
Refugee and Migrants' Country Guides











































































































































































































































All of the countries around
the world

Establishing the status of any given country and whether it is
safe
Learn more about the likely status of any given country based on a range of factors, such as if any conflicts are taking place, the economic situation and the state of democracy. The list of countries is organised in alphabetical order, and if you want to learn more about any given country, please click on the flag, or the country name, which will open the required content in a new window
Helping you to understand all of the
common terms and phrases
- The following section has been created to provide general and basic understandings regarding asylum and refugee definitions. The information does not constitute advice as it does not consider your personal circumstances. If you are in a dangerous situation or believe you must flee your country for your safety. You should contact any available specialist charities, organisations or services that can assist and advise on your current situation. To find services in your local area, click here to access the Gayther Refugee and Migrant directory or visit the United Nations Refugee Agency help and information service
- It is vital that before you provide any personal information, especially details that could be used against you, are considered illegal or could result in your persecution that you consider to whom you are speaking and how any information you provide will be used

A qualifying safe country is often defined within the Geneva Convention and Protocol as meeting any of the criteria listed below:
- Operates a democratic system where the government or ruling party are elected by the country’s citizens (led by the people). Also, where the general political environment allows for civil freedoms and is not repressive or restrictive
- Free from armed conflict such as civil wars, conflicts between two or more countries, expeditionary or asymmetric warfare
- No fear of persecution for the majority, minority or any of the ethnicities or communities across the country. Where there is no threat of violence or torture, whether carried out directly by the government or state endorsed through third-party groups or vigilantes
- Where the ruling party within the country does not endorse nor implement inhuman, degrading treatments or punishments
Though the criteria are typically straightforward, this is no universal or agreed list of safe countries as often the definition and application are up for interpretation by each country.
The term country of origin is often used to define where a migrant, refugee or asylum seeker originates or comes from. Even though in some situations, individuals may have left their home country months, even years, before applying for citizenship or asylum within a new, safer country. Often, leaving their country of origin for fear of persecution and returning would likely result in death. Many may travel long distances to reach their final destination, their desired safe country.
In contrast, the safe third-country term is typically used when a refugee or asylum seeker has passed through one or more safe countries before seeking asylum. For example, suppose a refugee wanted to travel to France to be united with family and travel through several safe European countries. In that case, all those countries they pass through may be considered safe third countries. It is essential because those countries that have signed up to the Geneva 1951 Refugee Convention and the subsequent 1967 protocol agreed to specific definitions and criteria. One crucial measure is that those abiding countries cannot expel or return a refugee if the refugee’s life or freedom is threatened. However, there have been situations in which a country has deported refugees and migrants back to the last safe third country

No, not all countries signed up to the Geneva Refugee Convention or Protocol. In contrast, others have policies and legislation in place in which they do not accept or welcome refugees or asylum seekers. In some situations, especially in countries with small populations, the government may be unable to offer assistance due to a lack of infrastructure, services or assistance.

