The mantra of “safe and legal routes” is commonly repeated by the federal government when justifying more and more draconian laws in an try to stop refugees from travelling to the UK below their very own steam. The argument is that refugees ought to use these secure and authorized routes as a substitute of arriving in small boats or the again of lorries to say asylum.
On this article we have a look at what secure and authorized routes can be found, how they’re accessed, and the grant of depart and entitlements of those that are profitable. We’ve additionally taken a have a look at asylum functions revamped the identical time frame, in order that the affect of those bespoke routes on arrivals might be thought-about.
Until indicated in any other case, figures come from the Home Office statistics for the yr ending March 2024. We’ve focussed on the interval 2020 to the tip of March 2024, as it’s throughout this era that many of the bespoke schemes which can be presently open have been arrange.
UNHCR resettlement schemes
There are three totally different common resettlement schemes operated in partnership between the UN refugee company (UNHCR) and the UK authorities: the UK resettlement scheme (or UKRS), the neighborhood sponsorship scheme and the mandate resettlement scheme. All three depend upon UNHCR to establish these eligible. Full particulars are set out within the UK Refugee Resettlement coverage guidance.
No utility might be made for resettlement below the primary two of those three schemes. UNHCR is explicit about this truth. An individual simply has to attend and hope they are going to by some means be picked. Even when they’re picked, they haven’t any say in regards to the nation through which they are going to be supplied resettlement. And, to place issues in context, lower than 1% of the world’s refugees are submitted by them to associate international locations for resettlement yearly.
Underneath the UK resettlement scheme (UKRS), UNHCR identifies and interviews folks with potential resettlement wants, decides whether or not they’re a refugee and can refer them to the UK the place they meet the factors for resettlement as set out in UNHCR’s resettlement handbook. The scheme can embody unaccompanied kids. It appears that this scheme is presently closed to new referrals.
The community sponsorship scheme operates in tandem with the UK resettlement scheme. It offers for households arriving within the UK to obtain support from neighborhood teams, together with the supply of housing for no less than two years, and help with accessing providers resembling English language classes, NHS, social providers, cultural orientation, and help in direction of employment and self-sufficiency. Consent have to be obtained from the native authority earlier than the application is submitted to the Dwelling Workplace.
As soon as the neighborhood sponsor is prepared and is matched to a household, they should collectively agree on the household’s arrival with the native authority. The household will normally arrive 6 to 12 weeks after that. The household is recognized by UNHCR, following the identical processes as for the UK resettlement scheme.
The Dwelling Workplace offers funding to Reset, an organisation that helps neighborhood teams to take part within the scheme. The Refugee Council helps neighborhood teams in Yorkshire and Humber to take part within the scheme. Sure necessities have to be met to be a neighborhood sponsor, which is normally a registered charity or neighborhood curiosity firm, or a church group.
The third scheme, the ‘mandate’ one, is just accessible to individuals who UNHCR has recognised as refugees and recognized as being in want of resettlement. This scheme is for individuals who have a detailed relative within the UK, who have to be settled within the UK or have restricted depart to stay in a route that results in settlement, and who’re prepared to accommodate and help the refugee. The refugee have to be the minor baby, partner, or mum or dad or grandparent aged over 65 of the UK primarily based relative. Distinctive circumstances are required for different relations to learn from the scheme.
Grants below the mandate scheme are negligible, with solely 15 in 2023, 4 in 2022, two in 2021 and 5 in 2020. As might be seen from the under, the vast majority of grants are below the UK resettlement scheme. Compared to the opposite resettlement schemes we’ll have a look at right here, we are able to see that the numbers are comparatively low.
As soon as accepted by the UK, persons are granted six months’ depart exterior the foundations to allow their entry and are then granted indefinite depart to stay and refugee standing on arrival right here. Refugee family reunion is out there to this group to convey eligible relations over to hitch them below Appendix Household Reunion (Safety).
Refugee household reunion
The place an individual has refugee standing and has not naturalised as a British citizen, they’re entitled to convey their associate and kids to the UK the place they meet the necessities. Household reunion functions might be made below Appendix Family Reunion (Protection) of the immigration guidelines. There isn’t a provision within the guidelines for youngsters to use to convey their relations to the UK.
These coming into below the refugee household reunion guidelines aren’t formally recognised as refugees.
The place the foundations can’t be met, functions may also be made on the grounds of outstanding circumstances below paragraph FRP 7.1. These functions are significantly tougher and might be dangerous for the individual involved.
Our article Top tips for making refugee family reunion applications outside the normal rules is important studying for anybody making these functions.
