Jordan/Palestine: Temporary residency status given to Palestinians, including validity, expiration and whether it is renewable; procedures for renewing temporary residency status; whether notification is given that status is not being renewed
An official from the BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights, a research and advocacy organization (BADIL n.d.a) based in the West Bank (ibid. n.d.b), stated that a Jordanian temporary passport, which provides temporary residency status, is different from a regular Jordanian passport (ibid. 7 Aug. 2008; see also RSC Aug. 2006). The Official stated that the temporary passport does not entitle the bearer to live in Jordan or to work or go to school for long periods (BADIL 7 Aug. 2008). Along with the temporary passport, a person requires a green card in order to enter and exit Jordan (ibid.). The United States (US) Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2007 states that "120,000 persons displaced during the 1967 war held temporary residence permits" (11 Mar. 2008, Sec. 2.d).
With respect to the validity and expiration of temporary residency status, the Official stated that the period of time for which the temporary passport is valid keeps changing but that it is usually valid for three years and is renewable (BADIL 7 Aug. 2008). A February 2004 report on the website of Forced Migration Online (FMO) states that there are two-year and five-year temporary passports (Sec. 3.2). The Official stated that in order to renew temporary residency status, a person must submit their temporary passport to the Department of Palestinian Affairs (DPA) in the Foreign Ministry of Jordan (BADIL 7 Aug. 2008). According to the Official, the temporary passport may not be renewed if Jordanian authorities "feel that a person might be a source of trouble" (ibid.). The Official stated that the process of renewing temporary residency status in Jordan is "arbitrary" and not transparent (ibid.).
The following relevant information on the terms of a two-year temporary passport is provided in the August 2006 Forced Migration Review article:
Gazan men cannot renew their residence without clearance from Jordanian security authorities. … Some who have been active in Islamic political groups have found themselves stripped of ID.
…
Any delay in renewing the temporary passport or in applying for one puts an individual at risk of becoming undocumented. (RSC Aug. 2006)
With respect to whether notification would be given that temporary residency status would not be renewed, the Official stated that a person would discover this when applying for renewal (BADIL 7 Aug. 2008). According to the Official, a person might find out about a problem with renewal when the temporary passport fails to arrive (ibid.). The Official stated that, at that point, a person's file might be sent to Jordanian intelligence officials and that it would be difficult to obtain any information about why the temporary passport is not being renewed (ibid.). Further information on whether notification would be given that status is not being renewed could not be found among the sources conuslted by the Research Directorate.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights. 7 August 2008. Telephone interview with an official.
_____. N.d.a. "About BADIL." <http://www.badil.org/BADIL/about_badil.htm> [Accessed 7 Aug. 2008]
_____. N.d.b. "Contacts." <http://www.badil.org/contacts.htm> [Accessed 7 Aug. 2008]
Forced Migration Online (FMO). February 2004. Oroub Al Abed. "Palestinian Refugees in Jordan." <http://www.forcedmigration.org/guides/fmo025/fmo025.pdf> [Accessed 7 Aug. 2008]
Refugee Studies Centre (RSC). August 2006. Oroub El Abed. "Immobile Palestinians: Ongoing Plight of Gazans in Jordan." Forced Migration Review 26. <http://www.fmreview.org/FMRpdfs/FMR26/FMR2607.pdf> [Accessed 6 Aug. 2008]
United States (US). 11 March 2008. Department of State. "Jordan." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2007. <http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2007/100598.htm> [Accessed 5 Aug. 2008]
Additional Sources Consulted
Oral sources: The Embassies of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in Ottawa and Washington, DC were unable to provide information within the time constraints of this Response.
Internet sites, including: Alternative Information Center (AIC), Centre d'études et de documentation économiques, juridiques et sociales (CEDEJ) [Cairo], Department of Palestinian Affairs (DPA), Embassy of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in Ottawa, Embassy of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in Washington, DC, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Ministry of Interior, Human Rights Watch (HRW), Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR), Palestinian Refugee ResearchNet (PRRN), Research Centre for Refugee Studies (RCRS) [Amman], Right to Enter (RTE), SHAML Palestinian Diaspora and Refugee Centre, U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI).