UNHCR Cash Assistance

UNHCR’s change from monthly to quarterly (three-month) cash assistance lists will enable UNHCR to provide better and more efficient services to its refugee recipients.  It will also increase the predictability of its cash assistance programme.  If your family is included in the cash list, you are assured to receive cash assistance every month for at least three months.  If your family is not included in the cash list, then you know that you will not receive cash assistance for at least three months.  This predictability allows you and your family to plan better and make more informed decisions about your finances.

The quarterly cash assistance list will also enable UNHCR staff to troubleshoot and solve any issues that you may face in receiving and withdrawing your cash assistance. This will reduce the number of late payments that you receive because of technical issues.

Finally, the quarterly cash assistance cycle will give cash assistance recipients more time to withdraw and use their cash assistance.  For ATM card holders, and Iris-scan users, this means that you can receive your money and wait to withdraw or use it.  You will have two and a half months to access your cash assistance from the ATM.  This flexibility will save you time and money, and allow you to decide when and where you want to access your UNHCR cash assistance.

UNHCR is moving to a quarterly cycle for its Basic Needs cash assistance programme. UNHCR does not have enough funding to support all those that need cash assistance and must therefore prioritize who it can support with this monthly assistance.

Since you received this message from UNHCR, this means that you will receive cash assistance every month for three months—or, for one quarter, as long as your asylum seeker certificate is valid. After that point, UNHCR will prioritize which families will receive the cash assistance for the next quarter (or, three months).

There is no guarantee that you family will be either included or excluded from the cash assistance in the next quarter, or in future quarters.

UNHCR makes its prioritization decisions based on the information in your case file, and from your home visits. UNHCR can only afford to provide cash assistance to families in greatest need of financial assistance—for persons that are unable to work, for persons with disabilities, serious medical conditions, children, and care givers of these persons.

Therefore, please make sure that your UNHCR case file is up to date, that you inform UNHCR of any significant changes to your situation, and that you make sure that your Asylum Seeker Certificate is valid. This will help UNHCR to make informed decisions when prioritizing which families are to receive basic needs cash assistance in the following quarter/s.

UNHCR does not have enough funding to support all those that need cash assistance and must therefore prioritize who it can afford to support with this monthly assistance. There are many refugee families that are in extremely difficult situations.

UNHCR considers a variety of factors when deciding which families are prioritized for the basic needs cash assistance. In general, families that are not able to meet their most basic survival needs on their own, have multiple vulnerabilities (e.g., debilitating medical conditions, severe disabilities, caregiver responsibilities for such persons, etc.), and do not have anyone who is able to work, are the ones that receive the highest priority for UNHCR basic needs cash assistance.

UNHCR makes its cash assistance decisions based on the information in the UNHCR refugee case files.  We also use the information gathered during refugee home visits and other assessments.  UNHCR cash assistance priorities are based on refugee perspectives and recommendations—gathered through a consultative process involving refugees from different nationalities, profiles, gender, geographic locations and age groups—for who is “vulnerable” and “in need” of financial assistance.

Make sure that your UNHCR case file is up to date.

UNHCR does not have enough funding to support all those that need cash assistance and must therefore prioritize who it can support with this type of assistance.  UNHCR’s cash assistance prioritizes families that are in greatest need of financial assistance for their very survival.  There are many refugee families that are in extremely difficult situations.

To make sure that UNHCR is making informed decisions on your family’s situation, please make sure that your:

• Asylum Seeker Certificate (issued by UNHCR) is valid and renewed on time.
• UNHCR registration case file is up to date. Contact UNHCR is there has been a:
  • Change to your phone number
  • Birth or death
  • Marriage, separation or divorce
  • Change in a family member’s health (new or worsening medical condition/s, disabilities, etc).
  • migration of a family member

To update your UNHCR case file, please call UNHCR to arrange an appointment with UNHCR registration.

It is very important that UNHCR has your most updated phone number.  You may update your phone number with UNHCR by calling the UNHCR Helpline (064008000) or by making an appointment with UNHCR.

No, you will not receive a lump sum payment.  If you have been notified that you are prioritized for basic needs cash assistance for the next quarter, you can expect to receive cash assistance every month, for three months.  You will not receive a lump sum payment worth three months of cash assistance.  You will receive a monthly payment, every month for three months.

Please be aware that your case may or may not be prioritized for the next quarterly cash assistance cycle.  Only those families that are included in the cash assistance cycle will be notified via SMS.

Only families that are to be included in the next quarterly cash assistance cycle will be informed by UNHCR via SMS.  UNHCR will not be informing refugee families if they are not included in the quarterly cash assistance cycle.  All included families will receive a SMS message from UNHCR by the first week of the quarter.

If you are included or not included in UNHCR’s quarterly cash cycle, this decision is valid for three months.  In other words, if you are not included in the quarterly cash cycle, you will not be informed via SMS, and you will not be considered for cash assistance until the next quarterly cycle.

No. UNHCR will not inform families if they are not included in the next quarterly cash assistance cycle. Only families that are to be included in the next quarterly cash assistance cycle will be informed by UNHCR via SMS.  UNHCR will not be informing refugee families if they are not included in the quarterly cash assistance cycle.  All included families will receive a SMS message from UNHCR by the first week of the quarter.

