. The fact that a person living in Germany records an interest that their relatives should be considered under the programme does not establish a legal right whether against the UNHCR or against the authorities and institutions involved in administering the admission programme in Germany to have those details forwarded and processed, to an individual examination of the request for admission or to inclusion of the persons mentioned in the programme.

3 3. Filling in the indication of interest important notes To allow individuals in Germany who are the relatives of Syrian refugees to register their interest in admission and support of relatives in the framework of the temporary humanitarian assistance programme, the UNHCR Representation for Austria and Germany has created an electronic form available at Requests for the admission of Syrian refugees with relatives or other connections to Germany can only be submitted by using the form provided. We regret that expressions of interest submitted by , telephone, letter, fax or PDF attachment cannot be considered. The following sections provide advice on how to fill in the form. General information: - So that we can consider your interest in the admission of your relatives when we draw up the list of Syrian refugees eligible for the programme we will need the information you provide in this form. Please fill in the form carefully and include as much information as possible. Please make sure that you enter the information in the correct fields in the form. If any details cannot be entered in the fields provided for example, the address of your relatives in Lebanon cannot be entered in the format used in Germany please use the additional information boxes contained in the form. Please note that, as a rule, each additional information box only allows you to enter a maximum of 300 characters. - For technical reasons, you will not be able to amend the details in the form or provide supplementary details at a later stage. - Please note also that we can only process text entered using Latin characters. Step 1: Details of the person in Germany This part of the form allows you to enter your personal details - Please enter all your relevant personal information in the fields provided. - We would like to remind you that the Federal Government and the governments of the Bundesländer anticipate that priority in the admission programme will be given to refugees whose relatives in Germany indicate their ability and willingness to provide individual assistance, for example, provision of accommodation or financial support. We have included space in the form for you to indicate the support you can provide. Your ability to support your relatives is not an essential criterion for inclusion in the programme. However, if you indicate in the form that you are willing to provide support, you should be aware that the authorities may ask for supporting evidence and, where necessary, require you to sign a formal obligation (so called Verpflichtungserklärung ) to provide support. - To verify your identity and avoid any abuse of the scheme, please attach a scanned legible copy of your passport, identity card or other identity document. In addition, you may also include scanned copies of documents evidencing your family connection to your relatives in Lebanon included in the form. We have provided a button for you to upload files at the end of Step 1. Please note that the maximum file size that can be uploaded is 2MB per document. - Please use this upload function only for the purpose stated above. We regret that documents of a different kind in particular copies of the indication of interest filled in offline and letters concerning the registration of an interest cannot be considered.

4 Step 2: Details of your Syrian relatives abroad This part of the form allows you to enter details of your relative abroad who you wish to be admitted where appropriate, together with his or her family under the humanitarian admission programme. If your relative(s) are chosen, this person will be the contact person for UNHCR, its partner organisations and the German authorities involved in administering the admission programme. Please note that, as a rule, the temporary humanitarian admission programme can only consider individuals who are already registered in Lebanon with UNHCR or Caritas Lebanon as refugees or persons seeking protection. - Please enter all relevant information about your relative, to the extent that you have this, in the fields provided. - If any details cannot be entered in the fields provided for example, the address of your relatives in Lebanon cannot be entered in the format used in Germany please use the additional information boxes contained in the form. Please note that, as a rule, each additional information box only allows you to enter a maximum of 300 characters. You must enter the personal details of each of your relatives including their last place of residence in Syria as well as a current phone number and address. Additionally, it is recommended to enter further contact details like the current place of residence. Further information on the particular skills or needs of your relatives is optional. - If you wish to register a family to which you are related for admission under the admission programme, the information you enter in this section of the form must relate to the present head of that family or household. Step 3: Accompanying relatives This part of the form allows you to enter details of further relatives who you wish to include in your request together with the person named in Step 2. - We have provided you with spaces to enter the details of six relatives in Lebanon. - You must enter the personal and contact details of each your relatives in Lebanon and details of their last place of residence in Syria. Further information on the particular skills or needs of your relatives is optional. - For additional relatives please use the additional information box included at the end Step 3. Step 4: Miscellaneous This part of the form allows you to enter additional information in connection with your request that your relatives should be considered under the humanitarian admission programme. Please enter the information in the box provided. - Please note that, as a rule, the additional information box only allows you to enter a maximum of 300 characters.

5 Step 5: Submit data This part of the form allows you to submit your request. Before the form can be sent, you must agree to the privacy policy concerning the use of your data and confirm the accuracy and completeness of the information you have supplied. - You can only submit the form if you have completed all the fields marked compulsory. - After you have submitted the form and your details have been registered, you will receive an as confirmation of your indication of interest which will be sent to the address you entered in the form setting out the information you have provided. - The UNHCR Representation in Germany will check your details to make sure they are complete and do not contain any obvious errors. It will then forward those details to the UNHCR Representation in Lebanon to consider whether the other conditions for admission under the programme are met. - We wish to remind you that recording your indication of interest does not establish a legal right whether against the UNHCR and its implementation partners or against the authorities involved in administering the admission programme in Germany to admission or to an individual examination and decision on the request for admission. - If the information you have provided requires clarification, we will contact you again. Similarly, we will contact your relatives if their request for inclusion in the programme is selected for further consideration. This is why it is essential that you provide us with contact details that are complete and up to date. We regret that in other cases we cannot provide any individual information. We regret further that individual inquiries concerning the processing of a case or consideration of your request for admission cannot be answered. 4. Further information We will provide regular updates on the programme s general progress on our website ( UNHCR Berlin June 2013 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Representation for Austria and Germany Wallstraße 9-13 D Berlin Telephone +49 (0) Telefax +49 (0) gfrbe@unhcr.org