Household reunion is a vital route for refugees to have the ability to reunite with their households. Nevertheless, the functions might be overly complicated and troublesome to navigate and not using a authorized assist lawyer with the capability and experience required. Consequently, the variety of grants is comparatively low.
Getting any knowledge from the Dwelling Workplace on household reunion functions might be troublesome, with FOI requests on case dealing with routinely being refused. A more recent request on grant charges was profitable and exhibits that in 2019 the grant fee was 73.5%, in 2020 72.5%, in 2021 71.3%, 2022 was 74.4% and there was a rise to 86.3% in 2023.
Refugee and Migrant Discussion board of Essex and London (RAMFEL) has beforehand obtained FOI knowledge displaying that 1,386 (66%) of household reunion functions that have been rejected by the Dwelling Workplace have been allowed on enchantment between 2019 and 2022.
Profitable candidates are granted depart that expires concurrently their refugee relative, however they don’t obtain refugee standing.
Hong Kong
China’s parliament handed a draconian new Nationwide Safety Regulation for Hong Kong, bypassing Hong Kong’s personal Legislative Council, on 30 June 2020. In response, the UK authorities announced the Hong Kong British Nationwide (Abroad) Visa on 22 July 2020, and Appendix Hong Kong British National (Overseas) was later launched efficient from 31 January 2021.
There are two separate routes, BN(O) Standing Holder and BN(O) Family Member. The second of those is for grownup kids and their dependants, who fashioned a part of the identical family as a BN(O) Standing Holder. BN(O) Standing Holders can convey a dependent associate and kids, and different relations with a “high level of dependency”.
That is the one one among these bespoke routes which has an application fee, which is £180 if making use of for 2 and a half years, and £250 if making use of for 5 years. The immigration well being surcharge should even be paid. For adults that is presently £2,587.50 for 2 and a half years and £5,175 for 5 years.
As might be seen under, the variety of grants has dropped considerably, earlier than rising once more in initially of 2024. The scheme has been working for over three years and the vast majority of people who find themselves eligible and want to come to the UK are prone to have already carried out so.
These granted depart below this route can apply for indefinite depart after 5 years’ steady residence within the UK (together with that acquired previous to the grant of depart on this route). Initially this grant of depart was topic to the no recourse to public funds situation with no potential to ask for that to be lifted, nonetheless this was later amended so that folks with this sort of depart at the moment are permitted to apply to have the condition lifted.
The BNO route is out there to and has been utilized by folks with a big number of nationalities, together with Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Malaysia, Morocco, Nepal, Pakistan, Portugal, Russia, Taiwan, Vanuatu, Angola, Burma, Canada and Yemen (supply: desk Data_Vis_D02). It’s subsequently troublesome to evaluate the affect of this route as an alternative choice to irregular arrivals.
Solely 74 Hong Kong nationals have been granted refugee standing for the reason that first quarter of 2020 to the tip of March 2024. Delays might account for a few of this low quantity, but it surely appears probably that some folks could have withdrawn their claims after the BNO route was opened. Nevertheless the current improve to the immigration well being surcharge might result in extra folks coming into the asylum system as they can’t afford to entry or stay within the route (price waivers can be found however have been made very difficult for people in this route to access).
Afghanistan
The Taliban regained management of Afghanistan in August 2021 and the UK evacuated around 15,000 folks to security below Operation Pitting. Two routes have been introduced to help Afghan refugees: the Afghan Residents Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) and the Afghan Relocation and Help Coverage (ARAP).
It’s not possible to use below the Afghan Residents Resettlement Scheme. The scheme is break up into three Pathways, the primary of which was crammed earlier than it opened, with those that had been evacuated below Operation Pitting. Pathway 2 is just for instances which can be referred to the UK by UNHCR, as for the overall resettlement schemes detailed above.
Pathway 3 initially had 1,500 locations accessible, which was to incorporate relations, and the Overseas, Commonwealth & Improvement Workplace accepted expressions of curiosity from British Council contractors, GardaWorld contractors and Chevening alumni. This cap was later removed and the scheme closed to new expressions of interest in October 2023.
It’s doable to use below ARAP. To be able to entry the ARAP scheme, an individual should first apply for an “eligibility assessment” that’s carried out by the Ministry of Defence. The shape expressly states that it isn’t an utility for depart. As soon as deemed eligible, the Ministry of Defence makes the applying to the Dwelling Workplace on behalf of the applicant. The related immigration guidelines are Appendix Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP). The factors for ARAP have been narrowed significantly in December 2021.
Relations have to be included within the preliminary eligibility utility, and candidates can convey a associate, their kids, and an extra member of the family.
