Dokument #1079821
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Autor)
The responses for these questions, with the
exception of question four, have been provided by Morten Kjaerum of
the Danish Refugee Council, Copenhagen, in a telephone conversation
with an IRBDC Research Officer on 18 October 1989. The information
provided by the Danish Refugee Council cannot be corroborated at
the present time in published sources regularly consulted by the
IRBDC.
1) Differences in rights of K Status and F
Status are in the passports. The protection following the principle
of Non-refoulement is absolute. Regarding Convention Refugees, they
are the same as K Status. There are exceptions to K Status, namely
those considered de facto refugees, or F Status, for reasons
such as, inter alia, serious crimes committed by the person
concerned.
2) The length of time is five (5) years
regarding de facto as well as Convention Refugees. After
this time, the status is indefinite.
3) In the case of both the K and F Status,
the refugee may apply for Danish citizenship after six (6)
years.
4) According to Mr. J. Murray, spokesperson
for the Passport Office of the Department of External Affairs,
people recognized as convention refugees are issued with a document
called a Refugee Travel Document (RTD). This states that the bearer
is a permanent resident of Canada. The document does not, however
guarantee the same consular protection by Canadian posts abroad as
for that provided for Canadian citizens. It does, however, allow
the bearer to use consular services such as for the replacement of
documents, and for similar functional reasons.
Regarding the life of the Refugee Travel
Document, Mr. Murray states that the maximum life is 5 (five) years
from the date of issue, but that, in practice, issuance is limited
to two years at a time. The RTD can be renewed at a Canadian
diplomatic post abroad, but it cannot be originally issued there.
Ottawa retains the right for the original issuance of RTDs. The
information provided by Mr. Murray cannot be corroborated at the
present time in published sources regularly consulted by the
IRBDC.
5) With a Convention Refugee Passport, K
Status, travel is allowed to a number of European countries without
applying for a visa. According to the Council of Europe Agreement
Regarding de facto Refugees, an F Status Refugee will be
issued a Danish Alien's Passport which requires a visa for all
countries except the Nordic countries.
The Department of External Affairs
contacted the Danish Embassy to inquire about whether an Aliens
Passport carries any mention of the UN Convention. They also asked
whether there are certain categories of persons who qualify for F
Status but not K status. The Embassy spokesperson was not familiar
with the terms F Status and K Status but stated that the Embassy
has processed Alien Passports which have an identifying letter "F"
at the beginning of their passport numbers. It appears that the
Aliens Passport makes no mention of the UN Convention. These are
issued to people who are not recognized as Convention Refugees in
Denmark, but have the right of abode in Denmark and furthermore
have no other travel documents. The information provided by the
Danish Embassy through External Affairs cannot be corroborated in
published sources at the present time.
For further clarification on the difference
between K and F Status, as well as the difference in the protection
offered people according to each category, the IRBDC contacted Eva
Kiergaard, Legal Officer the British Refugee Council who is a
former lawyer from Denmark. Ms. Kiergaard stated that F Status is
in effect "Little Convention Status" and is issued to people who
are determined to have incurred persecution for other or similar
reasons as those mentioned in the UN Convention. These are de
facto refugees. As in the case of the information provided by
the Danish Refugee Council, Ms. Kiergaard added that one of the
main differences between the two classifications is found in the
type of documentation given to each. Refugees with F Status have
the same protection as those determined to be K Status (Convention
Refugees), but they are not issued with a Convention Travel
Document (CTD). The documentation issued to F Status contains
certain limitations, as mentioned by the Danish Refugee Council.
Note that according to Ms. Kiergaard, F Status is a national status
within Denmark, and is valid only for Denmark. Consequently,
persons who leave Denmark with F Status are not automatically
recognized as either de facto or Convention Refugees by
other states.
Further, on the difference between the two
classifications, K Status entitles the refugee to all rights
afforded to Convention Refugees, i.e. family reunion programs, work
permits, health services, etc. In the case of F Status, these
benefits are not guaranteed and are applied on a case by case basis
by the Danish authorities. Also, according to an existing but
heretofore unused provision in Danish law (and following upon the
cessation clauses in the UN Convention), F Status can be revoked if
the situation changes in the country of origin. Denmark is
currently considering envoking this statute in respect of F Status
refugees who originally based their claims on membership in the
Solidarity trade union in Poland. The information provided by Ms.
Kiergaard cannot be corroborated in published sources available to
the IRBDC at the present time.
(DOM) Dominican Republic /
Dominicaine, République