Organization : General Inspectorate For Immigration
Type of Facility : Asylum Procedure
Country:Romania
Website : https://igi.mai.gov.ro/
Asylum Procedure:
A person is deemed to be an asylum seeker from the time of expression of his/her will, in writing or verbal, in front of competent authorities, to the effect that he/she requests the protection of the Romanian state.
Related : General Inspectorate For Immigration EU/EEA Citizens Residence Registration Romania : www.statusin.org/9322.html
The asylum procedure shall be completed within 7 days from the date of notification of the decision to close the file, from the date of notification of the General Inspectorate for Immigration decision granting the status of refugee, from the expiry date of the legal time limit for lodging the complaint or, as applicable, the appeal, or from the date of delivery of the decision of the court of law examining the appeal. In case of applications solved in the accelerated procedure or in the border procedure, the asylum procedure shall be completed at once.
In Romania, the procedure for solving application for asylum (the ordinary procedure) is structured in two stages, administrative and judicial. In the administrative stage, the applications for asylum are examined on a case-by-case basis by administrative authorities, based on the interview of the asylum seeker, the documents in the personal file and the country of origin information. In the judicial stage, asylum seekers whose applications were rejected may exercise two remedies and their situation shall be examined by the courts of law.
The forms of protection that may be granted to aliens are:
1) refugee status;
2) subsidiary protection (formerly called “conditional humanitarian protection”);
3) temporary protection
The refugee status and subsidiary protection are forms of protection that are granted only following an individual examination of the situation of each asylum seeker, if the conditions laid down by the law on asylum are fulfilled.
In accordance with the Law no. 122/2006, the refugee status may be granted upon request to the alien who, owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership of a particular social group, is outside the country of origin and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of that country.
With regard to the second form of protection, i.e. subsidiary protection, the same legislative act stipulates that it may be granted to the alien who does not fulfil the conditions required to be granted refugee status and in respect of whom substantial grounds have been shown for believing that the person concerned, if returned to his or her country of origin, would face a real risk of suffering serious harm of his/her rights, consisting of:
1. death penalty or execution; or
2. torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; or
3. serious and individual threat to a civilian’s life or person by reason of indiscriminate violence in situations of international or internal armed conflict.
Temporary protection is a form of protection granted collectively, in exceptional cases and for a strictly determined period.
Procedural principles and guarantees:
** access to the asylum procedure;
** non-refoulement;
** non-discrimination;
** family unity;
** superior interest of the child;
** privacy;
** presumption of good faith;
** asylum seekers are exonerated from criminal liability for their illegal entry and/or stay.
General description:
The Directorate for Asylum and Integration (DAI) within the General Inspectorate for Immigration is the structure responsible for asylum issues and the integration of aliens into Romanian society.
In this respect, DAI:
** acts with a view to ensuring the unrestricted access to the asylum procedure of aliens in need of international protection;
** ensures the registration, identification, and records of asylum seekers and persons who were granted a form of protection in Romania;
** ensures the issuance and extension of validity of identity documents and travel documents for asylum seekers and persons who were granted a form of protection;
** determines which is the member state responsible for solving an application for asylum within the DUBLIN procedure;
** solves applications for asylum in the administrative stage;
** conducts research and provides country of origin information that are necessary to solve applications for asylum;
** ensures the representation of RIO interests in cases covering asylum procedures;
** ensures accommodation, material and financial support for asylum seekers who do not have means of support, counselling, medical care, etc. for asylum seekers;
** provides assistance for the integration of persons who were granted a form of protection;
** provides assistance, support and guidance for the integration of aliens who benefit from a legal right to stay in Romania;
** prepares and implements refugees relocation operations in Romania;
** ensures the coordination and implementation of activities carried out in connection with the Emergency Relocation Centre in Timisoara, in accordance with the Agreement concluded in this regard between the Government of Romania, the United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organisation for Migration.
** cooperates with International Organisations and non-governmental organisations specialised in this field, with a view to coordinating the assistance granted by these in accordance with the principle of complementarity and to ensuring and complying with asylum-related standards laid down by national, EU and international legislation.
The receipt, registration and solving of applications for asylum, the provision of assistance to asylum seekers during the procedure and assistance for integration are activities carried out at the level of Regional Centres for Accommodation and Procedures for Asylum Seekers, located in Bucharest, Timisoara, Galati, Radauti, Giurgiu and Maramures, which are territorial structures specialised in asylum issues.