As defined within the Geneva Refugee Conversion and Protocol, asylum seekers must demonstrate some form of persecution within one or more of the five protected grounds. The application by countries of the qualifying grounds is not always standard; however, general definitions are as follows:
- Race is a term used to describe a group of people who share physical characteristics, such as skin colour and facial features. The race-protected grounds cover ethnicities, those from similar social or cultural identities and ancestral backgrounds. The race-protected grounds will usually be used by people who belong to a persecuted minority group or ethnicity
- Religion describes a person’s beliefs and any religious group or groups they may belong to. Examples of religious groups include Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Hinduism. The religious protective group will usually be used by people who are fleeing violence or persecution due to their religious beliefs
- Nationality is used to describe citizenship or membership in a particular nation. The nationality protective group will typically be used by people fleeing armed conflicts and upheavals that threaten their safety
- Membership in a particular social group is somewhat generic and typically involves two parts. The first is the person has to belong to a specific social group. The social group will share characteristics and common backgrounds that cannot be changed. The group will share an aspect or belief fundamental to their identity or conscience that they should not be forced to renounce. The second part relates to the social group having a distinct identity within a specific country and being seen as different by society. The protective membership group will usually be used by LGBTQIA+ people who are fleeing persecution, as well as those groups part of a particular social or professional status such as aristocracy, authors and journalists
- Political opinion describes those individuals fleeing persecution due to their political views and affiliations. Typically, those who flee due to political opinions may oppose a particular country ruling party or government and, as a result, are targeted. The political opinion protective group will likely comprise civil servants, members of labour unions, political organisations, and certain clubs or societies
Interpretations, definitions and application of the protective grounds will differ for each country. Speaking to charities and specialist organisations and services within your chosen destination is advisable to understand the rules and what grounds you would qualify for before applying. In addition, if you qualify for more than one protective grounds, you may not be required to disclose all grounds. For example, if you are from a country at war and identify as LGBTQIA+, you would likely qualify under the protective grounds of nationality. A ground in which the application is less open to subjectivity than, say, the membership in a particular social group would be for LGBTQIA+ individuals.
To qualify for refugee and asylum status:
- You would need to be outside the country of your origin/nationality
- You have evidence or can prove a fear of being persecuted, especially where returning would likely result in your death, torture or imprisonment
- Be within a safe country that accepts refugee and asylum applications
To reduce the risk of being returned or deported back to your home country, you must be able to provide evidence. Evidence proving that returning home would result in your death, torture or imprisonment. Those countries that signed up to the Geneva Convention and Protocol are not able to expel or return a refugee if the refugee’s life or freedom is threatened
Typically, you can claim asylum upon arrival to your chosen safe country. The process and assessment will likely be different for each country; however, the UN Refugee Agency provides helpful information and guides relating to asylum applications; click here to access the Information for Refugees, Asylum-seekers and Stateless People service (https://help.unhcr.org/)

A form of government is a category or classification relating to a given country’s political structure and system. How the government is run or operates will depend on the involvement of citizens in choosing who can lead or form a government: the more involved people are, the more democratic, and the less involved, the more authoritarian the system.
The refugees and migrant country guide use five terms regarding forms of government. The five terms and their meanings are:
- Full Democracy – a full democracy is one where a country offers all its citizens civil liberties and freedoms. Where those living within that country can freely elect officials and where political freedoms are respected and reinforced by democratic principles. The country will have sufficient processes and controls to ensure that the government has oversight, that an independent judiciary is in place, and that decisions are upheld and respected
