Introduction
Immigration has always been a contentious political, social and legal topic in the UK. Navigating the UK asylum system can often be difficult for people who are still trying to understand life in the UK, moving from their home country, and even processing the hardships they have encountered. It is a process which puts the burden of proof on the person claiming asylum to prove why they should be allowed protection in the UK, yet it is far from straight forward for many of those claiming asylum. People may have already faced hardships such as war, and on top of that having to navigate a completely new system of law in a completely new country. This can seriously disadvantage people who are simply looking to seek a better life and protection from the hardships they have faced.
Key terms
- Asylum Seekers: a person who arrives at another country and seeks asylum by seeking protection from that country.
- Granted leave to remain: This relates to the step where asylum seekers are accepted into the system and given protection by being granted leave to remain. This gives them refugee status and gives up to 5 years protection, which means they will not be sent to their home country in this time and will be able to live in the UK. Whereby they can then further apply for indefinite leave to remain.
- Refugee: Article 1 of the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees defines a refugee as:
“a person who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country”
A refugee is someone who has been given protection and granted leave to remain in another country different from his home country.
The key difference between asylum seekers and refugees
Asylum seekers are people seeking protection from the UK, whilst refugees have been granted that protection. When the protection is granted, then an asylum seeker will become a refugee. So, an asylum seeker is the start of the process, whilst being a refugee is the end of it. They are not the same status, and both have with them unique and separate issues for people. However, in this blog, I will focus on the process from asylum seeker to refugee.
What is the process itself?
- CLAIMING ASYLUM
To start the process, a person who is not yet in the UK must arrive in an airport or at a point of entry to the UK and claim asylum immediately on arrival. They will then have a screening interview by an immigration officer. But if a person claims asylum not immediately on arrival to the UK but sometime after, their interview will be at the Home Office’s Screening Unit, which is located in Croydon, London. However, taking longer to claim asylum might give the Home Office a reason to believe that there is not an immediate fear of persecution, and that refugee status might not then be necessary.
- SCREENING INTERVIEW
In the interview, asylum seekers are asked for personal information such as their nationality, age, background etc. Immigration officials will also ask about their journey to the UK, if they have stopped at any countries before the UK. The Immigration Officials at this stage are trying to gauge whether protection from fear of persecution is completely necessary for this person, particularly if they might have, for example, failed to seek asylum in other countries where they could’ve got protection. It must be noted that at this stage, asylum seekers are left alone, with no guidance from lawyers, in a completely new country with a completely new system.
- ACCOMMODATION
Following this, asylum seekers may live with relatives they might have in the UK for example. If asylum seekers do not have anywhere to live and no funds to support themselves, the Home Office disperses them into temporary accommodation until their substantive interview. Asylum seekers often have no say in where they will be placed. In the meantime, they are entitled to ‘asylum support’, which provides housing and a small amount of money. This usually equates to around £5 a day per week, so only around £35 a week. In a month, this would be around £140, which is arguably only a small portion of most people’s rent, let alone any other living costs. However, asylum seekers also cannot work to get themselves more money, so they are bound to this limited support cost.
- SUBSTANTIVE INTERVIEW
Then comes the substantive interview. This is the main interview which determines whether an asylum seeker will be given refugee status. The purpose of the interview is to ask about their journey to assess their reasons for claiming asylum in the UK. For asylum seekers to be accepted, they must show a fear of persecution on their country, and that they are individually affected by this.
A fear of persecution relates to the idea that you have a well-founded fear of returning to your home country. This could be due to sexuality, race, religion and more (see refugee definition). This has to be proven in two ways: subjective and objective. The applicants have to prove that objectively, there is a fear of persecution in their home country, but also that they individually, from a subjective standpoint, have a fear of persecution. For example, if a country were acting out violently against a particular religion, someone must prove that there is a fear of persecution in the country itself, but in particular for them as member of that religion.
Asylum seekers are individually interviewed and asked multiple questions for potentially hours by the Home Office. The Home Office might even ask asylum seekers the same question but in different ways in the interview. It is crucial for asylum seekers to speak openly and honestly about their journey, and are asked to talk about difficult topics, which might involve things such as sexual violence, torture, or war. As much detail as possible has to be given in the interview, and this can really be difficult for asylum seekers to respeak of past traumas and experiences.
Asylum seekers will then be given a decision by the Home Office, but this might take six months or more. If you’re accepted, you are granted refugee status and a right to remain in the UK. If refused, as most people are initially, you will then have to either accept the decision or appeal it. But if the claim has been certified by the Home Office as clearly unfounded, you will not be able to appeal.
- APPEAL
If there is a choice to appeal, asylum seekers’ cases are represented at a first tier tribunal court by a judge. There are only 14 days after the decision to submit the appeal application. The hearing will happen in a public hearing in the court. People can wait months or even years for their appeal hearing.
If the decision is positive, the Home Office might appeal, or you might just be granted refugee status, and your asylum support will stop in a month. However, if it is negative, you have 14 days to appeal to the Upper Tribunal. Also, people might get their application refused. Once it is officially refused, asylum seekers at this point are then called “appeal right exhausted”. This means people will be asked to leave accommodation and income support will be stopped, which then means people are deported from the UK.
For a review on the problems the process creates and also wider issues with the systems see our blog post on Friday.
Written by Luned.