Asylum & Refugees
A refugee is a person who leaves his homeland because of fear of or actual persecution and seeks refuge or asylum in another country. Asylum is regulated by international convention. The 1951 Convention in relation to the status of refugees is the principal instrument.
The United Nations Commissioner for Refugees is an umbrella body responsible for guidance on the interpretation and implementation of the Convention. A person is disqualified from asylum if he acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations. This includes involvement in terrorism, directly or indirectly. Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights incorporates a duty on States to protect persons from torture, inhuman or degrading treatment.
An asylum claim is a claim that to require the person to leave will be contrary to the United Kingdom’s obligations under the Geneva Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights.
Credibility is often the key issue in an asylum claim. A person seeking asylum must make an application to be verified by the Home Office against information known relating to the country of origin. He is brought to an interview, and the case is presented to an asylum case worker.
The Asylum and Immigration Treatment of Claimants Act 2004 makes provisions for the determination of credibility. It applies to the Secretary of State, Immigration Officers, the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal, and the Special Immigration Appeals Commission. It designates a range of behaviour which is deemed damaging to credibility and must be taken into account in deciding the matter.
The matters which are taken into account include failing without reasonable explanation to produce a passport, failure to make an asylum or human rights claim before being arrested, and general criteria allowing for consideration of other behaviour.
If an application for asylum is rejected, there is an appeal to the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal. As of 2006, this was inspected to be contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights as it is a limited appeal on a point of law.
The 1999, 2002, and 2004 Acts deal with the support for asylum-seekers and their dependents. There was a National Asylum Support Service, which is responsible for their support. Support may be provided through adequate accommodation, provision for essential living needs, and meeting provisions for expenses in relation to asylum claims.
Local authorities may provide support in accordance with arrangements with the Home Secretary. There are a number of offences in relation to misuse of the system, including giving false statements, delaying obstruction without reasonable cause.
The 2002 legislation provides for accommodation centres for asylum-seekers and their dependents. They may be detained in remand centres for short periods to process their application under the European Convention on Human Rights. They may offer facilities and services including food, essential items, money assistance and transport, religious observance facilities, healthcare, education, and training.
For a claim for asylum, a person shall not be given support where a claim has been made or the person is not satisfied that the Home Secretary is not satisfied that the claim has been made as soon as reasonably practicable after a person has arrived in the United Kingdom. It may also be refused where incomplete information has been furnished. There is a discretion to vary the rules to the extent necessary to ensure the European Convention on Human Rights is not breached.
The 2004 Act provides for the withdrawal of support where applications for asylum have failed and the applicants failed to leave the country voluntarily. An interview was conducted before withdrawal.
The 2002 Act provides reporting obligations and residence requirements. Failure to comply may make a person liable to be detained. There is an induction process up to 14 days to explain procedures involved in the asylum application and requirements that must be satisfied.
First, they may be required to reside for the purpose of the induction. This may be required irrespective of whether alternative accommodation is available. The process of retaining, requiring applicants to reside for a short period to ensure speedy processing was lawful and did not contravene the European Convention on Human Rights.
A person who is found to be a refugee must not be expelled or returned to the country where he fears persecution. If he has come via a third country, he may be returned to that third country. That third country must not pose a risk to the applicant. In other cases, the refugee is entitled to remain. He may, however, be deported on the basis of national security or public order if another country will accept him. If he has been involved in terrorist activity, he is denied the protection of the Convention entirely.
The 2004 Act replaced the previous two-tier system of appeal with a single appeal to the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal. A further appeal on a point of law is available to the High Court (in London) in England or in Northern Ireland. There is a further appeal respectively to the Court of Appeal in England and Wales or Northern Ireland (or equivalent in Scotland in each case).
An appeal may only be brought to the Tribunal with its permission or if the Tribunal refuses, with the appropriate appeals court. Appealable decisions include refusal of leave to enter the United Kingdom, refusal of entry clearance, refusal of a certificate of entitlement (right of residence), refusal to vary leave to enter or remain, revocation of indefinite leave, removal decision under the Immigration Act, removal of illegal entrants and dependents, deportation orders, refusal to revoke deportation orders.
There are specified and more limited grounds of appeal in respect of immigration and asylum claims. If the applicant is entitled to live in a State specified in the legislation, section 94(4E) must certify that the claim is unfounded unless he is otherwise satisfied.