An Asylum Seeker
He is a person who has fled his or her country of origin and is seeking recognition and protection as a refugee in the Republic of South Africa, and whose application is still under consideration.
In case of a negative decision on his application, he has to leave the country voluntarily or will be deported.
A Refugee
He is a person who has been granted asylum status and protection in terms of thesection 24 of Refugee Act No 130 of 1998.
Under the 1951 United Nations Convention, a refugee can be a “convention refugee” who has left his home country and has a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or a membership in a particular social group.
Under the same convention, a refugee can also be a person “in need of protection”whose removal to his home country would subject him personally to a danger of torture or to a risk to his life or a risk of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment.
Role of the Government of the Republic of South Africa
The Government of the Republic of South Africa has an obligation to grant protection to refugees and other persons in need of protection under a number of UN Conventions such as the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.
However, Convention refugees and persons in need of protection based on a risk to life, or a cruel and unusual treatment must have faced personally the risk all the way throughin the country in question
Eligibility Procedure: Asylum Seeker
