The definition of a refugee is laid down in the United Nations Convention on Refugees. It states:

• A refugee is a person who has a well-founded fear of being persecuted in his home country on the grounds of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership of a particular ethnic or social group and who has no protection in his own country.

In many countries, for example, it is forbidden and punishable to belong to another religion than the state religion and certainly to try to persuade others to practice that other religion as well. If the authorities of that country find out that the asylum seeker practices another religion, he or she will be prosecuted for that. If an asylum seeker can prove that this is the case, he or she should be protected and granted a refugee status. This is also referred to as an A status.