How to apply for political asylum

Another version of political asylum refers to the act of a citizen of one country requesting permission to enter and reside in that country due to political reasons, or requesting permission to reside in that country after entering the country. Foreigners enjoying asylum, commonly known as "political asylum seekers", are protected by the host country and are not subject to extradition or expulsion. The management of the residence, migration and movement of political asylum seekers shall, in principle, follow the treatment of general foreign nationals, but may also be treated differently according to specific circumstances and their personal status. The word asylum originally refers to someone who has been persecuted or has a clear possibility of being persecuted in his or her country due to race, religion, membership of a specific social group, political ideology, etc. and has fled abroad without expecting protection from the government of his or her country. Back to the home country. Because the above reasons are all related to politics, they are called political asylum. A country allows foreigners who request political asylum to enter, stay and provide legal protection, which is called "asylum" in international law. A country grants asylum to a person on the condition that he or she will not be extradited to another country. After the mid-nineteenth century, extradition treaties between countries generally included clauses prohibiting the extradition of political prisoners. Under international law, granting political asylum and refusing extradition are matters within the scope of national sovereignty. However, this is only limited to political prisoners and does not allow asylum for general criminal offenders. 1. Conditions for applying for political asylum To successfully apply for political asylum, the applicant should be able to prove: 1. The applicant has been persecuted in the past, or has a real fear of being persecuted (WELL-FOUNDED FEAR); 2. The persecution is based on race. , religion, nationality, affiliation with a certain social group or political opinion. The so-called WELL-FOUNDED FEAR has always been a focus of controversy in court. It was not until 1987 that the Supreme Court gave a clear explanation in the INSVCARDOZA-FONSECA case, that is, the fear of being persecuted is reasonable, and the applicant must prove with specific facts that he has been persecuted in the past or has reason to believe that he will be persecuted in the future. persecution. As for persecution, it refers to the physical and mental harm that the persecutor inflicts on the persecuted person in order to punish the persecuted person's beliefs or characteristics, such as discrimination, corporal punishment, excessive punishment due to illegal departure, such as government Depriving a person of his liberty and property without judicial proceedings will constitute persecution based on political opinions. It should be noted that criminal punishment is not persecution, and harassment itself does not constitute persecution. Short-term detention does not constitute persecution, but massacre, torture, long-term imprisonment and slavery are persecution. Long-term unfair treatment can also constitute persecution. , although economic deprivation can also constitute persecution, the excessive and unique nature of the deprivation must be proven. In order to prove "reasonable fear", the applicant should show that: 1. He has a certain belief or characteristic that will incur punishment from the persecutor; 2. The persecutor knows or is likely to know the belief or characteristic he has; 3. The persecutor has The ability to inflict persecution; 4. The persecutor has the willingness to inflict persecution. Generally speaking, the persecutor must be the government, or the government must stand by and refuse to help the persecuted when the persecution occurs. It should also be noted that to substantiate a fear of persecution, evidence must be presented both subjectively and objectively. From a subjective point of view, the applicant's mentality is indeed afraid of being persecuted; from an objective point of view, the applicant will indeed be persecuted in real life, and both are indispensable. If the government of a certain country persecutees the applicant rampantly, but the applicant is not afraid of being persecuted, or if the applicant is extremely afraid of being persecuted, but the host country does not impose any persecution on the applicant, the applicant’s application for political asylum will not be considered. will be approved. Finally, persecution must be based on the five reasons mentioned above, namely race, religion, nationality, membership of a certain social group or political opinion. 2. Other matters related to political asylum 1. Right of discretion Even if the applicant can prove that he has been persecuted or will be persecuted, the application may be rejected. This is because Immigration can exercise discretion. Of course, the Immigration Bureau must consider both positive and negative factors when exercising its discretion. Recent cases require that immigration authorities must have overwhelming facts before making a decision to return an applicant to their home country. However, if the applicant attempts to "break through" by using a fake passport or tearing up a passport, or using other deceptive methods to disrupt the normal process of inevitable review, the Immigration Bureau may exercise its discretion to reject the applicant's application. In this case, the applicant must prove his application with extremely sufficient facts in order for the Immigration Bureau to make a decision in favor of the applicant. This is one of the reasons why it is difficult for illegal immigrants to obtain political asylum.

2. Withholding of deportation (WITHHOLDING OF DEPORTATION)