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.
This information was revised in January 2023. Requirements may change. Always check for current requirements from the government or agency deciding your request.
If you are a refugee in an emergency, we recommend that you contact the UNHCR office in the country where you live.
Are IRAP’s services free?
This guide gives information about communicating with a person who claims to work for IRAP, or who claims to represent IRAP.
All of IRAP’s help is free.
- IRAP never asks for money, services, or other benefits to give you legal help. IRAP will not ask for money directly or indirectly. IRAP will not ask for a fee to a government or another entity.
- No one affiliated with IRAP has the right to ask you for money, a service, or any other benefit.
- IRAP never asks for money to allow you to apply for a job.
- IRAP never runs a lottery or offers prizes or money.
- IRAP will never ask you for your username or password.
You should not pay anyone:
- To put you in touch with IRAP.
- To get any kind of help from IRAP.
- To get any kind of help from UNHCR.
- To apply for any job at IRAP.
- If the legal process with which you need help requires you to pay fees, IRAP will ask you to pay fees directly to the government office or provider responsible for processing your application. No one at IRAP will ever ask you to give money to IRAP for your application. The kinds of fees you might pay directly to a government office include:
- To apply for a visa or to submit a form that requires a fee.
- To get an official document like a police certificate.
- For a medical examination.
IRAP will only communicate through official channels.
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IRAP employees will interview you about your case by voice or video call. They will not ask you personal details about your case by text. If you are texting with someone who claims to be an IRAP employee, they are not IRAP employees unless they provide you with your case number.
- IRAP staff will only call you if you asked for IRAP’s help or another NGO has explicitly obtained your consent to refer you to IRAP. When IRAP staff call you, they always tell you the name of the organization and individual who referred you. If you do not remember explicitly consenting to the referral, you should not trust the caller.
- We will only email you from email addresses that end with @refugeerights.org or @refugeerights.zendesk.com.
- IRAP operates two websites. These are the only websites that are operated by IRAP.
- iraplegalinfo.org
- refugeerights.org
- IRAP’s official social media accounts are:
- Facebook: facebook.com/RefugeeAssist
- Twitter: @IRAP, twitter.com/IRAP
- IRAP’s official instagram: @RefugeeAssistance, https://www.instagram.com/refugeeassistance
You can report fraud.
If you believe that you were contacted by a person who claims to be IRAP staff but is not IRAP staff, please email fraudalert@refugeerights.org. This email address will only be used to receive reports of fraud. IRAP will not use this email address to consider requests for legal help.