The Asylum Journey - updated September 15
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One of the presentations we use as part of our in-house training - based on one delivered by the Refugee Council a long long time ago
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The Asylum Journey - updated September 15
- 2. Introductions •Name •What you are volunteering for •Why did you get involved?
- 3. Housekeeping and ground rules
- 4. What do people in the UK believe about refugees and asylum seekers?
- 5. What does LASSN believe? •People are misinformed •Informed people are often • sympathetic • supportive • generous
- 6. Definition of a refugee • A refugee is a person who has fled due to a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of • race • religion • nationality • membership of a particular social group • or political opinion Article 1, The 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees
- 7. Definition of an asylum seeker Someone who has fled their own country, arrived at another and claimed asylum due to a well founded fear of persecution.
- 8. Where do refugees come from? 2014http://www.unhcr.org/5423f9699.html
- 9. Where do refugees go? 2014
- 10. Migration in the UK – year ending June 2014 ons.gov.uk UK population = 64.6 million asylum seekers approx. 25,000 Arrivals into the UK 624,000 Departures from the UK 327,000 Net migration 298,000
- 11. Definitions • Asylum Seeker – fleeing persecution and has arrived in another country to claim asylum. • Refused asylum seeker – asylum claim refused (many variations). • Refugee – asylum claim successful, given the right to remain in the country, work etc. • Economic Migrant – has ‘chosen’ to travel to another country to take up or seek employment.
- 12. How many people do you think claim asylum in the UK each year? • Around 5,000 • Around 25,000 • Around 100,000 • Around 200,000 • More than 500,000
- 13. Asylum applications to the UK - 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000 60,000 70,000 80,000 90,000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
- 14. Asylum in the UK year ending June 15 Source: Migration Yorkshire 25,771 New claims for Asylum in the UK Less than 50% Granted leave to remain in the UK •30% at initial decision Refugees through resettlement programmes A few hundred
- 15. Application for asylum Basic ‘screening’ interview (photographed, fingerprinted) Home Office case owner assigned Substantive interview at Home Office Eligible for legal aid funded advice (but solicitor not funded to attend interview) Moved to initial accommodation Dispersed Decision on claim (UKBA target = within 30 days) Claim accepted, 5 years Leave to Remain granted. Claim refused, apply for appeal within 14 days. Eligible for Section 95 support – housing, utilities and weekly cash. Must sign at Home Office regularly. detained
- 16. Asylum Support •Home Office ‘Section 95’ support •accommodation (bills included) •weekly cash support - £36.95 for each person in the household (reduced August 2015) •Home Office ‘Section 4’ support • for refused asylum seekers (vulnerable/unable to return) • £35.39 per person on a payment card • Local authority supports ‘unaccompanied minors’
- 17. Detention All asylum seeking adults and families are “Liable to be detained” • No statutory limit to length of immigration detention. • The decision to detain is made by an immigration officer or a Home Office case owner, it is not automatically subject to independent review at any stage. • The coalition government committed to ending the detention of children.
- 18. Claim refused Refugee status/ Leave to Remain Appeal (within 10 days) Appeal refused Judicial review etc. Deportation/ voluntary returnLimbo Fresh claim/further submissions
- 19. Further information Section 4 – for those at the end of the legal system OR Judicial Review or Fresh Claim submitted. Illness, pregnancy or young children. Housing plus limited financial support. Destitution - Can happen at any stage of the process due to Home Office error, but most likely at end of legal process. Support from friends, family, charity, religious organisations. Healthcare – A&E, family planning and treatment for certain conditions free to ALL. Asylum seekers get free primary healthcare. Refugees same as residents. Legal advice – solicitors (paid and Legal Aid), charities, advisors.
- 20. Section 4 support Housing, utilities and (less) weekly cash on an ‘Azure card’ 1. Taking all reasonable steps to leave the UK 2. Unable to leave the UK - medical reason 3. Unable to leave the UK - is no viable route of return 4. Have made an application for judicial review. 5. Require support in order to avoid a breach of a person’s rights under the European Convention on Human Rights, e.g. submitted a fresh claim
- 21. Destitution • Refugees if bad transition between systems • Refused asylum seekers • Stateless people – no country will accept them • UK Government policy seems to encourage destitution? Can take the form of: • Street homelessness • ‘Sofa surfing’ • Charity housing
- 22. Access to healthcare Refugee - all health care, same as any other resident. Asylum seekers, refused asylum seekers appealing/on section 4, trafficked people • Free GP and NHS hospital treatment – primary care (inc. mental health) • free prescriptions Refused Asylum Seeker • treatment already underway is completed free of charge • free prescriptions Free services to all • Accident and emergency • Family planning • Treatment for certain conditions (TB, Measles) • Treatment for STIs • HIV/AIDS treatment • Mental health treatment under court order
- 23. Legal Advice Asylum seekers are entitled to FREE legal representation from: • A solicitor, or • An adviser who is Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC) registered (usually through a charity). BUT Legal Aid is now very limited. Do NOT give legal advice if you are not OISC registered, it’s illegal.
