Asylum and Refugee Law

In order to succeed in gaining full refugee status, it will be necessary to show that an asylum seeker’s circumstances fall within the definition of refugee as laid out in the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees 1951 and its protocol of 1967.

The Convention 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 out of the country of his nationality and is unable or owning to such a fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country…”

In order to qualify for Refugee Status the Home Office must be satisfied that there is a reasonable likelihood of an asylum seeker being persecuted if returned to their country of origin.

Procedure

In order to claim asylum for the first time an asylum seeker needs to claim asylum on arrival at the port of entry or attend the Home Office in person at the earliest opportunity as any delay in claiming asylum may cast doubt of the credibility of the claim. There will then be interviews conducted by an Immigration Officer called a screening interview and a substantive interview at a scheduled date and time.

Immigration Status Pending The Outcome Of Your Application

When the Home Office has acknowledged an application, an asylum seeker will not have any permanent status in the country, but they will not be removed, pending consideration of the Asylum application. If they decide to leave the United Kingdom voluntarily before a decision on the asylum application is made, the Home Office will treat the application as having been abandoned. This will have the effect of terminating the application.

Evidence

If there is documentary evidence to support an asylum claim, such as summonses, arrest warrants, court cases it will strengthen the case. Newspaper reports or letters can also be relevant. In addition, there are many cases where there has been some torture or detention involved in the asylum claim and a medical report regarding this can verify any physical or mental scars.

Permission to Work and Change in Circumstances

An asylum seeker is not allowed to work while their asylum case is being decided and they must inform the Home Office if there are any changes in their circumstances, such as marriage, birth of a child, illness while their application is pending. However, if an asylum application remains outstanding for over one year, there is a possibility of applying for permission to work to the Home Office.

Possible Outcomes of Application

It is difficult to give an accurate estimate of how long a case will take to be decided, but the Home Office tries to make initial decisions on applications within 2-3 months of the asylum interview. If the Home Office refuses an asylum application there is usually a chance to appeal to the Immigration and Asylum Chamber to overturn the decision. Furthermore, should this also be dismissed and all appeals rights become exhausted there may be a possibility of submitting a fresh claim for asylum if there is new evidence that was not considered before. In order for the fresh evidence to be accepted they must be significantly different from the material that has previously been considered. The submissions will only be significantly different if the content: (i) had not already been considered; and (ii) taken together with the previously considered material, created a realistic prospect of success, notwithstanding its rejection.

Refugee Status

If an asylum seeker is granted refugee status, then they would automatically be entitled to a grant for further education and public funds as well as rights to apply to the local authority for housing. Once an asylum seeker is granted Refugee status they will be entitled to 5 years Leave to Enter/Remain initially and may, after this, become eligible to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain.

Family Reunion

Where an asylum seeker is granted Refugee status they can sponsor entry clearance applications to reunite with their spouse, children or dependant relatives.

Humanitarian Protection

The Home Office may not be satisfied that an asylum seeker has a well-founded fear of persecution, but believes that they have other good reasons to remain in the UK. These reasons would include strong compassionate factors or the likelihood that they would face death or inhumane or degrading treatment if forced to leave the UK. In these circumstances they may be given humanitarian protection known as HP instead of refugee status. There will be a time limit on leave to enter or remain in the UK. Before the time limit expires, they may apply for your leave to be renewed, at which point, the case will be actively reviewed.

Discretionary Grant of Leave to Enter/Remain

Discretionary Grant of Leave is granted outside the Immigration Rules. This is given when the Home Office is not satisfied that an asylum seeker has a well-founded fear of persecution and where there are insufficient reasons for granting protection on humanitarian grounds. There is a time limit on this leave and it may be renewed on application before the expiry date, when the case will be reviewed. The maximum time limit for Discretionary Leave is 3 years. Once Discretionary Leave has been given for 6 years to an asylum seeker they can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain.

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