RSD Procedural Standards

In 2003, UNHCR published the Procedural Standards for RSD under UNHCR’s Mandate (RSD Procedural Standards) which set out core standards and best practices to ensure harmonised, efficient and quality UNHCR RSD procedures, including procedures for reception and registration.

The full text of the RSD Procedural Standards can be found at: Procedural Standards for Refugee Status Determination Under UNHCR's Mandate UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 20 November 2003

New or Updated RSD Procedural Standards Chapters

We are revising the RSD Procedural Standards chapter by chapter. All revised sections of the RSD Procedural Standards issued on this website supersede existing guidance in the 2003 RSD Procedural Standards. Existing chapters remain valid until updates are published on this website.

New or updated RSD Procedural Standards material can be found here:
• 2.5 Interpretation in UNHCR RSD Procedures, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 2016
• 2.7 Legal Representation in UNHCR RSD Procedures, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 2016
• 5. Processing Claims Based on the Right to Family Unity, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 2016
• 7. Appeal of Negative RSD Decisions, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 2017

We welcome further feedback on the addition or revisions to the RSD Procedural Standards until such time as the revision of the entirety of the RSD Procedural Standards is complete. Interested parties are invited to send substantive comments in MS Word to: hqrsdem@unhcr.org

Please note that this email address is only for comments on the UNHCR RSD Procedural Standards revised chapters, which we will carefully consider. Should your query relate any other matter please do not write to this mailbox.