Self-service Portal – Privacy Notice

UNHCR is the United Nations Refugee Agency that provides protection and assistance to refugees, asylum-seekers, stateless and internally displaced people.

UNHCR collects and uses personal data pursuant to the UNHCR General Policy on Data Protection and Privacy (2022) and Policy on the Protection of Personal Data of Persons of Concern to UNHCR (2015). This privacy notice will explain how our organization uses the personal data we collect from you when you use our self-service platform and your rights relating to our use of your personal data.

This privacy notice will explain how our organization uses the personal data we collect from you when you use our self-service platform and your rights relating to our use of your personal data.

What data do we collect and why? 

In Indonesia, UNHCR may assist and provide protection services to stateless persons and people forced to flee their home countries. This assistance and services may include documentation issuance, protection against involuntary return to their home countries, support with accessing medical services, education, – subject to specific preconditions – financial support, and durable solutions. To do so, UNHCR needs to register people seeking UNHCR’s support.  

Once you create an account on this portal, we will collect and use your personal data (and personal data of the people who chose to jointly register with you) for the following purposes: 

a. To initiate your registration process (if you are not yet registered with UNHCR, and to ensure you have a distinct and reliable identity in our system), we will collect and use the following personal data: 

  • Full name,
  • Date of birth,  
  • Nationality,
  • Ethnicity,
  • Religion,
  • Your contact details,
  • Your last residential address in your home country, 
  • Your current address in Indonesia. The portal will also process your IP address to confirm that you are currently in Indonesia, 
  • Your date of arrival in Indonesia, 
  • Photograph, 
  • In case you have an identity document, document type, document number, and the photo/scan of your document.

b. If you are not yet registered with UNHCR, to review your application and to set up your registration interview, and to address any immediate protection needs you may have, UNHCR will collect and use information about your protection needs and vulnerabilities.

For those who have not yet been registered with UNHCR, UNHCR will not be able to provide you with assistance without the requested personal data, which will be verified during your in-person appointment. If you provide inaccurate or false information, it may affect your eligibility for protection and assistance. If you feel uncomfortable with sharing your personal data through this online portal, or if you do not have all the information at hand, you can request a registration interview in person at one of UNHCR offices. 

You can read here about UNHCR registration procedure in Indonesia and its outcomes for you. 

To ensure your secure and continued access to the portal and allow UNHCR communicate with you, the e-mail address and phone number provided by you to create an account at the portal will be verified via one-time password (OTP) during account creation. 

Our use of your personal data through this Portal will not involve automated decision making. The basis for collecting, storing and using your personal data is UNHCR’s mandate as established by the United Nations General Assembly. You can read more about our Mandate here.

How long do we store your personal data? 

We will keep your personal data in the portal until your registration during your in-person interview as defined below. Once your registration is completed, we may continue to keep your personal data as long as it is necessary to allow you to access your personal data, check certain status of your case, and use other digital services as they become available.

For those who have not yet been registered with UNHCR, if you do not visit UNHCR for a registration interview within a period of 12 months after creating an account in the portal, your account and associated personal data will be deleted from the portal, unless you have a valid registration interview appointment. Your account and personal data will be deleted if you do not submit an application for a registration interview within six months after you created your account, or if you do not enter any personal data in the portal within four weeks after account creation.  

Who will have access to your data? 

All information shared by you through the portal will be kept confidential and only used by qualified personnel of UNHCR and partners to perform their duties. 

To ensure your effective protection against refoulement (i.e., the prevention of your involuntary return to your country of origin), to facilitate your taking up of legal residence in Indonesia, and to enable your access to public services in Indonesia including access to the health system and the education system, we will share your basic biodata with the relevant Ministry of Foreign Affairs and government entities in Indonesia who need process such data for your protection against refoulement and to provide assistance. 

UNHCR’s non-governmental partners may conduct assessments and targeting for provision of life-saving assistance and services. We may share necessary personal data with such partner organizations for this purpose.  

UNHCR uses Microsoft to host the Portal and related UNHCR systems and to provide technical support and maintenance services for the Portal and related UNHCR systems. Microsoft is contractually bound to keep the personal data secure and confidential and to process it only under UNHCR’s instructions.

Under no circumstances will we share your personal data with the government in your home country or any other entity other than those indicated above. 

What are your rights and how can you exercise them? 

You have the following rights relating to our use of your personal data:

  • You can access your personal data by logging on to your profile. 
  • You can update your contact information and manage your appointment through the portal. Once you have submitted your application, however, you will no longer be able to change your basic biographic information until your in-person appointment. During this time period, you can request from UNHCR correction of your contact details. If you notice that your personal data is inaccurate or incomplete, you can request for its correction during your in-person interview.  You can request for deletion of your user count and personal data during your in-person interview.
  • You can object to collection, use and sharing of your personal data in certain circumstances during your-registration interview, for example if you believe it may put you under serious risk. Such requests will be evaluated by UNHCR on a case-by-case basis. 

UNHCR will verify your identity and may request additional information to support your request. This step ensures the confidentiality and integrity of your personal data before we grant any rights related to it. Moreover, if you believe your rights have been violated by UNHCR’s processing of your personal data, you may lodge a complaint by writing an e-mail to [email protected] or escalate it with the UNHCR Inspector General’s Office. All complaints are treated with strict confidentiality. 

How to contact us?

If you have any questions about UNHCR’s privacy notice, the data we hold on you, or you would like to exercise one of your data subject rights, please contact us