Asylum and refugee status in Azerbaijan

The SMS applies the Convention definition: a non-citizen outside their country of nationality, or a stateless person outside their former habitual residence, who has a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, nationality, religion, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, and cannot or will not seek that country's protection because of that fear.

You must be in Azerbaijan or at a port of entry. At an official border crossing point or international airport, the claim is made through the State Border Service, which passes it to the SMS. Inside the country, claim through any law enforcement body, such as the police, or directly at the SMS, as soon as possible after arrival.

Within 15 days of approaching the SMS you are interviewed and the application form is completed, giving the reasons for the claim, your country, place of birth, marital status and family members. You hand over your travel and identity documents, which are kept until the final decision, and photos and fingerprints are taken for you and your family.

Within about a month of registration the SMS Refugee Status Determination Department invites you to the main interview. You have the right to an interpreter and may choose the gender of the interpreter and the interviewer. Children under 18 are interviewed only with a parent or legal representative; for unaccompanied children the procedure is suspended until guardianship is arranged.

The SMS decides within three months of registration and informs you in writing within five days. If refugee status is granted, you and your family receive refugee identity documents and can apply for a travel document under the 1951 Convention.

Asylum seekers and refugees have access to free public schooling for children and to healthcare in coordination with the SMS and the State Agency on Mandatory Health Insurance. They must obey Azerbaijani law, tell the truth and cooperate, report any change of address to the SMS within 10 calendar days, give photos and fingerprints and undergo medical checks if required, and follow the rules of state accommodation if placed there.

A refusal is handed over at the SMS within 5 days. You may appeal within 30 days of receiving it, administratively to the Head of the SMS and then to the administrative court of first instance for your place of residence, followed by the Appeal Court and the Supreme Court. Unless you have another legal ground to stay, you must leave within 10 days of a refusal, and after a final negative decision you must leave the country.

State Migration Service, 202 Binagadi Highway, 3123 Block, Binagadi district, Baku AZ1114, near Azadliq Prospekti metro; call centre 919 (+994 12 919) and landline +994 12 565 61 18. UNHCR states that it ended its operations in Azerbaijan on 31 August 2025 and has provided no assistance there since 31 July 2025, so its former legal-aid line is no longer a channel.