Asylum in Algeria

UNHCR states that asylum applications in Algeria are processed and registered only by its office in Algiers. Law No. 08-11 applies subject to the international agreements on refugees and stateless persons that Algeria has ratified, and its penalty for failing to leave after expulsion does not apply to a person who shows they cannot return to their country or go to a third country under those conventions.

In Algiers, UNHCR and its partners provide education, health care, child protection, legal assistance, psychosocial support, cash assistance for the most vulnerable and livelihood support. UNHCR also works in the Sahrawi refugee camps, where it supports health, water, education, food security and shelter.

You can apply by email to UNHCR's registration address or in person at the office at 128, Chemin Bachir Ibrahimi, El Biar, Algiers, Sunday to Thursday from 08:30 to 13:00. The application should give your full name, date and place of birth, sex, nationality, language, the date and point of entry into Algeria, your current address and phone number, the family members with you and the reasons you are applying. UNHCR then sends the registration appointment by SMS.

At registration, staff record your details, take your photo, scan your iris and take fingerprints, and issue an asylum-seeker certificate that you must carry at all times. Later you are called to a refugee status determination interview about the risks you face in your country. Interpreters are provided free of charge if you do not speak Arabic, French or English.

UNHCR cannot give exact timelines. It states that the average wait between the registration interview and the asylum interview is about two years, and that the decision time depends on the number of people waiting and the details of each case. If you cannot attend an appointment, inform UNHCR beforehand; missing several appointments without a valid reason, or being unreachable for a long time, can lead to the case being closed. Keep your phone number and address up to date.

Refugees and asylum-seekers can use public hospitals and health centres, which are free; private clinics are not reimbursed. Pregnant women have access to prenatal, delivery and postnatal care, and testing and treatment for HIV and other infections is free and confidential. Public schooling is free for children aged 6 to 16, and UNHCR's education team helps with enrolment. People registered with UNHCR can get free legal assistance through its partners, including advice and representation in detention, deportation or status cases and help with civil documents.

If UNHCR recognises you as a refugee, you receive a refugee card. If the application is rejected, UNHCR explains the reasons and you may submit a written appeal within 30 days explaining why you disagree; without an appeal the file is closed. A rejected appeal is usually final, and a case is reopened only in rare situations with new and serious grounds.

UNHCR emergency line (arrest, violence, urgent protection): +213 661 69 68 41, answered Sunday to Thursday 08:30 to 16:30, SMS or voicemail outside those hours. Information line: +213 23 05 28 53 / 54, Sunday to Thursday 09:00 to 13:00. Algerian Red Crescent: medical emergency 0560 00 20 06, psychosocial support 0560 00 13 38. Child protection partner AMANA: 0558 90 83 76 or 0562 17 38 34.