BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee

Protection
six months, unless they have a special authorization. Refugees recognized by the UNHCR are granted six
month-renewable residence permits.
In Syria and (pre-war) Iraq, residency permits to Palestinian refugees were issued in accordance with the Casablanca
Protocol. Palestinian refugees in Iraq were granted preferential treatment with regard to naturalization. 106 The
current legal status of Palestinians in Iraq is unclear, although the Palestinian community in Baghdad has expressed
concerns regarding the renewal of their residency permit every two months and the confiscation of their
documents. 107 Palestinian refugees in Syria enjoy most of the residency, social and civil rights of Syrian nationals.
Palestinian refugees in Syria may acquire Syrian citizenship if they are women married to Syrian men, had Syrian
citizenship before 1948, or by special dispensation from the Ministry of the Interior. 108
In Lebanon, only those Palestinian refugees who took direct refuge in Lebanon in 1948 and registered with both
UNRWA and the Department of Political Affairs and Refugees (DPAR), 109 and those who came in the 1960s
and 1970s and registered with the DPAR (often called non-registered refugees), are eligible for residency; their
legal status is that of a special category of foreigners. Palestinian refugees who are not registered with either
UNRWA or the DPAR (often called non-ID refugees) are not eligible for residency and are considered to be
residing illegally in Lebanon. 110 It is estimated that there are 3,000 to 4,000 such persons. 111 Fear of working or
venturing beyond camp perimeters in case of arrest or detention has seriously affected the lives and freedom of
movement of non-ID refugees in Lebanon. 112 A small number of Palestinian refugees have acquired citizenship
in Lebanon. 113
The number of Palestinians residing in the Gulf states has fluctuated greatly, mainly as a result of political and
military crises, in particular the 1991 Gulf War. 114 Palestinians reach Gulf states from their first place of refuge in
one of Arab states bordering Palestine and the OPT. 115 Palestinians in the Gulf are considered migrant workers
and their residency status is closely related to employment status; all foreigners have to leave the country upon
termination of their employment. Return to the first country of refuge is often impossible for Palestinians who,
in their absence, are likely to have lost their residency status there. 116 Since 2002, Arab citizens or residents from
non-Gulf Co-operation Council states, including Palestinian refugees, have not been allowed to stay in Kuwait
for more than three months. 117 Ten years of residence are required before they become eligible for citizenship
in Kuwait. Although subject to the same regulations as foreigners, Palestinian refugees in Saudi Arabia “have
been slowly and silently moving from the status of expatriate to something else, to a new category with a more
favourable treatment that still does not exist in the local legislation.” 118
Prior to 1994, Palestinians residing in Libya generally enjoyed the same residency rights as Libyan nationals,
although many Palestinians have had to live in specially designated areas. However, in response to the 1993 Oslo
Accords between the PLO and Israel, the Libyan government expelled Palestinians from its territory, causing
a humanitarian crisis on its border and a political crisis with Egypt. The crisis was resolved in 1998 following
international intervention. Expelled Palestinians were eventually re-admitted, but residency rights have not been
reinstated to their previous level.
c. The right to an identity and travel document
Most Palestinian refugees and internally displaced are stateless persons (see box: Status of Palestinian Refugees
under the Statelessness Conventions) and require travel documents in order to move across international borders.
Most Arab host states issue travel documents in accordance with the Casablanca Protocol. Refugees residing in
states that signed the 1951 Refugee Convention and who are recognized as “Convention Refugees” are eligible for
Convention travel documents.
Palestinian refugees displaced to Jordan in 1948 hold Jordanian citizenship and regular passports; they do not
require travel documents. In Jordan, a number of Palestinian refugees from the occupied Gaza Strip who entered
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