Francis El Jeebeeteacueplus goes to a UNHCR office and fills out the first form to apply for asylum and become a refugee. The officer they’ve presented themself to will give them a stamped referral note to the Department of Refugee Services (DRS) they’re being referred to, and will contain their name, gender, family size, country of origin, and date and port of entry into Kenya.
Francis goes to DRS within 30d of entering Kenya with any/all family members and with all relevant documents. Then, a DRS agent registers Francis and any associated family members. At this point, Francis has a refugee ID number, and an interview is scheduled with a Refugee Status Determination (RSD) officer.
Francis and any associated family members show up at the designated time and place for the RSD interview, and DRS decides if they can become refugees. If denied, they can appeal to the Refugee Appeals Board. Per my understanding, only those who have refugee status in another country or who have committed crimes against humanity or who could, based on previous crimes committed, pose a threat to national security may be denied at this stage. Even though the Kenyan Commissioner of the RSD Board (that also contains UNHCR Members) does not believe that persecution on the basis of sexuality or gender identity warrants refugee status or relocation, he cannot deny someone at this stage without the individual meeting the above criteria.
Since Francis El Jeebeeteacueplus has applied for asylum on the basis of sexuality and persecution due to their non-heterosexual and/or non-cis-gendered gender identity, their case remains undecided indefinitely. Unlike the “90-day” turnaround purported to apply for other refugees, they are left in limbo for years or decades. Presumably, the Commissioner has these cases in a huge pile somewhere collecting dust. Meanwhile, these refugees cannot apply for resettlement. The UNHCR does not have the authority to override the Kenyan Commissioner, so they cannot circumvent his tactics. If Francis receives approval as a refugee at this stage, they must demonstrate to an antagonistic Commissioner that they cannot either safely return to their country of origin or safely remain in Kenya. They must receive relocation to a third country for their safety. The Commissioner can block anyone such as Francis at this stage, when they have applied for resettlement.
Sometimes, someone like Francis finds a sympathetic UNHCR member who will specifically take their case around the Commissioner, for a fee. So, when these refugees receive their mandate for resettlement, they have effectively bought it.
Canada, France, and any other country willing to take refugees from Kenya can specify the number of people they want in a given age range and in a given educational bracket. They cannot specify based on sexuality or gender identity.
Private sponsorships of individual refugees can happen, independent of whether or not Francises have received their mandates for resettlement; however, they require two years of preparation and $20,000 USD or the equivalent thereof in local currency to assure that the adopted refugee will never rely on local government funding.
