Last Change:
03/21/2025
The Refugees Act (2006)
Year: 2006
Type: Domestic law
Rights Category: Work & Workplace rights
Description
The Refugees Act (2006) is the principal law that addresses rights, obligations, and protections of refugees and asylum seekers. The law also establishes institutions and procedures for the conduct of matters of interest to PoCs. The Refugees Act provides for (1) Determination of refugee status (part II), (2) Administrative matters relating to refugees (part III), (3) Application for refugee status and related matters (part IV),(4) Rights and obligations of refugees (part V), (5) Miscellaneous matters (prosecution of unlawful entry into Uganda (section 38), procedures for withdrawal of refugee status (section 39), expulsion of refugees(section 40), extradition of refugees(sections 41, 42), settlements and transit centres (section 44), naturalisation of refugees (section 45), voluntary repatriation (section 46)).
Selected provisions
(1) A recognised refugee staying in Uganda is entitled to a travel document for the purpose of travel outside Uganda, unless compelling reasons of national security or public order require otherwise.
(2) A travel document issued to a recognised refugee shall be valid for all countries except the refugee’s country of origin and those countries with respect to which Uganda has restrictions.
(3) A recognised refugee in possession of a valid passport issued by the country of origin shall surrender that passport to the issuing officer before acquiring a travel document.
(4) A person who has ceased to be a recognised refugee under this Act shall not be issued with a travel document, and if such person is in possession of a travel document, he or she shall surrender it to the immigration office.
(5) For the purposes of this section, "travel document" means a travel document issued under or in accordance with article 28 of the Geneva Convention.
(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, no person shall be refused entry into Uganda, expelled, extradited or returned from Uganda to any other country or subjected to any similar measures if, as a result of such refusal, expulsion, return or other measure, that person is compelled to return to or remain in a country where—
(a) he or she may be subjected to persecution on account of race, religion, sex, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion; or
(b) his or her life, person or liberty would be threatened on account of external aggression, occupation, foreign domination or events seriously disturbing public order in a part of or in the whole of that country.
(2) Where necessary, the Minister shall take such steps as he or she considers appropriate to ensure that a person referred to in subsection (1) of this section gets admission into another country of his or her choice.
(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, a person who has applied for refugee status and every member of that person’s family shall remain in Uganda —
(a) until his or her application is granted or rejected, and no appeal has been filed with the Refugee Appeals Board;
(b) where the application is rejected, until that person has exhausted his or her right of appeal under this Act.