Alongside partners, UNHCR helps safeguard refugees’ fundamental right to family unity, supports separated refugee families, and improves their access to reunification procedures. This guide outlines the avenues available for family reunification, essential health and legal services, and the various forms of assistance provided by UNHCR in Libya.
I want to be reunited with my family in a third country. Would UNHCR be able to help me?
Depending on the country where your family member(s) is/are, the procedures may differ and for some countries, UNHCR may be in a position to provide support; however, opportunities for family reunification are very limited.
If you have already been interviewed by UNHCR for family reunification purposes, UNHCR will contact you when/if your family reunification application is successful.
If you have not told UNHCR about family members in other countries, you need to call the UNHCR Protection hotline at 0917127644 to provide details about the family members, how you are related to them and in which country(ies) they reside, and UNHCR will assess whether it is feasible to initiate a family reunification process.
For more information, visit: Family Reunification & Voluntary Repatriation - UNHCR Libya
Help for refugees and asylum-seekers
Asylum-seekers and refugees can find information about services and assistance on the 'help’ page run by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. UNHCR Libya: Help for refugees and asylum-seekers
Registration is the first step to obtaining access to basic assistance and protection services, though certain eligibility criteria apply. For more information on how to register, visit Registration - UNHCR Libya.
Once registered, the following assistance and services are provided by UNHCR to refugees and asylum-seekers:
Health and Mental Health
UNHCR supports two public primary health clinics and operates a health clinic in the Community Day Centre in Tripoli where health appointments can be made. In addition, our partner, the International Rescue Committee also operates a 24/7 emergency health hotline, providing medical assistance to the most urgent cases.
Partner CESVI offers psychological and mental health services for refugees and asylum-seekers requiring psychosocial assistance. Partner IRC provides mental health and psychosocial support services, including psychiatric consultations.
For more information, call the CESVI hotlines (Sunday to Thursday, 09.00 to 17.00): 092 2767166 or 091 0027716
I need medical assistance. What should I do?
UNHCR partner International Rescue Committee provides health services. A limited number of individuals with appointments are served every day, so you need to book an appointment in non-emergency situations by calling the following numbers:
- General consultations: 📞0910347365
- Reproductive health and antenatal consultations: 📞 0910354818
Hours of service: Sundays to Thursdays between 09:00 and 16:30.
I have an urgent medical concern and I need immediate medical help. What should I do?
In a life-threatening medical emergency, please call 📞 0910354839 (24/7) and the IRC (International Rescue Committee) emergency medical team will help you.
More information: Health & Mental Health UNHCR Libya
Non-Food Items
Through our partners, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and the Libyan Humanitarian Relief Agency (LibAid), we reach out to the most vulnerable of its people of concern, including internally displaced people, refugees, and asylum-seekers in urban and detention centres as well as those who are rescued at sea as part of our life-saving activities.
How can I request core relief items (Non-food items)?
You can call UNHCR protection line 0917127644 or CESVI hotlines 0910027717 and 0922767166 and explain your request. If you are eligible and the items are available, you will be contacted by UNHCR partner IRC to be informed about how you can receive the items.
Cash Assistance
In partnership with CESVI and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), UNHCR provides multi-purpose cash assistance to refugees and asylum-seekers across Libya that contributes to meeting their basic needs – including access to food, water, hygiene items, healthcare, and rent.
Cash assistance is only provided to refugees and asylum-seekers following vulnerability assessments carried out by UNHCR or our partner CESVI. The assessments conducted by UNHCR and CESVI are linked to providing assistance and support to the most vulnerable individuals in urban areas. Due to the nature of the interview, protection needs assessments are only conducted when there are specific protection risks and concerns.
