As defined by Article 1 of the 1951 Refugee Convention, a refugee is “a person owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country.”
Refugees must first register overseas with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The average time a refugee is displaced from their home country is 15 years. For some refugees, they are born and raised in refugee camps. Having the opportunity to resettle to a third country is like winning the lottery. Less than 1% of the more than 20 million refugees globally will ever have this opportunity. Once registered, if a country offers permanent resettlement a refugee must apply to be considered for third country resettlement. This process can take three or more years. To learn more, please watch the videos on our Resettlement page.