Seeking asylum in Burundi

Burundi replaced its 2008 asylum law with Law No. 1/25 of 5 November 2021 on migration, which follows the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1969 OAU Convention. Asylum is the responsibility of the government through ONPRA, a technical body under the Ministry of the Interior that registers and processes all claims and issues refugee identity cards. The CCER decides at first instance and an appeals committee on appeal. The Commissariat Général des Migrations stands at the start of the process and pre-screens applicants to confirm that they are not Burundian.

A claim can be made at a border post that admits the person, at a registration centre or with the nearest communal or provincial migration officer. In practice, declare your intention at the border; if you did not, you have 30 days from entry to contact a migration officer. Since February 2024, profiling, registration and the status and appeal interviews take place only in the Cishemere and Makombe transit centres, while new arrivals in Bujumbura are received at ONPRA headquarters, Avenue de l’OUA No. 6, and transferred from there. Arrivals through the Buganda border post are directed to Cishemere and those through Rumonge to Makombe. No document is required to claim asylum, although any identity document helps.

The CGM first conducts a pre-screening interview on identity, family members and the general reasons for flight. ONPRA then registers the applicant in the proGres database and the BIMS biometric system and issues proof of registration listing all family members. ONPRA schedules the refugee status determination interview within a week of registration and, unless more enquiries are needed, submits the case to the CCER the following week; UNHCR adds that a backlog currently lengthens waiting times. Recognised refugees receive an identity card, and refused applicants receive a written notice with the reasons.

Asylum seekers may stay in Burundi throughout the procedure without fear of refoulement, receive information in a language they understand, have an interpreter at interviews and receive basic legal, medical and psychosocial assistance. Information is kept confidential and shared only with UNHCR and, with consent, with partner organisations. Applicants must answer truthfully, cooperate with the authorities, respect Burundian law and inform ONPRA before any emergency departure from the country. The procedure is free; any request for money should be reported to UNHCR.

A refused applicant can appeal to the appeals committee within 20 days of receiving the negative decision, using the appeal form handed over with the decision and returning it to ONPRA. With the applicant’s consent, ONPRA passes the file to the lawyers of UNHCR’s legal partner, who help prepare the appeal.