Safe and Legal’ Routes to the UK For Asylum Seekers, Refugees Seeking Protection

'Safe and legal' routes are sanctioned immigration provisions that provide access to the UK for humanitarian reasons. They are often referred to in discussions about how people seeking asylum can come to the UK.

Safe and legal routes take various forms. Successive recent UK governments have expanded UK refugee resettlement schemes. They have also created extra immigration routes in response to deteriorating security and human rights in Hong Kong, Afghanistan, and Ukraine.

The Johnson government committed to providing safe and legal routes of entry as part of a broader programme of asylum reforms outlined in its New Plan for Immigration policy statement (March 2021). It wanted fewer people to come to the UK as asylum seekers and more to come through safe and legal routes.

A December 2022 statement by the Prime Minister went further. Rishi Sunak announced that the Government now intends to make further legislative changes so that "the only way to come to the UK for asylum will be though safe and legal routes". He said that the Government would create additional legal routes "as we get a grip on illegal migration" and would introduce an annual quota for refugee resettlement.

Refugee rights campaigners have previously called for an annual target for refugee resettlement. But they have also cautioned that safe and legal routes are not available to everyone who needs protection. Consequently, they want them to be provided alongside an accessible in-country asylum system.

Read more: EIN, https://rb.gy/oirafx

Asylum-Seeking Children Kidnapped and Trafficked From Home Office Hotels

In October 2022, data revealed that 222 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children were kidnapped from hotels run by the Home Office, leading to claims that the government department is failing to deliver sufficient child protection. An Observer investigation recently revealed asylum-seeking children have been victims of kidnapping by gangs from a hotel in Brighton reportedly run by the Home Office, in addition to an estimated 136 children reported missing from 600 unaccompanied children in a Sussex hotel, with more than half remaining unaccounted for.

Further reports also stated that instances of trafficking from a similar hotel in Kent estimated that at least 10% of its children disappeared each week. No new guidance for the police has been given to detect the missing children, as sources provide that the guidance remains in ‘development’ despite the Home Office referring queries of criminal targeting of children to the police.

Read more: Kate Millinship, Justice Gap, https://rb.gy/cwiuhy

Time for the UK to Change its Stance on Asylum Seekers Working?

There have been many stories over the last few years about the reasons asylum seekers risk their lives crossing the Channel to come to the UK. If they are willing to do this, many people ask, then what is the point of making life more difficult for them when they arrive. Are people willing to brave sub-zero temperatures on a dingy really going to be deterred by the fact that they cannot work in the UK until they are granted asylum? This has often been the government’s explanation for why asylum seekers should be unable to work while their asylum claim is being considered.

An asylum seeker is allowed to apply for permission to work in the UK if a decision on their asylum claim has been outstanding for 12 months or more, where the delay is no fault of their own. If they are granted permission to work, they may then apply for jobs on the Shortage Occupation List.

Read more: Freemovement, https://rb.gy/hmdcqp

Common Cross-Cultural Pitfalls With Young Clients Seeking Asylum

This article reviews some common cross-cultural pitfalls between legal representatives and young people claiming asylum. It also provides some ideas on how to mitigate cultural misunderstandings.

Going into your initial meeting, a basic understanding of your client’s culture is helpful to build trust and a good rapport. It is not possible to know everything about the child’s home country, but a basic overview is key. Your client will inevitably present their story in the context of their own culture.

Ask active questions to the young person about how things work in their home country. Show interest and a willingness to be advised by your young client. This sets up a foundation of information sharing between client and legal representative.

Practically speaking, make a point of using simple language and avoiding acronyms and idioms. Be warm, open and take time to explain why you are asking questions. Explaining the reasoning behind questions helps build trust and understanding across cultures.

Make it clear you are separate from government bodies. Most young people will likely conflate you with the Home Office and social services. Many will enter the meeting with an entrenched fear and lack of trust towards the authorities.

Read more: Freemovement, https://rb.gy/21eufk

Missing Unaccompanied Asylum-seeking Children

We take our safeguarding responsibilities extremely seriously and we have procedures in place to ensure all children are accommodated as safely as possible while in those hotels. This work is led on site by personnel providing 24/7 supervision, with support from teams of social workers and nurses. Staff, including contractors, receive briefings and guidance on how to safeguard minors, while all children receive a welfare interview, which includes questions designed to identify potential indicators of trafficking or safeguarding risks. The movements of under-18s in and out of hotels are monitored and recorded, and they are accompanied by social workers when attending organised activities.

We have no power to detain unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in these settings and we know some do go missing. Over 4,600 unaccompanied children have been accommodated in hotels since July 2021. There have been 440 missing occurrences and 200 children remain missing, 13 of whom are under 16 years of age and only one of whom is female.

Robert Jenrick, Minister for Immigration

Permission Needs to be Properly Sought For Video Link Evidence From Abroad

A judgment in the Court of Appeal confirms that a country’s permission needs to be properly sought before video link evidence can be heard from someone in that country. The case is Raza v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] EWCA Civ 29.

The First-tier Tribunal considered, separately from the merits of Mr Raza’s appeal, whether he could have a fair appeal if he took part in the hearing remotely from Pakistan. The court held that he could. The Court of Appeal considered whether the First-tier Tribunal’s hearing was unlawful because no adequate evidence was provided to show that the authorities in Pakistan had permitted a hearing by video link.

The First-tier Tribunal had to consider whether Mr Raza could have a fair and effective appeal via video link, rather than being brought back to the UK. The court concluded that he could. On appeal, the Upper Tribunal held that there was no error of law in the First-tier Tribunal’s determination that evidence could be taken via video link from Pakistan.

Read more: Freemovement, https://rb.gy/ifz1su

Asylum in the European Courts: a Case Round up

Asylum procedure in Europe has been examined in three recent decisions. In two, the European Court of Human Rights found actual or imminent violations of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. In the other, the Court of Justice of the European Union considered the proper interpretation of ‘political opinion’ as a reason for persecution.

Cases: WA and others v Hungary - SH v Malta
PI v Migracijos departamentas prie lietuvos Respublikos vidaus reikalu miniterijos

Read more: Freemovement, https://rb.gy/ijar32

Israel Deepens Palestinians’ Isolation

If you’re at all familiar with the Israel-Palestine situation, then you probably already know the Israel authorities have run Gaza like an open-air prison. Some two million Palestinians have lived there virtually sealed off from the outside world for more than 15 years.

The Israeli government seems eager to do the same for the West Bank.

The most recent evidence for this comes in the form of new Israeli restrictions on access to the area for foreigners. The 61pages of guidelines set out detailed procedures for West Bank entry and residency for foreigners, with a process distinct from the procedure for entry to Israel.

Israeli authorities have long made it difficult for foreigners to teach, stu
dy, volunteer, work, or live in the West Bank. The new guidelines codify and tighten things further.

The people these restrictions are hitting tells you a lot about the intention of the policy: an American psychologist teaching at a Palestinian university; a British mother of two trying to remain with her Palestinian husband and family; foreign human rights experts.
…
As my colleague, Eric Goldstein, HRW’s deputy Middle East director, says: “This policy is designed to weaken the social, cultural, and intellectual ties that Palestinians have tried to maintain with the outside world.

Source: Human Rights Watch
https://rb.gy/cqinxv