Is preferance given to Refugees over green card applicants?

kumargsa wrote:

I am from India and I feel that preference is given to Refugees over Green Card applicants to come to DK. Actually, I think there are so many poor and destitute people in India that might want to escape the hardships here, but I am not sure how so many people from Africa and Middle East end up there. When I call up DIS, they think, oh, you are just a Green Card applicant and we are not the ones who can help you, its just Labour Retention that does it, somehow I feel Denmark focuses more on Africa and the Middle East than on poor countries in Asia....India is not all the developed anyhow, and there are millions of destitutes living in slums and the streets....but somehow only the highly educated people from Asia make it to DK unlike the Middle East and Africa.

Most countries that take in refugees do so under a UN mandate that says how many to take on a yearly basis
Those refugees living there are given shelter and taken care of as per the UN mandate. 

Have you tried applying for a job in Denmark? Have you searched on line for jobs there? There are certain qualifications you must have if applying to work there. Those with higher educational qualifications get to work there regardless of which country they come from. 

I suspect that you are a little upset that you cannot get a job there and are looking to blame someone for that, like the refugees.

Also one very important point to remember is that in ALL nations, preference is given to refugee claimants coming from nations that in a state of civil unrest, oppression and war. Such is NOT the case for India. Financial hardship is not one of the criteria for granting refugee status. There is a great difference between the number of applicants from India in every nation and the actual number of refugee claims that get granted.

Only if you can substantially prove that you risk serious physical harm or even death by remaining in your homeland will you really have a chance of obtaining refugee status anywhere. The unfortunate truth is that most nations tend to view citizens from India and Pakistan as being "economic refugees" and not fleeing from political persecution.

For example here in Brazil in 2013 there were a total of 5,256 refugee claims and only 649 of those were granted. Not one single claim was made by any Indian citizen in the whole year. During the same time there were 100 refugee claims made by Pakistani citizens, only 32 of which were granted. In comparison 256 citizens fleeing Syria claimed refugee status, and 284 claims were granted to Syrians. (obviously some with claims from the previous year). The overwhelming majority of refugee claims in 2013 came from citizens of Bangladesh, some 1,837 of them to be exact - NOT ONE SINGLE APPLICANT WAS GRANTED REFUGEE STATUS. Presumably they have all been repatriated to Bangladesh by now.

Many people have the misguided notion that you walk into a country and say the magic words, "I am refugee" and the doors swing wide open. Well, the truth in the real world is that it doesn't quite work like that. In most countries it's probably much easier to apply for a visa and enter that way than it is through any refugee program.

Cheers,
William James Woodward, Expat-blog Experts Team

hey stumpy,

you can say I am a bit upset, but trying to get a job in DK is a nightmare, unless you are a highly skilled professional  and know the Danish language(I have a masters degree from the USA). Moreover Denmark doesn't have equal employment opportunity considerations like in the US(I don't know how it is in Australia).

Bear in mind that I come from India and we don't have visa free access to Denmark(or the EU or North America) like you Aussies do(I know even if its for 3 months at a time)....we have limited resources to learn Danish here(almost none), and to learn Danish to a professional level, you need to be attending courses in Denmark(like at "iasprog" centers) .

For us to come to Denmark, getting  a "green card" for 3 years is kind of the only option. Check out http://www.nyidanmark.dk/en-us/coming_t … scheme.htm

I am not trying to blame refugees or anything, I was just wondering if the Danes give a preference to Refugees over Green Card applicants to come to Denmark.

Mr. Woodward,

Thanks for your reply and information about Refugees. My query was mainly about Danish policies in regards to giving preference to Refugees or Highly Skilled Professionals to get a residence permit.

I was not implying that Indians need to be considered for Refugee status, although, the living conditions of a lot of Indians are on par with those living in war ridden countries(in terms of economic or social conditions). If a person is in a condition to even prove or communicate that he is at risk of violence or death, I think he/she is in a much better condition than uneducated and destitute people living horrible lives in countries like India due to corruption and oppression.

As for Brazil, most Indians don't consider it to be an immigrant friendly nation like, the US or Canada, so I guess there haven't been any registered cases there.

thank you

Refugees do not get preference over green card applicants.

I pointed out the situation in Brazil merely as an example, but many countries treat refugee claims from citizens of India in exactly the same way.

I presume when you say that most Indians don't consider Brazil an immigrant friendly country you are talking about the Brazilian government and bureaucracy, because the way they are viewed and treated by the Brazilian people is quite the opposite. Brazilians are extremely receptive and friendly people.

kumargsa wrote:

I am from India and I feel that preference is given to Refugees over Green Card applicants to come to DK. Actually, I think there are so many poor and destitute people in India that might want to escape the hardships here, but I am not sure how so many people from Africa and Middle East end up there. When I call up DIS, they think, oh, you are just a Green Card applicant and we are not the ones who can help you, its just Labour Retention that does it, somehow I feel Denmark focuses more on Africa and the Middle East than on poor countries in Asia....India is not all the developed anyhow, and there are millions of destitutes living in slums and the streets....but somehow only the highly educated people from Asia make it to DK unlike the Middle East and Africa.

My name is Fabiola. I'm from Burundi. I'm looking for a support. I'm refugee in Zimbabwe. I'm single mother and I really suffering for a long time ago. I really need help. Any one one can help me please? I can see there is  a preference is given to Refugees over green card applicants to come to DK. Can I please get a chance to be one of those refugees? because I have been suffered for a long time.
Thanks for your Regards

ruziba1@ wrote:

My name is Fabiola. I'm from Burundi. I'm looking for a support. I'm refugee in Zimbabwe. I'm single mother and I really suffering for a long time ago. I really need help. Any one one can help me please? I can see there is  a preference is given to Refugees over green card applicants to come to DK. Can I please get a chance to be one of those refugees? because I have been suffered for a long time.
Thanks for your Regards

Read post #6 on this thread. 

Have you contacted any UN agencies to see whether you can get refugee status in another country. Whilst I sympathise with you you I do not think it is simply a matter of picking a country and then applying.

Try contacting TANA Copenhagen or DanChurchAid. Both are Danish humanitarian relief agencies. I know TANA works a lot in Africa.