Asylum and refugee status in Vanuatu

Under section 65, the Director must recognise a claimant as a refugee if they have a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, are outside their country of nationality (or, if stateless, of former habitual residence) and are unable or, owing to that fear, unwilling to return or seek its protection, and are not excluded.

Exclusion applies, among other grounds, to people already receiving protection or assistance from a UN agency or effective protection from a third country, people with the rights of nationals in their country of residence, people who committed a crime against peace, a war crime or a crime against humanity, people sentenced abroad to two years' imprisonment or more, people who are a threat to Vanuatu's security, people linked to terrorist acts, and people who travelled through a third country where they had a right to enter and reside.

Under section 64 of the Act, an asylum claim is made in the approved form to the Director of Immigration (called the Principal Immigration Officer in the 2010 text). It must state the grounds of the claim and whether any family member of the claimant who is in Vanuatu is also seeking recognition as a refugee, and if so whether on different grounds. A claimant who leaves Vanuatu is taken to have withdrawn the claim.

Under section 43, a person seeking asylum who has been issued a certificate approved by the Director by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees or its representative may be granted an extended visitor visa, without the usual grant criteria and character test being applied.

The Director must decide the claim as soon as practicable. For this purpose the Director may seek information from any source and require the claimant to attend one or more interviews, but may also decide on the basis of the information the claimant provided; if the claimant fails to attend a required interview, the claim may be decided without it. The Director can require information and documents, consent to the release of records, and fingerprints and photographs needed to confirm identity or nationality.

A later claim is considered only if circumstances in the home country have changed so much that it rests on significantly different grounds; otherwise it is rejected. The decision is given in a written notice with reasons and, if the claim is rejected, details of the right to seek review; the Director may not reopen a claim once decided.

Section 73 prohibits the Director or anyone else from expelling or returning a recognised refugee to the frontiers of territories where their life or freedom would be threatened on account of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, although a refugee who becomes a prohibited immigrant can still be removed under Part 6. Section 72 requires the identity of claimants and the details of their claims to be kept confidential during and after the procedure, subject to disclosure to people deciding the claim, relevant government staff and UNHCR.

Refugee status can be cancelled, for example if the person voluntarily re-avails themselves of their country's protection, acquires a new nationality, or obtained recognition by fraud. Giving false or misleading information in support of a claim, or refusing to produce documents when required, is an offence with a fine of up to VT500,000.

A refusal to recognise a claimant as a refugee, or a cancellation of refugee status, can be taken to the Minister: under section 71 the application for review is made in writing within 14 days of the notice, and the Minister must affirm, vary or set aside the decision within 14 days and send the decision and reasons within 7 days. Under section 71A, the Minister's decision can be appealed to the Supreme Court within 14 days, or a longer period the court allows.