The International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) provides free legal help to some refugees and displaced people.
- IRAP helps some people find services and prepare refugee and visa applications.
- IRAP is not part of any government, IOM, or UNHCR.
- IRAP cannot grant refugee status or visas or speed up cases.
- IRAP cannot provide financial help, find or pay for housing, or find jobs.
- All of IRAP’s help is free. No one affiliated with IRAP has the right to ask you for money or any other service.
IRAP decides to help people based on their need and eligibility for immigration status. IRAP does not decide to help people based on any other social or political or religious criteria.
This website provides general information about legal processes available to some refugees. It is not meant as legal advice for individual applications.
Requirements may change. Always check for current requirements from the government or agency deciding your request.
If you are in a refugee emergency, we recommend that you contact the UNHCR office in the country where you live.
Summary
This guide explains some of the legal options for relocation available to people who are displaced from Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh. The options for relocation described in this guide are immigration processes that usually take a very long time and are not generally options for emergency situations.
IRAP believes that all people, including Artsakhis, should have the right to seek asylum and to access their human rights.
What are some relocation options for displaced Artsakhis?
- Family Reunification Pathways: Armenian refugees who have relatives in countries where they wish to immigrate may be able to apply for family reunification. IRAP’s guides on family reunification to the United States, Germany, France, Sweden, and Canada are available here.
- Employment-Related Pathways: Other pathways such as employment-based migration or assistance for activists, scholars, journalists, or artists may be available to Armenian refugees.
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Humanitarian Pathways Requiring a Sponsor: Other emergency relocation pathways might be available to Armenian refugees who are in very difficult circumstances. Many of them require a sponsor, which is a person or organization who is willing to sign an official government document and provide documentation saying they are able to financially support the applicant.
- IRAP’s guide on humanitarian parole applications to enter the United States is here.
- Information about Canadian private sponsorship for refugee resettlement is here. Some private sponsorship programs in Canada require an individual to show that they are recognized as a refugee by UNHCR. Please note that the Canadian government requires that individuals be unable to integrate in their country of refuge to be eligible.
Information about IRAP’s free legal services is available here. Anyone seeking assistance including Palestinian refugees can request legal help through IRAP’s chatbot on Facebook by clicking here or on Telegram by clicking here.