- Flawed or Defective Democracy – a flawed democracy is typically used to describe a country that follows democratic principles, where elections are freely held and fair but where there are known issues such as suppression of political opposition, low levels of voter participation and issues in the functioning of the government. Flawed democracies will typically fall within one of the four definitions:
- Exclusive democracies – though the country is democratic for many citizens, it is not universal, excluding and not guaranteeing the rights of all that live within that country. An example would be the period of apartheid in South Africa
- Domain democracies – typically democratically elected officials have their powers and decision-making abilities taken away in certain areas or situations by unelected officials, such as when guerrilla forces take control of cities or regions within a country
- Illiberal democracies – typically occur when a country’s constitution is weak, incomplete or damaged. Where the government’s legitimacy or the rule of law is undermined or not enforced
- Delegative democracies – occur where one branch of government becomes powerful enough to control the entire government
- Hybrid Regime – hybrid regimes will typically be countries in which electoral fraud occurs, interfering and preventing democratic processes from taking place. The government of a hybrid regime will likely
- apply pressure and limit anyone in political opposition
- be subject to widespread corruption at all levels of government
- Suppress stories and harass members of the media
- Put in place non-independent oversight within its judiciary (legal system)
- Failure of the rule of law to be upheld and respected by the ruling government
- Authoritarian – authoritarian, dictatorships, and autocracies are regimes in which power is centralised and held by a specific group of individuals within the population and where there are suppressed or no political challengers. The citizens within that country will likely experience political repression, and people typically have no choice or rights regarding who governs the country. The regime often expects and enforces unquestioning obedience to authority to maintain social order within its population
- Unknown – a county that is determined as unknown will typically be defined by one of the following groups:
- Insufficient public information available to assess the form of government
- A de facto or non-UN member state that is not internationally recognised
- A country that is experiencing a shift in its political structure, such as a result of a coup or forced takeover
- A small nation with a limited population size to provide sufficient oversight of its political system
There are thousands of events taking place, it is not always easy to know what is going on and when, Gayther can help
simple explanations of the
index
The Safe Country index is an indicative measure for refugees and migrants. An index that scores individual countries based on compiled data to establish if it would likely be considered safe or unsafe. The data used to calculate the score are based on fundamental freedoms; however, it does not mean all countries would classify them in the same way. The index is only meant to be used as a simple measure or guide as it is not part of a widely used scoring system. In addition, it also does not reflect the standards or definitions used by countries worldwide.
What is a safe country?
A safe country of origin, defined within the Geneva Convention, is free from international or internal armed conflict. One that does not persecute, use the threat of violence or torture its citizens, whether temporarily or permanently. Furthermore, it neither endorses nor implements inhuman, degrading treatments or punishments. Lastly, it operates a democratic system, and the general political environment allows for civil freedoms. Each country implements its own definition of what makes a safe country, and all countries do not use one list…learn more about safe countries
- The following section has been created to provide general and basic understandings regarding asylum and refugee definitions. The information does not constitute advice as it does not consider your personal circumstances. If you are in a dangerous situation or believe you must flee your country for your safety. You should contact any available specialist charities, organisations or services that can assist and advise on your current situation. To find services in your local area, click here to access the Gayther Refugee and Migrant directory or visit the United Nations Refugee Agency help and information service
- It is vital that before you provide any personal information, especially details that could be used against you, are considered illegal or could result in your persecution that you consider to whom you are speaking and how any information you provide will be used

