ASYLUM
General Information
In the Republic of Moldova, asylum is a legal institution through which the state offers protection to foreigners, granting them the status of refugee, humanitarian protection, temporary protection or political asylum. The normative framework in the field of asylum was developed by transposing the provisions of the 1951 Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and taking over the provisions of the EU acquis in this field.
Upon application, refugee status is granted to an alien who fears persecution on the ground of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion and is outside his or her country of origin and is unable or unwilling to put themselves under protection of that country.
Acts of persecution may include physical and mental violence, sexual violence, discriminatory legal, administrative, police or judicial measures,
discriminatory or disproportionate charges or punishments, impossibility of retrial due to discriminatory punishment, charges or punishments for refusal to perform military service in conflict, gender-specific or child-specific acts of discrimination. Refugee status is granted without time limit.
Humanitarian protection shall be granted to an alien who does not qualify as a refugee and who is in a situation where there are reasons to believe that they would be at serious risk on return to their country of origin and they are unable or unwilling to put themselves under protection of that country because of that risk.
Serious risk may include a death sentence or threat of execution, torture or inhuman treatment inflicted on the applicant in their country of origin, or serious threat to life or physical integrity by reason of generalized violence in situations of international or internal armed conflict.
Humanitarian protection is initially granted for a period of one year and at the expiry of this period, the applicant’s file is reviewed to determine the circumstances that led to the granting of protection.
Temporary protection is exceptionally granted in the event of a massive and spontaneous influx of displaced persons who cannot return to their country of origin.
It provides immediate and temporary protection for these persons in situations where the asylum system cannot manage this influx without negative consequences for its efficient functioning.
The initial duration of temporary protection is one year and, if the reasons persist, it can be extended for 6 months, up to a maximum of 2 years.
In exceptional cases, political asylum is granted to persons who have held political, diplomatic or public-interest positions in other states or international bodies, as well as to other prominent persons who demonstrate a particular attachment to the Republic of Moldova and are persecuted in their country of origin.
These persons may apply to the President of the Republic of Moldova for political asylum. The conditions, rules and grounds for granting political asylum to these categories of persons are laid down by decree of the President of the Republic of Moldova.
Persons granted political asylum have the same rights as refugees.