UNHCR will no longer be sending out two month “cancellation” notifications. If you are included, or not included, in UNHCR’s quarterly cash cycle, this decision is valid for three months.  In other words, if you are not included in the quarterly cash cycle, you will not be informed via SMS, and you will not be considered for cash assistance until the next quarter.

Please note, just because you weren’t included in one quarter does not mean that you will not be included in another quarter. Similarly, if you received cash assistance from UNHCR during one quarter, there is no guarantee that you will be prioritized to receive this assistance in other quarters.

You can contact the UNHCR Helpline (064008000) in the third month of the quarter (after you have received your final monthly payment of the quarter) to check your inclusion/exclusion status with the UNHCR basic needs cash assistance programme.

You can contact the UNHCR Helpline (064008000) to find out your inclusion/exclusion status for UNHCR cash assistance.

Families who will be included for cash assistance for the next quarter will also be informed via SMS by the first week of the quarter. If you do not receive any SMS from UNHCR by the end of the first week of the following quarter, this means that your file is not included for cash assistance in the relevant quarter.

Please note that the decision to include your file or not for assistance is valid and limited to three months. In other words, if your file is not included in the quarterly cash assistance cycle, you will not be notified via SMS, and you will not be considered for cash assistance until the next cycle (next three months).

Likewise, if you receive cash assistance from UNHCR during one quarter, it does not necessarily mean that you will be given priority to receive this assistance in other quarters and prioritization is based on an assessment of the families most in need.

You can contact the UNHCR Helpline (064008000) to find out your inclusion/exclusion status for UNHCR cash assistance.  If you have not received a message from UNHCR by the end of the first week of the quarter, you have not been included in UNHCR’s quarterly cash assistance list.

UNHCR does not have enough funding to support all those that need cash assistance and must therefore prioritize who it can support with this type of assistance.  UNHCR’s cash assistance prioritizes families that are in greatest need of financial assistance for their very survival. There are many refugee families that are in extremely difficult situations.

UNHCR considers a variety of factors when deciding which families to prioritize for their monthly cash assistance. In general, families that are not able to meet their most basic survival needs on their own, have multiple vulnerabilities (e.g., debilitating medical conditions, severe disabilities, caregivers of such persons, etc.), and do not have anyone who is able to work, are the ones that receive the highest priority for UNHCR cash assistance.

To make sure that UNHCR is making informed decisions on your family’s situation, please make sure that your:

• Asylum Seeker Certificate (issued by UNHCR) is valid and renewed on time.
• UNHCR registration case file is up to date. Contact UNHCR is there has been a:
  • Change to your phone number
  • Birth or death
  • Marriage, separation or divorce
  • Change in a family member’s health (new or worsening medical condition/s, disabilities, etc).
  • migration of a family member

To update your UNHCR case file, please call UNHCR to arrange an appointment with UNHCR registration.

It is very important that UNHCR has your most updated phone number.  You may update your phone number with UNHCR by calling the UNHCR Helpline (064008000) or by making an appointment with UNHCR.

At this time, UNHCR is not planning to change its cash assistance transfer values or the frequency of the transfers.  However, donor funding to UNHCR in Jordan is reducing because of all of the other conflicts happening in the world. This means that UNHCR may, in the future, have to adjust its transfer values, the frequency of the cash transfers, or the number of refugee families it can help with monthly cash assistance.

UNHCR knows that you face many challenges.  We rely on donor funding, however, to sustain our cash assistance programme. With reduced donor funding, UNHCR has no choice but to reduce its cash assistance programme as a last resort.

For more information on WFP food assistance, please contact WFP directly. UNHCR can only provide you with information about UNHCR assistance.

Yes. How much money you receive as cash assistance from UNHCR depends on the number of persons on your family’s UNHCR case file. If you have been included in the UNHCR quarterly cash assistance list, and there has been a change to your family size or composition during the quarter, UNHCR will take this into consideration and adjust your monthly cash transfer value accordingly.

Contact the UNHCR Helpline (064008000) if you have any difficulties accessing your cash assistance.  A ticket will be created on your behalf, and UNHCR may contact you to resolve the issue.  Please make sure that your phone number is updated—this can be done through the Helpline.

Due to the limited funding, UNHCR must focus on the poorest of the poor. Although we understand you are in need, others are more vulnerable than you have been selected for cash assistance.

Having a job or having a work permit is not one of the criteria taken into consideration when reviewing your eligibility for cash assistance.

UNHCR highly recommends that you obtain a work permit for any work you do. Having a work permit protects you and your labour rights at work.

Cash assistance eligibility does not affect your file’s resettlement opportunities or status determination as an asylum-seeker or refugee.

Please note that UNHCR cash assistance is only for refugees living in Jordan. Therefore, if a refugee family leaves the country, their assistance will be be suspended. In the event of return to Jordan, this will require a new evaluation of the family situation in order to be re-included in the cash assistance programme.

UNHCR does not have access to any of the refugees’ banking information, and any transfers that refugees may receive from abroad or inside the country, whether through the bank, exchange shops, or mobile wallets, are private and confidential data for refugees. Please note that cash assistance is not a permanent solution and depends on the availability of funding, eligibility, and giving priority to families who have not previously received it. Therefore, we encourage all refugees to find alternative sources of income (such as obtaining a job or training opportunities), which will help you secure a stable future for you and your families.