A small number of people here have been forced to flee from their home countries, and this makes them particularly vulnerable, as there are often few, if any, other people from their own ethnic and cultural backgrounds to help them through the experience. Applications for asylum are lodged with the Home Office and there are no separate officially published figures for those who apply from Northern Ireland. However, the Home Office has stated that there were 165 applications here in 2003 and only 110 between January and October 2004. The Northern Ireland Council for Ethnic Minorities (subcontracted until recently by the Refugee Council to channel support services for people seeking asylum) reported that the number of service users declined from 166 in the year August 2004 - July 2005 to 153 in the following year. During that time the number of single applicants increased from 61 to 129 and the number of families fell from 30 to 24. www.nicem.org.uk (These numbers do not include asylum applicants who have not sought support through NICEM).

KEY CONTACTS

Bryson One Stop Service for Asylum Applicants
A 24-hour advice and support service for refugees and people seeking asylum.
Contact: Bryson One Stop Service, 9 Lower Crescent, Belfast, BT7 1NR
Tel: (028) 9043 9226
Emergency out of hours number for claimants in need of assistance: (028) 9024 2025

Websites

Home Office, Immigration and Nationality Directorate   www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk
Law Centre NI   www.cinni.org
Northern Ireland Council for Ethnic Minorities (NICEM)  www.nicem.org.uk
Refugee Council (UK)  www.refugeecouncil.org.uk
UNHCR  www.unhcr.org.uk

Materials

 Forced to Flee (3rd Edition), published June 2007 by The Refugee Action Group outlines the situation faced by people seeking asylum in Northern Ireland. Copies are available from the EMBRACE office. 

Political Climate
Asylum and immigration issues have risen to the top of the political agenda in recent years, partly because of the genuine fears of some people in the more overcrowded parts of Great Britain, and partly because of a climate of political and media hysteria. This is a factor in fuelling racist attitudes. Immigration and asylum have been election issues with both the Conservative and Labour parties vying to have even tougher policies. The press has helped to turn the words ‘asylum seeker’ into a term of abuse, but politicians have also not always been careful with their language. The then House of Commons leader, Jack Straw, is quoted as claiming that the problems at the Home Office were less to do with the staff but the people they deal with, ‘dysfunctional individuals many of them, criminals, asylum seekers, people who do not wish to be subject to social control…’. bbc.co.uk, 25 May 2006. The needs of vulnerable people have become secondary in this emotionally charged climate.

There have been many restrictive changes in the law in recent years. This, rather than a markedly safer world, accounts for a marked drop in applications. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) , commenting in March 2005, noted that numbers of asylum applicants in the UK had plummeted by 61% in 2 years. (25,720 asylum applications, excluding dependants, were received in 2005, 24 per cent less than the 33,960 applications in 2004. There was a further 9% drop in 2006 with 23,520 applications. Of the 20,960 who got initial decisions, 10% were granted asylumand 11% Humanitarian Protection or Discretionary Leave to Remain. 79% were refused.  statistics.gov.uk).

Local concerns need to be seen in the international context. The countries which host most of the world’s displaced people are often poor, are those in conflict, ot have conflict on their borders. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) calculated that there were 1,200,000 internally displaced people in Iraq at the start of 2006. The top 2 countries hosting refugees at this time were Pakistan (next to Afghanistan) with 1,085,000 and Iran (on the borders of Iraq) with 716,000. In February 2007 the Refugee Council accused the United Kingdom of not pulling its weight, and pointed out that while Jordan and Syria host 1.5million Iraqi refugees we had only 950 applicants for asylum from Iraqi nationals in 2006. www.refugeecouncil.org.uk

In 2005 Asia hosted 41% of the world’s refugees, 8.6million people, followed by Africa (25%) 5.2million, Europe (18%) 3.7million, Latin America (12%) 2.5million, North America (3%) 716,800 and Oceania (0.4%) 82,500. Source: Refugees by Numbers 2006, UNHCR www.unhcr.org

Asylum: the Application Process in Northern Ireland

Frequent changes in legislation mean that the application process, rules and conditions of leave to remain vary, depending on when application has been made. (For example, some people who applied a number of years ago are allowed to work while their claim is processed. People who apply today are generally not allowed to work, although they can apply for permission to do so if their case is not settled after a year.)