- 24. Any questions
Editor's Notes
- VOLUNTEER HANDOUTS Print slides 10 – 24 as handouts with 3 to a page Print slides 7, 9 and 15 as notes pages
- Refugee Council research in April 2011 - Britain (50%) are sympathetic to refugees coming to Britain 17% are undecided
- It seems obvious : a refugee is someone who is fleeing serious danger back home – and we usually do not think about what kind of danger that might be. It could be war, political persecution, famine, economic crises or natural disasters. But the word refugee has a very precise meaning so fleeing from famine or natural disaster is not included. Fleeing from Civil war is not included unless it is a particular fear due to nationality or politics.
- These figures are from UNHCR. First half of 2014 only This is JUST refugees who have settled in the 44 ‘industrialised countries’ (Europe, North America, Australasia, Japan, Korea), doesn’t count refugees in camps and other countries. Predicted 700,000 in 2014, highest for 20 years. Europe takes 4/5 of asylum seekers 1) Syria (unchanged) – 48,400 (8000 less than 2013) Highest number from one country since 1999 ALSO over 3 million in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey - 15% 2) Iraq (Russia last year, highest ever) – 21,300 (14000 less than 2013) 6% 3) Afghanistan (unchanged) – 19,300 (half of 2013) 6% 4) Eritrea (Iraq last year) – keeps increasing 6% 5) Serbia/Kosovo (unchanged) – 12,300 - has been increasing again since 2011 4% 6) Pakistan (unchanged) – 11,900 7) China (10 last year) – 10,600 8) Somalia (unchanged) – 9,100 9) Nigeria (up) – 8,900 10) Russia (down) – 8,600 Iran Mexico Mali Albania
- Map = whole world…8 out of 10 of ALL refugees escape to neighbouring countries in the same region. Of the 44 industrialised countries in first half 2014… 1) Germany - 65,700 2) US - 52,800 3) France – 29,000 4) Sweden 28, 500 5) Turkey – 27,700 6) Italy – 24,500 7) UK – 14,300 8) Netherlands – 12,300 (big increase) 9) Switzerland – 9,500 10) Austria – 8,400 UK hosts 1.5% of the world’s refugees, 4% of those in the 44 industrialised countries UK is ranked 18th in world for total numbers of refugees, 7th out of the 44 industrialised countries
- Arrivals: 47% non-EU 39% EU (up) 14% Brit Cit 42% come to take up (60%) or find (40%) work 30% formal study (71% non-EU) 14% came with or to join others (up despite restrictions on family reunion) PROBLEM with who gets work visas – higher salaried professions eg people working in financial services over nurses.
- Move around room to relevant bit of paper Someone working Someone at university Someone on job seekers allowance Someone homeless
- Year to June 2015 25,771 (not including dependents) In 2013 1) Pakistan – 3343 2) Iran – 2417 3) Eritrea – 1377 4) Sri Lanka – 1808 5) Syria – 1669 6) Albania – 1326 7) Bangladesh – 1123 8) Afghanistan – 1040 9) India – 965 10) Nigeria - 915
- Figures do not include dependants – there were 6,135 dependants in 2012 Has continued to rise slightly in 2013 and probably 14
- ****Unchanged since 2011 except 33p rise for single person**** Government tried to take away supplement for children from 1/4/2015 but backtracked, then was applied August 2015. Baby under 12 months = extra £5 a week. Pregnant women and children aged between one and three years = an extra £3 a week. If you are pregnant, you may be able to receive a £300 maternity payment, if you meet certain requirements. Asylum seekers ARE entitled to Social Services Support.
- About 29,000 people were detained in immigration detention in 2012 2-3000 people are detained at any one time Majority of detainees have sought asylum at some point
- In 2013 25% of appeals were allowed (leading to LR) Success rates much higher for some nationalities: (* these are percentages of appeals from people of those nationalities) Russia 55% Ethiopia 48% Sudan 45% Sri Lanka 44% Somalia 41% Kenya 40% DRCongo 38% Iran 32% Afghanistan 32%
- Must have had claim for asylum refused Must be destitute and be able to prove it e.g. supporting letters from charities giving food/shelter Submit application - no emergency accommodation while application is processed Must satisfy at least one of the 5 requirements
- ‘Sofa surfing’ – dependent on refugee communities Street homelessness Reliance on charities for food parcels and hot meals Frustration, anger, depression, perception (and reality) of there being no way out of the situation
- Changed recently Refused asylum seekers – free treatment in Wales and Scotland Trafficked – only if competent authority i.e. UK Human Trafficking Centre (UKHTC) and, where cases are linked to asylum and immigration issues, the UKBA, consider there are reasonable grounds to believe a person is a victim of human trafficking
- Illegal to give legal advice But it is hard to find a solicitor It is particularly hard to get for appeals. Legal aid is a fixed amount and many solicitors don’t feel it covers the amount of work involved. Also has to have 50% chance of success.