Each schemes have triggered a really appreciable quantity of litigation on account of their inaccessibility and strict standards:
Those that are profitable have been granted six months’ depart exterior the foundations, after which indefinite depart to stay after arrival within the UK (eventually). They weren’t granted refugee standing, which limits their potential to entry household reunion. In distinction to the Houses for Ukraine scheme, Afghans have been put into resorts, a lot of them left there till now, and so they have been instructed they have to leave the lodging on the finish of July 2023.
Given the truth that each schemes successfully crammed their first yr’s quota with folks evacuated from Afghanistan below Operation Pitting, there have been solely low numbers of grants since then. Though it was additionally lately disclosed in a report by the Impartial Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration that the federal government secretly paused processing entry clearance functions made below ARAP which presumably explains the very low figures for the primary three quarters of 2023.
In distinction, we are able to see a big improve within the variety of folks arriving by way of the Channel and claiming asylum.
It’s unclear what number of of these folks making that journey would have been eligible below different different routes, however many achieve this as a result of they’ve household however are unable to reunite with them below current schemes.
Ukraine
The primary of the UK’s three schemes to help these displaced by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was the Ukraine Household Scheme, launched on 4 March 2022, simply over every week after the invasion. The Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme (higher often called ‘Homes for Ukraine’) was launched on 18 March 2022. A 3rd scheme was later launched for individuals who have been already within the UK, and so that won’t be lined right here.
The related immigration guidelines are Appendix Ukraine Scheme. Till it was closed without notice on 19 February 2024, the Ukraine Household Scheme allowed a vastly wider group of relations to be introduced than below some other provision of the immigration guidelines or resettlement scheme. This included grandparents, grandchildren, siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles.
Profitable candidates below the Ukraine schemes have been initially granted three years’ depart to stay, this was reduced to 18 months below the remaining Dwelling for Ukraine scheme on 19 February 2024. There isn’t a path to settlement though folks with depart below this Appendix will be capable to apply for 18 month extensions in 2025.
In the mean time the scheme seems to be profitable as a result of numbers arrived, but it surely has not been with out its issues, each throughout arrange and since, and the query of what occurs to Ukrainians in the long run will change into increasingly more pressing as time passes, because it stays unclear what the federal government’s plans are for this huge group of individuals.
For the reason that starting of 2022 till the tip of March 2024 there have been 767 asylum claims made by Ukrainian nationals (as the principle applicant, the determine with dependants is increased). There have been 442 grants of asylum or humanitarian safety, 385 of those have been made within the second half of 2023. There have additionally been 15 refusals and 332 withdrawn claims.
Given the shortage of a path to settlement for Ukrainians of their bespoke schemes and the closure of the household scheme, we might begin seeing a rise in folks coming into the asylum system.
Solely two Ukrainians are recorded as having entered the UK by travelling throughout the Channel in a small boat, one within the second quarter of 2022 and one within the third quarter of 2023 (supply: desk Irr_D01).
Scheme comparability desk
| Size of depart granted? | How lengthy till settlement? | Refugee standing? | Utility course of? | Refugee household reunion accessible? |
UK Resettlement | Six months LOTR | ILR granted on arrival | Sure | No | Sure |
Household reunion | In keeping with refugee sponsor | In keeping with refugee sponsor | No | Sure | No |
Hong Kong | 2.5 or 5 years | After steady residence within the UK of 5 years | No | Sure (£) | No however can apply to convey dependants |
ARAP | Six months LOTR | ILR granted on arrival | No | Can submit a request for eligibility evaluation | No |
ACRS | Six months LOTR | ILR granted on arrival | No | No | No |
Houses for Ukraine | 18 months | N/A, settlement will not be accessible | No | Sure | No however can apply to usher in dependants |
Conclusion
Appreciable numbers of refugees and folks in want of safety have benefited from the UK’s resettlement schemes over the previous couple of years. However there are points with this “bespoke” strategy, not least the issue in setting them up as rapidly as is required and the shortage of transparency round how folks can entry a number of the schemes.
Overwhelmingly, those that have been capable of entry safety have been from Ukraine and Hong Kong and, for a short second in 2021, from Afghanistan. Notable current examples of the place secure routes are wanted however haven’t been offered embody Uganda (in respect of LGBTQI+ folks), Sudan and Gaza.
For these folks, there aren’t any “safe and legal” routes for them to return to the UK. We’ll proceed to see folks making their very own means right here as a way to search security, whatever the authorities’s makes an attempt to legislate a cease to those journeys.
Eager about refugee legislation? You would possibly like Colin’s e-book, imaginatively known as “Refugee Law” and revealed by Bristol College Press.
Speaking vital authorized ideas in an approachable means, that is a necessary guide for college students, attorneys and non-specialists alike.