To keep up to date, we will typically update all of our indices in the first quarter of every year (before March) to keep a consistent position. Should a landmark event occur, we would endeavour to change all relevant indices as quickly as possible.
When reviewing data, it is crucial to understand what it represents and whether it reflects the world and the experience of all those affected. Changes within any given country or region are not restricted to a specific month of the year or even are automatically triggered. Conflict, instability and the transition of a country’s position regarding particular areas of the law or specific groups within society can dramatically change quickly, so it is important to understand the latest situation at any given time and how it might affect you.
You can establish the current status within any given country or region by visiting your county’s ministry for overseas affairs or the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) information service.
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Accessibility Statement
- gayther.care
- March 21, 2025
Compliance status
We firmly believe that the internet should be available and accessible to anyone, and are committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of circumstance and ability.
To fulfill this, we aim to adhere as strictly as possible to the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1) at the AA level. These guidelines explain how to make web content accessible to people with a wide array of disabilities. Complying with those guidelines helps us ensure that the website is accessible to all people: blind people, people with motor impairments, visual impairment, cognitive disabilities, and more.
This website utilizes various technologies that are meant to make it as accessible as possible at all times. We utilize an accessibility interface that allows persons with specific disabilities to adjust the website’s UI (user interface) and design it to their personal needs.
Additionally, the website utilizes an AI-based application that runs in the background and optimizes its accessibility level constantly. This application remediates the website’s HTML, adapts Its functionality and behavior for screen-readers used by the blind users, and for keyboard functions used by individuals with motor impairments.
If you’ve found a malfunction or have ideas for improvement, we’ll be happy to hear from you. You can reach out to the website’s operators by using the following email
Screen-reader and keyboard navigation
Our website implements the ARIA attributes (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) technique, alongside various different behavioral changes, to ensure blind users visiting with screen-readers are able to read, comprehend, and enjoy the website’s functions. As soon as a user with a screen-reader enters your site, they immediately receive a prompt to enter the Screen-Reader Profile so they can browse and operate your site effectively. Here’s how our website covers some of the most important screen-reader requirements, alongside console screenshots of code examples:
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Screen-reader optimization: we run a background process that learns the website’s components from top to bottom, to ensure ongoing compliance even when updating the website. In this process, we provide screen-readers with meaningful data using the ARIA set of attributes. For example, we provide accurate form labels; descriptions for actionable icons (social media icons, search icons, cart icons, etc.); validation guidance for form inputs; element roles such as buttons, menus, modal dialogues (popups), and others. Additionally, the background process scans all the website’s images and provides an accurate and meaningful image-object-recognition-based description as an ALT (alternate text) tag for images that are not described. It will also extract texts that are embedded within the image, using an OCR (optical character recognition) technology. To turn on screen-reader adjustments at any time, users need only to press the Alt+1 keyboard combination. Screen-reader users also get automatic announcements to turn the Screen-reader mode on as soon as they enter the website.
These adjustments are compatible with all popular screen readers, including JAWS and NVDA.
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Keyboard navigation optimization: The background process also adjusts the website’s HTML, and adds various behaviors using JavaScript code to make the website operable by the keyboard. This includes the ability to navigate the website using the Tab and Shift+Tab keys, operate dropdowns with the arrow keys, close them with Esc, trigger buttons and links using the Enter key, navigate between radio and checkbox elements using the arrow keys, and fill them in with the Spacebar or Enter key.Additionally, keyboard users will find quick-navigation and content-skip menus, available at any time by clicking Alt+1, or as the first elements of the site while navigating with the keyboard. The background process also handles triggered popups by moving the keyboard focus towards them as soon as they appear, and not allow the focus drift outside it.
Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.
Disability profiles supported in our website
- Epilepsy Safe Mode: this profile enables people with epilepsy to use the website safely by eliminating the risk of seizures that result from flashing or blinking animations and risky color combinations.
- Visually Impaired Mode: this mode adjusts the website for the convenience of users with visual impairments such as Degrading Eyesight, Tunnel Vision, Cataract, Glaucoma, and others.
- Cognitive Disability Mode: this mode provides different assistive options to help users with cognitive impairments such as Dyslexia, Autism, CVA, and others, to focus on the essential elements of the website more easily.
- ADHD Friendly Mode: this mode helps users with ADHD and Neurodevelopmental disorders to read, browse, and focus on the main website elements more easily while significantly reducing distractions.
- Blindness Mode: this mode configures the website to be compatible with screen-readers such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. A screen-reader is software for blind users that is installed on a computer and smartphone, and websites must be compatible with it.
- Keyboard Navigation Profile (Motor-Impaired): this profile enables motor-impaired persons to operate the website using the keyboard Tab, Shift+Tab, and the Enter keys. Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.
Additional UI, design, and readability adjustments
- Font adjustments – users, can increase and decrease its size, change its family (type), adjust the spacing, alignment, line height, and more.
- Color adjustments – users can select various color contrast profiles such as light, dark, inverted, and monochrome. Additionally, users can swap color schemes of titles, texts, and backgrounds, with over seven different coloring options.
- Animations – person with epilepsy can stop all running animations with the click of a button. Animations controlled by the interface include videos, GIFs, and CSS flashing transitions.
- Content highlighting – users can choose to emphasize important elements such as links and titles. They can also choose to highlight focused or hovered elements only.
- Audio muting – users with hearing devices may experience headaches or other issues due to automatic audio playing. This option lets users mute the entire website instantly.
- Cognitive disorders – we utilize a search engine that is linked to Wikipedia and Wiktionary, allowing people with cognitive disorders to decipher meanings of phrases, initials, slang, and others.
- Additional functions – we provide users the option to change cursor color and size, use a printing mode, enable a virtual keyboard, and many other functions.
Browser and assistive technology compatibility
We aim to support the widest array of browsers and assistive technologies as possible, so our users can choose the best fitting tools for them, with as few limitations as possible. Therefore, we have worked very hard to be able to support all major systems that comprise over 95% of the user market share including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera and Microsoft Edge, JAWS and NVDA (screen readers).
Notes, comments, and feedback
Despite our very best efforts to allow anybody to adjust the website to their needs. There may still be pages or sections that are not fully accessible, are in the process of becoming accessible, or are lacking an adequate technological solution to make them accessible. Still, we are continually improving our accessibility, adding, updating and improving its options and features, and developing and adopting new technologies. All this is meant to reach the optimal level of accessibility, following technological advancements. For any assistance, please reach out to