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Asylum limbo

May 4, 2017 | Expert Insights

A Zimbabwean has been in Britain for 15 years. Her application for seeking asylum was rejected. Subsequently her requests to be deported back to Zimbabwe were refused too. She has been left in a limbo where it is impossible for her to support herself by working. There are more than thousands of such cases in Britain where neither the asylum seekers’ applications are accepted nor are they allowed to return to their home country.

Plight of Asylum seekers

An asylum seeker can be a person who anticipates and fears persecution on the grounds of race, religion, nationality, affiliation to a social group or due to his/her political opinions. The asylum seekers are supposed to present themselves to immigration authorities as soon as possible. If the application is successful, they get to stay in the UK for a maximum of five years. However, even after five years, if the asylum seekers’ relationship with their home country and the circumstances remain unchanged, they can apply to stay permanently.

In reality, most of the asylum seekers are unaware of such process as they belong to countries such as Eritrea and Syria. So they are arrested by the police on the grounds of immigration offences. They are asked to explain the probability of them being persecuted in their home country. They are asked to provide for evidences supporting their claims.

Analysis

The government has aimed to process claims by six months, but the noncompliance with legal requirements have delayed the decisions regarding granting of asylum. The asylum cases have lasted for decades. If the claims made by the asylum seekers are legitimate, then accommodation is provided by the Home Office. Some of the asylum seekers are detained in immigration removal centres run by Prison Service authorities. They are not allowed to work to support themselves when they are awaiting the decision of the grant of asylum.

The refused asylum seekers usually struggle to get hold of documents such as passport which are necessary to leave the country. The other factors that hinder their return to their home country are lack of proof of their nationality or loss of contact with their family.

Assessment

The current treatment given to the asylum seekers can be termed as inhumane. Their human rights involving right to live with dignity and right to work are blatantly denied leading to their hand to mouth living. Cases of the asylum limbo reported are very minimal as most of the migrants who have not been granted the asylum have entered the grey economy in order to support their survival.