Humanitarian visa

A humanitarian visa is a type of national visa granted to people for humanitarian purposes. There are several purposes for obtaining a humanitarian visa.

Ordinary humanitarian visas are issued to foreign nationals who come to carry out scientific, cultural, socio-political, sporting or religious relations and contacts, pilgrimage, charitable activities or the delivery of humanitarian aid.

Humanitarian visas are also issued to persons in danger in their home country. It allows you to cross the border legally and stay in the country temporarily (but does not offer the same extensive opportunities as a work visa). In the future, you will either have to renew your humanitarian visa or apply for asylum.

A refugee is a person who:

• is outside his or her country of origin or legal residence;
• is unable or unwilling to return to his or her country of lawful residence because of a well-founded fear of persecution on the grounds of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion;
• has not been convicted of a serious crime by a court of law;

People who are primarily seeking better economic opportunities may have reason to cite war, famine or environmental disasters as the primary motive for leaving their country of legal residence. Because of this, obtaining humanitarian visas may be difficult.

Each case will be considered individually and in accordance with the laws of the country of destination. The decision to grant or refuse a humanitarian visa is made by the migration service of the particular country.

If necessary, the immigration service may require additional documents depending on the country of destination and your nationality. To learn more, please contact our visa center for advice.