The number of new Syrian asylum-seekers in Ukraine who applied to asylum authorities in 2015 continued to decrease – 136 Syrians applied in 2015, compare to 267 applicants in 2014 and 367 in 2013. Therefore, they constituted only 10 per cent of the whole number of new asylum-seekers (1,443). At the same time, based on the findings of the participatory assessment in Odesa, where the majority of Syrians in Ukraine reside, it may be concluded that most new Syrian applicants are still ‘sur place’ and not new arrivals. These are former students who graduated from their studies and whose registration was about to expire/expired that submitted their claim based on a fear of forced recruitment upon return.
In 2015 UNHCR continued monitoring the situation regarding access to the territory and is aware of instances when entry for individuals from refugee-producing countries such as Syria was denied. The number of Syrian nationals denied entry to Ukraine has slightly decreased (365 in 2015 compared to 496 in 2014). However, the smaller numbers of newly-arrived applicants from Syria can be also explained by stricter border control in 2015 and the need to develop protection-sensitive screening mechanisms. At the same time, there were very few Syrian national detained in the migrants custody centre in 2015. Only two Syrians were detained as of the end of 2015.
By the end of 2015, 411 Syrian national resided in Ukraine with protection status (59 recognized refugees and 352 complementary protection holders). Of these, 63 people received protection status in 2015 (5 refugee status and 58 complementary protection), constituting 43per cent of those who were recognized in 2015.
A significant number of court decisions were made in favour of Syrians, including one positive decision of the Higher Administrative Court which established precedence. Lawyers engaged by UNHCR implementing partners represented more than 50 per cent of Syrian asylum-seekers in Ukraine and also intervened in these court cases. For example, out of 65 court decisions in Odesa in Syrian cases, all were taken in favour of Syrians. Unfortunately, few decisions made obligatory the granting of refugee status; most returned the case for re-consideration by migration services. Thus, a lengthy and cumbersome asylum procedure was one of the issues raised by Syrian asylum-seekers during the participatory assessment in Odesa in October 2015.
Otherwise, Syrian asylum-seekers benefited from some improvements in the protection regulation of asylum-seekers status in Ukraine, such as longer validity of asylum certificates. Holders of complementary protection (the majority of Syrians in Ukraine) are able to be issued with travel documents. At the same time, Syrian people of concern also faced problems and constraints similar to other asylum-seekers and refugees in the sphere of self-reliance, livelihoods and local integration.
UNHCR continued to use resettlement as a protection tool for refugees facing serious protection risks, and also identified more cases with significant social vulnerabilities in need of resettlement. The resettlement needs of 27 Syrians were considered and 9 were submitted for resettlement.