In general if a refugee applies for asylum in one country for political reasons, he or she has to prove being persecuted on political grounds in the country that this person is trying to leave permanently.

However in practice there are certain European countries where there are so many applications from refugees on political grounds that they could not be considered. In addition due to a priority of considering applications from the countries that account for most numbers of political refugees such as Syria, application from other countries could simply not be accepted or denied for everyone. At the same time if there is a law that entitles a potential refugee applicant to stay in a country as long as his or her asylum application is under consideration, that could motivate a person to stay in a country and look for work. Once such person finds work he or she might be able to apply for long-stay work permit and turn into economic migrant. Therefore oftentimes it is the procedures at the country of application that determine whether someone is an economic migrant or a political refugee.

The difference between a migrant and a refugee is that migrants move out of choice and have the capacity to plan the move, but refugees are forced to move from their own country due to fears for their safety and future.

However there are implications involved when it comes to classifying who is moving and for what reason. For example, refugees can seek refuge under the 1951 Refugee Convention in countries which signed up to the agreement. Yet, when it comes to political refugees the situation might be less clear and it could not only impede on their refugee status but also on their right to stay in the host country. This is because political refugees are forced into moving from their home nation due to a specific political policy which might render them vulnerable and result in fears for their safety. For example, there has been much press given to the situation affecting homosexuals in Russia only quite recently.

If a political refugee arrives in a host country without document though and under conditions where the reasons for seeking refuge may not be as well publicized as with the Syrian situation, it is difficult for them to prove they are seeking asylum from oppression. In respect of economic migrants, because their move is planned, there are rarely issues relating to required legal documentation entitling them to residency.