The Kyrgyz Republic shall grant all refugees equal legal status without any distinction based on gender, race, language, ethnicity, religion, age, political or other beliefs, education, country of origin, property or other status, or other circumstances.

A refugee is a person who is not a citizen of the Kyrgyz Republic and who applies to the Kyrgyz Republic for recognition of himself as a refugee, who is outside the country of his citizenship or place of his permanent residence due to a well-founded fear of becoming a victim of persecution on the grounds of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, membership in a particular social group, as well as a real danger of being persecuted in armed and interethnic conflicts and who, due to such fears, cannot or does not wish to avail himself of the protection of his country.

A temporary detention facility is a place of stay of a person applying for refugee status and his family members at a checkpoint across the state border of the Kyrgyz Republic. A certificate of application registration (hereinafter referred to as the certificate) is a document certifying the identity of a person who has filed an application for refugee status and is the basis for registering this person and his family members with the authorized state body in the sphere of population registration in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic in the sphere of population registration. A refugee certificate is a document certifying the identity of a person recognized as a refugee in the Kyrgyz Republic in accordance with this Law and is the basis for registering this person and his family members with the authorized state body in the sphere of population registration in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic in the sphere of population registration. Authorized body - a state administration body of the Kyrgyz Republic and its territorial structures implementing migration policy and coordinating work related to refugees. Family members of a person applying for refugee status in the Kyrgyz Republic, or family members of a refugee (hereinafter referred to as family members) - a spouse, their minor children and other relatives who are dependent on him (her), provided that they reside together in the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic. A person applying for refugee status - a person who is not a citizen of the Kyrgyz Republic and declares a desire to be recognized as a refugee under the circumstances stipulated by Article 1 of this Law, whose application for refugee status has been registered in the established manner. Travel document - a document issued to a person who has received refugee status for staying outside the Kyrgyz Republic.

A person applying for refugee status must be given a real opportunity to submit such an application. To be recognized as a refugee in the Kyrgyz Republic on the grounds provided for in Article 1 of this Law, upon arrival he/she must apply in person or through his/her authorized representative with an application at the place of his/her stay: - at checkpoints across the state border - to the bodies implementing immigration control; - on the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic - to the Authorized Body. An application for refugee status received by the bodies implementing immigration control at checkpoints across the state border is transferred within ten working days from the date of receipt to the Authorized Body, which registers and carries out the procedure for determining refugee status. In the event of an emergency mass arrival of persons to the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic on the grounds provided for in Article 1 of this Law, the registration of said persons shall be carried out immediately. The procedure for interaction between state bodies in the event of a mass arrival of persons on the grounds provided for in Article 1 of this Law shall be determined by the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic.

A person may not be recognized as a refugee in the Kyrgyz Republic on the following grounds: - if the person who has filed an application for refugee status does not have the grounds provided for in Article 1 of this Law; - if there are serious grounds to believe that he has committed a crime against peace, a war crime or a crime against humanity; - if he has committed a grave or especially grave non-political crime outside the Kyrgyz Republic and before he was admitted to the Kyrgyz Republic as an asylum seeker; - if he is guilty of committing acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the UN; - if he/she is a citizen of a third country whose protection he/she can avail himself/herself of, or has the right to reside in the territory of a third country on a legal basis, in the absence of any well-founded fear of becoming a victim of persecution in that third country on the grounds provided for in Article 1 of this Law; - if he/she has refugee status in another country or enjoys valid international protection of any country, or can return to that country and avail himself/herself of its protection. A person who is refused asylum in the Kyrgyz Republic on this basis must be protected from being returned to the country where he/she was persecuted; - if the person was previously refused recognition as a refugee in the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic due to the absence of circumstances provided for in Article 1 of this Law, provided that the situation in the country of nationality or permanent residence has not changed from the date of refusal to the time of filing the application.

