Humanitarian visas are

visas Visa most commonly refers to: *Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Visa Plus, an interbank network *Travel visa, a document that allows ...

granted by some countries in order to fulfill their international obligation to protect refugees from persecution. The criteria in the

Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees The Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, also known as the 1951 Refugee Convention or the Geneva Convention of 28 July 1951, is a United Nations multilateral treaty that defines who a refugee is, and sets out the rights of individual ...

are often used in assessing whether or not there is a legitimate claim for protection. It defines a refugee as a person who: * is outside their country of origin or legal residence * is unable, or unwilling to return to their country of legal residence because of a legitimate fear of persecution regarding their race, religion, nationality, group membership, or a political belief, as defined by the

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...

* has not been convicted of a serious crime by a fair tribunal. Persons primarily seeking better economic opportunities may reasonably quote war, famine, or environmental disasters as their main motive for leaving their countries of legal residence, for which reason humanitarian visas may be difficult to obtain. However, persons fleeing generalized violence will not ordinarily be eligible because they do not meet the refugee definition. Humanitarian visas can allow those seeking international protection to enter a new country, often for purposes of claiming asylum.

Australia

In Australia, humanitarian visas are listed as “Subclass 200” and have several distinct forms: * 201: In-country Special Humanitarian Program Visa * 202: Global Special Humanitarian Program Visa (“SHP”) * 203: Emergency Rescue Visa * 204: Woman at Risk Visa

European Union

Belgium

In 2013,

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

established a structural resettlement programme, initially agreeing to resettle 100 refugees. However, due to the Syrian refugee crisis, the Belgian Government announced in November 2014 that it would increase its 2015 resettlement quota to 300, of which 225 Syrians (from Lebanon) and 75 Congolese refugees (from Burundi). The final decision regarding Belgium's quota size and allocation of refugees belongs to the country's State Secretary for Asylum Policy and Migration.EMN Belgian National Contact Point. December 2016.
Resettlement and Humanitarian Admission in Belgium
"

European Migration Network The European Migration Network (EMN) is an EU funded network, set up with the aim of providing up-to-date, objective, reliable and comparable information on migration and asylum for Institutions of the European Union, plus authorities and ins ...

and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

. Retrieved 2020 December 7. Belgium does not have any other such humanitarian admission programmes, and there is no explicit reference to a ''humanitarian visa'' in its legislation. However, on an ''

ad hoc Ad hoc is a Latin phrase meaning literally 'to this'. In English, it typically signifies a solution for a specific purpose, problem, or task rather than a generalized solution adaptable to collateral instances. (Compare with ''a priori''.) Com ...

'' and discretionary basis, the State Secretary for Asylum Policy and Migration and the Federal Public Service Home Affairs grant visas on the basis of “humanitarian grounds," which are either short term (C-type) or long term (D-type) visas.

France

Between 2013 and 2016,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

granted more than threethousand humanitarian visas to Syrian refugees to enter the country.

Switzerland

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

is stricter in granting humanitarian visas, According to Swiss national law, Switzerland has the possibility to issue a humanitarian visa to individuals whose lives are imminently at risk, but the practice is very restrictive. Apart from a life-threatening situation, the State Secretariat for Migration generally requires that the individual has a link to Switzerland. In addition, the request for such a visa normally needs to be made in person at a Swiss representation.

Russia

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

may issue humanitarian visas to

stateless persons In international law, a stateless person is someone who is "not considered as a national by any state under the operation of its law". Some stateless people are also refugees. However, not all refugees are stateless, and many people who are s ...

or citizens from countries such as the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

who may be considered potentially hostile, and traveling for a variety of reasons including cultural or political exchanges, sports events, scientific or technical conferences and providing temporary specialist services such as humanitarian relief.

Americas

Argentina (Programa Siria)

Since 2014,

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

has accepted asylum seekers originating from

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

through its humanitarian visa program Programa Siria ('Syria Programme'), particularly for those affected by the conflict in Syria. Adopting a sponsorship resettlement model—as opposed to a traditional resettlement programme—Argentina's Programa Siria grants temporary humanitarian visas for Syrian nationals sponsored by Argentinean individuals, organizations, or institutions for their living costs; after the temporary visa expires, Syrians may apply for

permanent residency Permanent residency is a person's legal resident status in a country or territory of which such person is not a citizen but where they have the right to reside on a permanent basis. This is usually for a permanent period; a person with suc ...

.Action Fiche for Strengthening international protection, reception and integration of refugees in Argentina
" ''Commission Implementing Decision on the 2017 Annual Action programme for the Partnership Instrument'', annex 21.

Service for Foreign Policy Instruments The Service for Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI) is a department (Directorate-General) of the European Commission set up in response to the establishment of the European External Action Service (EEAS). The EEAS merged the Commission's Directorate- ...

, European Commission. 2017. Since the program was adopted, the

has worked with the Argentinian Government to strengthen and consolidate it and to assess the possibilities of expanding a similar model to refugees coming from others countries of asylum.

Brazil

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

issues humanitarian visas to nationals or stateless residents of countries experiencing serious instability, armed conflict, disaster or violations of human rights. Brazil has designated

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

for this type of visa. Residency is granted initially for two years, after which the applicant may request

United States (humanitarian parole)

In the United States, humanitarian visas are also known as humanitarian parole, which are documents granted for short-term urgent humanitarian relief, typically for up to one year. People who would otherwise be unable to enter the United States may be granted such parole in exceptional personal circumstances; however, these do not permit them to obtain permanent residency.USA Today, What Is a Humanitarian Visa?
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References

{{Immigration Right of asylum United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees