Date of publication:

10/12/2026

Zambia

Do domestic laws and policies provide for people to enter the country for the purpose of seeking asylum?

ANALYSIS

Assessment by population

Refugees
Asylum-seekers
Analysis

There is no explicit norm that allows for access to the territory for people seeking asylum in the 2017 Refugees Act or the 2026 Immigration Control Act. However, there is an implicit provision allowing for access to territory when interpreting several norms in both acts, which imposes a temporal limit on seeking asylum. The 2026 Immigration Control Act prohibits entering the Republic of Zambia without authorization under the 2026 Immigration Control Act (section 8(2)) and only via designated ports of entry (section 8(1)). Asylum seekers (for the definition of asylum seekers the 2026 Immigration Control Act refers to the 2017 Refugees Act, see section 2(1)(3) 2026 Immigration Control Act) who enter Zambia are supposed to be issued an asylum seeker permit by the Department of Immigration (section 23(1) 2026 Immigration Control Act). Therefore, persons seeking asylum can be allowed to enter Zambia under the 2026 Immigration Control Act. However, the wording (‘The Director-General may [emphasis added] issue an asylum seekers permit […]’) of section 23 does not establish a right for persons seeking asylum to enter the country; the wording suggests that there is a certain discretion given to the Department of Immigration.

In section 23 the 2026 Immigration Control Act refers to the established procedure for persons seeking asylum in Zambia. The 2017 Refugees Act requires persons entering Zambia as asylum seekers or entering Zambia ‘otherwise’ to apply for recognition as a refugee within seven days of their entry into Zambia (section 11(1) 2017 Refugees Act). While section 11 of the 2017 Refugees Act recognizes that persons seeking asylum can enter the country irregularly and still allows them to seek asylum with an authorized officer within seven days of the irregular entry, the 2026 Immigration Control Act is not aligned with the 2017 Refugees Act and does not explicitly allow for access to asylum and territory outside the regular procedures under the 2026 Immigration Control Act.

There is no differentiation in access to asylum based on nationality, gender or other criteria or based on the location of entry in the law, while there is a significant risk regarding access to territory and access to asylum for persons seeking international protection entering the country irregularly or outside a designated port of entry.

There is a prima facie recognition procedure (section 16 2017 Refugees Act) but no explicit provision in either act allows for access to territory or measures ensuring access to territory in times of large-scale influxes.

    LAW & POLICY

    Related provisions of domestic law or policy

    THE REFUGEES ACT, 2017

    Legal provision

    Section 2(1) - Interpretation

    "asylum seeker” means a person seeking refugee status in accordance with the provisions of this Act and whose refugee claim is not determined.

    Section 11 - Application for recognition as refugee

    11. (1) An asylum seeker or a person who is within Zambia, whether that person has entered Zambia lawfully or otherwise, and wishes to remain in Zambia as a recognised refugee under this Act may, within seven days of entering Zambia, apply for recognition as a refugee to the Commissioner or an authorised officer. (2) The Commissioner or an authorised officer, shall, within thirty days of the receipt of an application made under subsection (1), submit the application to the Committee. (3) An authorised officer to whom an application is made under subsection (1) shall— (a) where the authorised officer is not an immigration officer, within five days of receipt of the application, notify an immigration officer that the applicant is within Zambia and has made the application; and (b) within thirty days of receiving the application, submit the application with any documents or information in support of the application to the Commissioner who shall, upon consideration of the application and determination that it should be referred to the Committee, submit it to the Committee. (4) Despite section 22 of the Immigration and Deportation Act, 2010, or any other written law, a person who applies for recognition as a refugee under this section and a dependant of that person has the right to remain in Zambia— (a) until that person is recognised as a refugee; or (b) where the application for recognition as a refugee is rejected, until that person has had an opportunity to exhaust that person's right of appeal under section 15.

    Section 16 - Declaration of refugee status by statutory order

    16. (1) Subject to the other provisions of this Act, where the Minister considers that a class of persons are refugees, the Minister may, by statutory order, declare that class of persons to be recognised refugees for the purposes of this Act, and may in like manner amend or revoke the declaration. (2) An amendment or revocation of a declaration made under subsection (1) shall not affect the right of a person— (a) who is a member of that class of persons and who entered Zambia before the date of the amendment or revocation, to continue to be regarded as a refugee for the purposes of this Act; or (b) who is such a person as is referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of the definition of “refugee ” to be recognised as a refugee for the purposes of this Act. (3) The Minister may exclude or exempt a person from a declaration made under subsection (1), but the exclusion or exemption shall not preclude that person from applying for recognition as a refugee under this Act. (4) The Minister shall cause a declaration made under subsection (1) and an amendment or revocation of the declaration to be published in the Gazette and in such other manner as the Minister considers will bring it to the attention of refugee officers, authorised officers and any other person to whom it relates.

    Section 64 - Failure to apply for recognition

    64. An asylum seeker who, upon entering Zambia with intention to seek asylum, fails to report immediately to a refugee officer or authorised officer to register and submit an application for recognition as a refugee commits an offence.

    THE IMMIGRATION CONTROL ACT, 2026

    Legal provision

    Section 2(1) - Interpretation

    “asylum seeker” has the meaning assigned to the words in the Refugees Act;

    Section 8 - Entry and remaining in Republic

    8. (1) Subject to other provisions of this Act, a person shall not enter the Republic other than at a port of entry. (2) Subject to this section, a person who is not a citizen shall not enter the Republic unless that person is authorised in accordance with this Act. (3) Subject to this section, the presence in the Republic of a person who is not a citizen is unlawful, unless that person is authorised under this Act.

    Section 23 - Asylum seeker’s permit

    23. (1) The Director-General may issue an asylum seeker’s permit in a prescribed manner and form to a foreigner seeking refuge or asylum in the Republic in accordance with the Refugees Act. (2) Despite the provisions of any other written law, a holder of an asylum seeker’s permit shall, where the holder of the permit does not report to the Commissioner for Refugees or a refugee settlement in accordance with the Refugees Act, within thirty days of the issue of the permit, become an illegal immigrant. (3) Subject to the Refugees Act, a refugee commits an offence if the refugee is found in a place other than a refugee settlement without— (a) a movement pass issued in accordance with the Refugees Act; or (b) an appropriate permit issued under this Act.