UNHCR-assisted refugee resettlement

Information

Full name

UNHCR-assisted refugee resettlement submissions in and departures from the host country to a third State

Short name

Code

ResettlementRefugeesUNHCR

Aliases

Resettlement departures, Resettlement submissions

Definition

Resettlement under the auspices of UNHCR involves the selection and transfer of refugees from a State in which they have sought protection to a third State that has agreed to admit them as refugees with permanent residence status. The status provided by the resettlement State ensures protection against refoulement (forced return) and provides a resettled refugee and their family or dependents with access to civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights similar to those enjoyed by nationals. Resettlement also carries with it the opportunity to eventually become a naturalized citizen of the resettlement country.

UNHCR’s identification of refugees for resettlement is referred to as submissions, and the transfer of refugees to a third State is referred to as departures.

Rationale

Resettlement is a key mechanism for protection, a durable solution and an element of responsibility sharing with refugee-hosting countries. UNHCR is mandated by its Statute and the UN General Assembly Resolutions to undertake resettlement as one of the three durable solutions. Resettlement is unique in that it is the only durable solution that involves the relocation of refugees from an asylum country to a third country.

This indicator tracks progress towards resettlement outcomes and highlights the effectiveness and efficiency of the resettlement procedure in facilitating solutions for people and resettlement counterparts.

Method of computation

Submissions - Total number of refugee individuals identified and submitted for resettlement
Departures – Total number of refugee individuals who departed on resettlement to a third country

Comparability

International definition and standards

Relationships

Framework	Indicator	Comparability
Global Compact on Refugees Indicator Framework	Number of countries receiving UNHCR resettlement submissions from the host country	Comparable
Global Compact on Refugees Indicator Framework	Number of refugees who departed on resettlement from the host country	Comparable

Limitations

The data does not include countries recording resettlement arrivals outside of UNHCR's submissions. Refugees may access state resettlement programmes without UNHCR's submission through referrals by NGOs, government agencies or embassies, civil society, or private individuals. In order to ensure comparability over time, this data is limited to countries of resettlement as part of UNHCR's resettlement submissions and departures as a result of these submissions.

Quality assurance

UNHCR’s resettlement statistics are part of the official statistics that have been officially validated and endorsed by UNHCR under the authority of UNHCR's Statistical Quality Assurance Framework (SQAF), first published in 2025.