Inside the Residency Directorate in Tikrit, numbers were called one by one as refugees and asylum-seekers waited to meet a UNHCR mobile registration team. UNHCR’s September 2026 report records an officer calling “Number fifteen” and people climbing the stairs to join the queue. Eleven staff from Baghdad spent seven days registering new arrivals, renewing certificates, updating births, marriages, divorces and deaths, and assisting people considering voluntary return. The mobile format addressed more than convenience. A trip from Tikrit to Baghdad could cost a family of three about IQD 100,000—roughly US$80—and people without valid documents could face risks at checkpoints. Some applicants first used an online portal and received appointment calls. The distinctive feature of this queue was therefore its location: instead of requiring vulnerable families to travel to the national centre, the registration office travelled closer to them.