Its urban operation is primarily based in New Delhi with a smaller presence in Chennai to facilitate the voluntary repatriation of Sri Lankan refugees.

[7] UNHCR works with several NGOs including BOSCO, the Socio Legal Information Centre (SLIC), the Gandhi National Memorial Society and Development And Justice Initiative (DAJI), Action Aid India and Save the Children, India (SCI) to support refugees and asylum seekers.

[8][9][10][11] UNHCR in India conducts Refugee Status Determination (RSD) procedures, which start with the registration of individual asylum-seekers.

It conducts the Post Graduate Diploma course in Refugee law in collaboration with the Indian Society of International Law (ISIL) in New Delhi[12] The 'Ilham' project, a catering service run by Afghan refugee women with the help of UNHCR India and its partner ACCESS Development Services, has been receiving rave reviews.

The project has given a new ray of hope for the women, who have found a reliable means of supporting their families, besides coping with the physical and psychological problems of refugee life.