Unit 3: Reception and Registration for Mandate RSD Refugee Status Applicants and all accompanying adult family members/dependants applying for derivative refugee status must complete all parts of the RSD Application Form. The requirement that all accompanying adult family members/dependants complete the RSD Application Form permits UNHCR to gather comprehensive registration information about Applicants for derivative refugee status and to identify individuals who may have specific needs and vulnerabilities. It is also intended to give all adult Applicants the opportunity to inform UNHCR of any individual protection needs they may have. The information on the RSD Application Form permits UNHCR to more systematically identify, at an early stage in the process, accompanying family members/dependants who may have independent grounds for seeking refugee protection, and whose eligibility for refugee status should be examined as Refugee Status Applicants in the RSD procedures. Unless accompanying family members/dependants of a Refugee Status Applicant request to have their claim determined independently, or there are other indications (at registration or later in the RSD process) that this would be appropriate, accompanying family members/dependants should be processed as Applicants for derivative refugee status (see § 5 – Processing Claims based on the Right to Family Unity). As a general rule, members of the Refugee Status Applicant’s household who are under 18 years need not complete the entire RSD Application Form, unless they are applying to have their eligibility for refugee status determined independently of the claim of accompanying adults, or there are other reasons why this would be appropriate. Children who are applying for refugee status in their own right should complete all sections of the RSD Application Form, and should be referred to an individual Registration Interview to receive any assistance they require from UNHCR Registration staff in making their application. All unaccompanied or separated children should complete the RSD Application Form in full (see § 3.4.6 – Child Applicants (Unaccompanied and Separated Children). In addition, reception and registration processes should be adjusted for unaccompanied and separated children to facilitate the collection of information necessary to assess the child’s assistance and protection needs, including the need to initiate tracing or family unity measures, make appropriate care arrangements, designate a guardian, and decide on appropriate procedures for processing the child’s claim (see also § 2.8.5 – Unaccompanied and Separated Children). Given the importance of the factual information gathered on the RSD Application Form for the determination of the refugee status claim, every effort should be made to ensure that Applicants have the opportunity to complete the RSD Application Form under appropriate conditions. Applicants should have sufficient time to receive and read information on the RSD process, to consider the evidence that may be relevant to their claim, and to complete all sections of the RSD Application Form. Every effort should be made to ensure that Applicants who complete the RSD Application Form at the UNHCR Office have adequate space and privacy, as well as assistance from Registration staff and interpreters where necessary. As a general rule, Applicants who do not require assistance in completing the RSD Application Form should be permitted to take the RSD Application Form away to complete independently and return it to UNHCR on the day of the Registration Interview. Applicants who are not able to read the RSD Application Form in the language provided, or who otherwise require assistance in completing the Form, should receive necessary assistance, including the use of a UNHCR interpreter. 105