A person applying for recognition as a refugee in the Kyrgyz Republic and his family members have the right to: - move freely throughout the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic, with the exception of areas closed to foreign citizens in accordance with the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic; - reside in a place of temporary settlement and use public utilities; - use medical care; - to have the Kyrgyz Republic assist in obtaining information about relatives living in the country of citizenship; - to voluntarily return to the country of citizenship; - to leave for a place of residence in a foreign country; - to be provided with judicial protection; - to receive an education; - to receive the services of an interpreter; - to be exempt from paying expenses related to the consideration of an application for refugee status at all stages.

The decision on recognizing a person as a refugee is made by the Authorized Body within six months from the date of registration of the application for refugee status. If the identification of the person or the establishment of facts requiring verification are not completed, then the final decision is postponed until such are clarified, but for a period of no more than one year, except for cases for which decisions have been made by the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic. In the event of an extension of the period for consideration of an application for refugee status, the validity period of the application is extended accordingly for the required period with the provision of documents motivating the reason and justification for the extension period for making the final decision. From the moment of registration of the application for refugee status in the Kyrgyz Republic, the person who applied for refugee status has the right to stay in the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic until the final decision on his application, including the appeal stage. A person recognized as a refugee is issued a refugee certificate, which serves as the basis for registering the refugee with the authorized state body in the field of population registration in accordance with the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic in the field of population registration. The refugee certificate contains information about his family members who are with him.

If the head of the family has been granted refugee status in the Kyrgyz Republic on the grounds provided for in Article 1 of this Law, then refugee status also extends to his (her) spouse and their minor children, as well as other persons dependent on him (her), provided that they live together. Minor children, spouse, and other persons dependent on him (her) have the right to be reunited with him (her) in the Kyrgyz Republic and to receive refugee status.

In case of refusal to recognize a person as a refugee, a copy of the decision is handed to him personally within three days from the date of the decision or a written notice is sent indicating the reasons for the refusal and the procedure for appealing the decision.

The decision to refuse to recognize a person as a refugee may be appealed in court from the moment of receiving a copy of this decision in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic.

The decision to refuse to recognize a person as a refugee is also sent to the relevant internal affairs agency to organize the departure from the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic of the person who received the refusal. In the event of an appeal against the decision to refuse to recognize a person as a refugee, the actions of the internal affairs agencies of the Kyrgyz Republic to organize the departure of this person from the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic are suspended until the final decision is made by the court.

A person who has received a notice of refusal to recognize him as a refugee, and who does not exercise the right to appeal the decision to refuse to recognize a person as a refugee, is obliged to leave the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic together with members of his family within one month from the date of receipt of the notice of refusal, in the absence of other legal grounds for this person to stay on the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic.

A person loses refugee status in the event of: - acquisition of citizenship of the Kyrgyz Republic; - if he/she acquired citizenship of a foreign state and enjoys the protection of the state of his/her new citizenship; - if he/she voluntarily re-availed himself/herself of the protection of the state of his/her citizenship or his/her previous place of residence; - if he/she voluntarily left for a place of residence outside the Kyrgyz Republic for permanent residence in the country of origin; - if, having lost his/her citizenship, he/she voluntarily re-acquired it; - if he/she can no longer refuse the protection of the country of his/her citizenship, since the circumstances on the basis of which he/she was recognized as a refugee no longer exist. A notification of the loss of refugee status by a person, indicating the reasons for the decision taken and the procedure for appealing it, shall be handed over or sent to this person by the Authorized Body within three days from the date of the decision. A person who has lost refugee status due to the circumstances specified in paragraphs 3-7 of Part One of this Article and who does not exercise the right to appeal the decision on the loss of refugee status, in accordance with the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic in the sphere of external migration, is obliged to leave the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic together with family members within one month from the date of receipt of the decision on the loss of refugee status in the absence of other legal grounds for this person to stay in the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic. The decision on the loss of refugee status may be appealed in court in accordance with the procedure established by law. When a final decision is made on the loss of refugee status, the refugee certificate is cancelled.