What is the difference between an immigrant and a refugee?
An immigrant is a person who moves from his country of residence to another country, whether temporarily or in the long term, for many reasons, including the search for better living or economic opportunities. For example, people who chose to come to Saudi Arabia based on a work visa and have resided in the Kingdom for many years.
For a refugee, a person whose departure from his country may be the result of a desire to seek better living or economic opportunities. But the difference between him and the immigrant lies in his inability to return to his country because of the grave danger to his safety, which may amount to persecution. The risk may be due to insecurity as a result of war or conflict, or the risk of individual persecution because of a person's race, religion, nationality, political opinion or belonging to a particular social group.
Who can apply for asylum?
any person outside his or her country of origin who fears or does not wish to return for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership of a particular social group; Or he is at risk of severe punishment, torture or death, he can apply for asylum at UNHCR. UNHCR will assess each asylum application before deciding to register any case. It must be emphasized that not all cases that apply to the Commission are eligible for registration.
Holland Weekly Magazine Editor-in-Chief Jaafar Al-Khabouri