More information: Cash Assistance - UNHCR Libya
Advocacy & Legal Aid
UNHCR calls for the release of refugees and asylum-seekers arbitrarily held in detention and for an end to arbitrary detention in Libya through the establishment of a judicial review system in line with the Berlin Conclusions and the development of alternatives to detention. Given the urgent humanitarian needs, UNHCR provides life-saving medical and humanitarian assistance in detention centres with the aim of securing access to people. UNHCR serves for protection monitoring, identification, verification, advocacy for release, and use of alternatives to detention. UNHCR’s activities in detention centres do not represent an endorsement of Libya’s detention policy.
I have lost contact with my relative, who was arrested. Can you assist me in locating him/her?
You can call the UNHCR Protection Hotline at 0917127644 and provide the details of your relative.
More information: Advocacy & Legal Aid - UNHCR Libya
Protection
UNHCR and partners in Libya provide a range of services to eligible refugees and asylum-seekers, including material support such as cash assistance and non-food items (NFIs) and counseling, psychosocial support, and community support. In order to determine your needs and eligibility for the different services available, you should first be interviewed by UNHCR or partners for a protection needs assessment.
The protection needs assessment will cover your situation in Libya and determine your eligibility for the available services and assistance. The interview does not guarantee that you will receive assistance and services in case you do not meet the eligibility criteria or the specific support you need is not offered by UNHCR and/or partners.
I would like to have a protection interview with UNHCR. How can I request it?
Protection needs assessments conducted by UNHCR and CESVI are linked to providing protection assistance and support to the most vulnerable individuals in urban areas. Due to the nature of the interview, protection needs assessments are only conducted when there are specific protection risks and concerns. If you have not had one previously, you can call UNHCR, CESVI, or the Tawasul hotline to report on your protection issues and check if you can be considered. If you have had one previously, and there is no major change in your circumstances, you will not be re-interviewed.
Protection interviews are not a pathway to durable solutions.
- UNHCR Protection hotline: 0917127644
- Tawasul– Common Feedback Mechanism line: 1404
- CESVI hotlines (Sunday to Thursday, 09.00 to 17.00): 092 2767166 or 091 0027716
More information: Protection - UNHCR Libya
Durable Solutions
UNHCR organizes durable solutions out of Libya, but these remain available only to a limited number of refugees. Albeit limited, these departures are for long-lasting solutions for some of the most at-risk asylum-seekers and refugees in Libya. Considering that UNHCR registers hundreds of asylum-seekers each month, durable solutions are only available to a fraction of the refugees present in Libya. We continue to advocate for more solidarity sharing among resettlement states. At the same time, we cannot facilitate more departures than countries are willing to take.
What is evacuation? What are the criteria for evacuation?
Evacuation flights are organized by UNHCR with the support of the Libyan authorities and the Governments of the receiving countries, as a way to help some of the most vulnerable refugees and asylum-seekers fly out of Libya to safety.
Evacuation places are limited and are determined by third countries that are willing to accept asylum-seekers or refugees with immediate protection needs. Being held in detention does not mean you will be prioritized for these flights, although UNHCR continually calls for the release of asylum-seekers and refugees from arbitrary detention.
Those identified for evacuation will be interviewed and assessed by UNHCR staff about the circumstances that led you to leave your country of origin as well as their situation in Libya. Whether or not you will be selected for evacuation depends on your personal circumstances as well as on the decisions of the governments of the receiving countries, who will also consider your situation.
Please note that all UNHCR services are FREE, including evacuation, and no payments are involved.
What is resettlement? What are the criteria for resettlement?
Resettlement involves the selection and transfer of refugees from a country in which they have sought protection to another country that has agreed to admit them and, ultimately, grant them permanent residence. Resettlement is not a right and is only reserved for those with specific protection needs and who fall under one or more of UNHCR’s resettlement submission categories.
Registration with UNHCR does not mean that you have applied for or will automatically be considered for resettlement. Only a small number of refugees can be resettled – both from Libya and globally. The final decision to accept a refugee for resettlement in another country is made by the receiving country and not by UNHCR.
More information: Resettlement & Evacuation - UNHCR Libya