Rights and duties

An asylum-seeker shall enjoy the following rights:

a) not to be returned or expelled until his/her application for asylum is determined;

b) to stay in the Republic of Moldova until the expiry of the 15-day term following the date when the decision of rejection of his/her application for asylum becomes irrevocable, save the situation where the application for asylum has been rejected in an accelerated procedure, in which case the foreigner shall leave the Republic of Moldova on the date when the decision on his/her application becomes irrevocable;

c) to be informed in writing, upon submission of the application, in a language that he/she speaks or is reasonably presumed to speak about his/her rights and duties during the asylum procedure;

d) upon request to be interviewed by a person of the same sex;

e) to be provided for free with an interpreter (translator) at any stage of the asylum procedure;

f) to legal assistance at any stage of the asylum procedure, in accordance with the law;

g) to protection of personal data and any other details concerning his/her application;

h) to be informed of the possibility to contact representatives of UNHCR;

i) to be counselled and assisted by representatives of nongovernmental organisations at any stage of the asylum procedure;

j) to be issued for free a temporary identity document the validity of which shall be extended by the Refugee Directorate, pursuant to the provisions of this Law. In the absence of documents certifying the applicant’s identity, the temporary identity document shall indicate the declared identity the authenticity of

which shall be subsequently verified jointly with competent authorities.

k) to be informed about the possibility and terms of appeal against the decision of rejection of the application;

l) upon request, to work - the right granted temporarily - provided that, for objective reasons, the person lacks necessary means for subsistence;

m) to be placed in an accommodation centre for the period of the procedure;

n) in the case of an asylum-seeker with special needs, to benefit from the adjustment of the accommodation and assistance conditions in the accommodation centres;

o) to primary and emergency health care, in accordance with the law;

p) in the case of a minor asylum-seeker, to have access to general compulsory education under the same conditions as children citizens of the Republic of Moldova;

r) in the case of a family with children, as well as that of an unaccompanied minor, to benefit from all types of social assistance, in accordance with the legislation in force, under the same conditions as children citizens of the Republic of Moldova;

s) other rights as provided by the legislation.

(1) Refugee status of and humanitarian protection grant the beneficiary all the rights provided by the legislation on foreigners and stateless persons, as well as the following special rights:

a) to be informed, as soon as possible following the grant of a form of protection, in writing in a language that he/she speaks or is reasonably presumed to speak about his/her rights and

obligations;

b) to remain on the territory of the Republic of Moldova and obtain respective documents for confirming his/her identity and border crossing;

c) to choose a place of residence and move freely subject to the conditions set out in the legislation concerning foreigners;

d) to be employed by legal or natural persons, exercise freely professions, carry out entrepreneurial activities, pursuant to the provisions of the legislation in force;

e) to receive wages and benefit from the other material rights resulting from the activities performed, as well as the right to social insurance, pursuant to the provisions of the law;

f) to be enrolled in compulsory general education in accordance with the provisions set out in the legislation for citizens of the Republic of Moldova, as well as other forms of education set out in the legislation for foreigners and stateless persons;

g) in case of a family with children, as well as that of an unaccompanied minor, to benefit from all types of social assistance provided by the law to children citizens of the Republic of Moldova;

h) to benefit from treatment identical to the one offered to citizens of the Republic of Moldova with regard to freedom of practicing their religion and the right to provide their children with

religious education;

i) to enjoy the same rights regarding the system of compulsory medical insurance as citizens of the Republic of Moldova, in accordance with the conditions provided by the legislation in force;

j) to benefit from the right of protection of personal data and any other details in connection with his/her case;

k) to have unhindered access to courts and administrative assistance;

l) not to be returned or expelled, save the cases provided by this Law;

m) to be placed in an accommodation centre for a certain period of time if determined to be socially vulnerable;

n) upon request, to participate in programs of social integration.

(2) In the absence of necessary means of subsistence, a beneficiary of refugee status or humanitarian protection has the

right to financial aid, the procedure and amount of which are set by the Government. The period such assistance is 6 months and is subject to the following conditions:

a) submission of an application;

b) signing of a commitment to reimburse the amounts received;

c) availability of state funds.

An asylum-seeker shall:

a) present all relevant elements of his/her application for asylum: statements and all existing documents, information on his/her identity, citizenship, previous countries and places of residence,

previous applications for asylum, transit itineraries, identity and travel documents and the reasons for which a form of protection is sought;

b) be truthful and cooperate with the eligibility counsellor to comprehensively establish all the relevant circumstances pertaining to his/her application;

c) make efforts to support his/her declarations with any available proofs and offer justifications for the absence of proofs;

d) provide detailed and complete information regarding them and their personal experiences in order to give the eligibility counsellor the possibility to establish relevant facts;

e) hand over the identity documents, including travel documents, that he/she holds;

f) inform within 10 days the Refugee Directorate of any change of residence, legal status, civil status, of any loss or deterioration of identity documents issued by the Refugee Directorate;

g) inform the Refugee Directorate about leaving the place of residence;

h) co-operate with the authorities for the determination of his/her application and reply to all question addressed to him/her by the competent authorities in the field of asylum;

i) respond to the requests of the authorities competent in the field of asylum;

j) undergo photographing and to mandatory fingerprint registration;

k) undergo free medical examination for public health reasons;

l) comply with the internal regulations of the accommodation centres;

m) upon placement in an accommodation centre, to produce all the goods that he/she possesses for their inclusion in the inventory;

n) leave the territory of the Republic of Moldova before the expiry of the 15-day term following the date when the decision of rejection of his/her application for asylum becomes irrevocable, save the situation where the application for asylum has been rejected in an accelerated procedure, in which case the foreigner shall leave Republic of Moldova on the date when the decision of rejection of his/her application for asylum becomes irrevocable;

o) comply with the provisions of this Law and of the legislation in force.

(1)   Refugee and beneficiaries of humanitarian protection are obliged to:

a) know and respect the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova, provisions this Law and other normative acts;

b) have correct and civilised behaviour, respect the rules established by the competent authorities in the field of asylum and respond to their requests;

c) respect internal regulations of the accommodation centre;

d) reimburse the amounts of assistance received, if the beneficiary has gained income which allows him to do so; the

reimbursed amounts shall be considered as income to the state budget.

(2) Refugees shall contact the Refugee Directorate with a view to obtaining a new identity card, upon the expiry of its validity, with at least 30 days prior to the expiration, and, in case of a loss or damage, within 3 days;

(3) Beneficiaries of humanitarian protection shall contact immediately the Refugee Directorate in case of a loss or damage of the humanitarian protection identity card.