Tanzania’s legal framework, primarily the Refugees Act No. 9 of 1998, provides the basic structure for asylum procedures, including application, determination, and review. However, the Act does not comprehensively guarantee core procedural safeguards such as the right to legal representation, access to interpreters, personal interviews, or a robust and independent appeals mechanism. The law focuses more on administrative discretion and centralized authority rather than establishing clear rights-based procedural guarantees for asylum-seekers.

While the Act does allow asylum-seekers to remain in Tanzania pending a decision on their application and provides a limited avenue to appeal a negative decision through a review by the Minister for Home Affairs, this appeal lacks independence and transparency. There is no formal provision for legal aid or guaranteed access to legal representation at any stage of the process, nor is there explicit guidance on how hearings should be conducted, how evidence should be evaluated, or how decisions should be communicated to applicants.

As a result, while the law allows for the functioning of an asylum procedure, it does not enshrine sufficient procedural safeguards to ensure the fairness, transparency, and accountability of the process in line with international standards, such as those outlined in the UNHCR Handbook or the African Union’s guidelines on asylum systems.