Claimants must make an Asylum Application at the earliest opportunity on arrival. A Screening Interview establishes their identity and nationality and checks if another country should be considering their case. This process includes fingerprinting as a check of identity against an international database. Applicants undergo induction and are told about their rights and responsibilities. They are issued with an identity number. Under a new process, known informally as Fast Track, some people, from countries thought to be ‘safe’, are immediately detained and transferred to Great Britain while their cases are considered. If the case is not deemed to be arguable, then the person may be deported swiftly. Or, they may be sent to other parts of Great Britain under BIA dispersal arrangements.

If people seeking asylum cannot support themselves the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) can provide subsistence benefits, 70% of normal social security benefits. As of 9th April 2007 the weekly allowances are as follows:
A couple  £64.96            A lone parent  £41.41          A single person over 25  £41.41      A single person aged between 18 and 25  £32.80       A young person aged between 16 and 18  £35.65              A child under 16  £47.45
On top of these allowances there are additional payments: £3 per week for a pregnant woman and children between the age of one and three, for the purchase of healthy food; and £5 per week for a child under 1 year.

The latest on the Fast Track process

In May 2007 Bryson One Stop Service took over from the Northern Ireland Council for Ethnic Minorities (NICEM) as the group sub-contracted by the Refugee Council (the main charitable British refugee support organisation) to facilitate advice and emergency assistance for asylum applicants who are over 18. (NICEM is still offering a refugee Integration Service for those who get a favourable decision.) Children and young adults are the responsibility of the appropriate Health and Social Services Board. Follow-on accommodation is provided by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE), on behalf of NASS, and is sourced from private landlords and housing associations. Most asylum applicants in Northern Ireland live in the community while they are waiting to have their claims assessed but they may be detained at any time. Most are not allowed to undertake paid employment. Throughout the application process people may be asked to report to the authorities: immigration officials (at Belfast International Airport) or police stations. At any time during the application process people can ask for help to return to their home country voluntarily.

Applicants have previously been required to complete a Statement of Evidence Form (SEF) which has to be completed in English. There is then an Asylum Interview at which people can submit additional information such as medical reports. Home Office officials interview applicants and case officers Assess the Claim and make an Initial Decision, by looking at the consistency of the evidence, and relating this to background information on the country of origin, supplied by the Country Information and Policy Unit of the Home Office Immigration and Nationality Directorate. The claim may be allowed under the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees or on human rights grounds under the European Convention on Human Rights.

Successful applicants are entitled to the same social and economic rights as UK citizens and are assessed for housing like everyone else. They have full access to medical treatment, education and employment, but most applications fail at this stage. Latest Home Office figures show that of the 23,520 applications in the UK last year only 10% were successfully granted asylum following the initial decision, with 11% given Humanitarian Protection or Discretionary Leave to Remain. The other 79% were refused. 18,235 people whose applications failed were removed from the country, 16% more than in 2005. (This includes people who returned to their home country voluntarily.) statistics.gov.uk

Unsuccessful applicants have normally had a right of Appeal to a tribunal before an immigration judge. This takes place in a court setting in Northern Ireland. Applicants who fail at the appeal stage are able to apply for a review of the immigration judge’s decision, if the earlier decision was wrong in law, and the error would have made a difference. If this is unsuccessful then a person may apply for Statutory Review. In some cases, people who have not been able to demonstrate that they fulfil the criteria, but who need protection, could be given Exceptional Leave to Remain. This has been replaced recently by the more restrictive categories of Humanitarian Protection or Discretionary Leave. Both of these are rarely given.

Recent changes in asylum legislation have tended to be increasingly restrictive. Successful asylum claimants in the past, and who were granted Refugee Status, also received  Indefinite Leave to Remain, but since August 2005 they are only granted Limited Leave to Remain, for 5 years in the first instance. After this time there is a reassessment, taking into account such things as a possible improvement in the situation in their country of origin. In the meantime they have rights to family reunion, to benefits and the right to work. 

In the past it has been common for the process described here to last for several years, but the government has made strenuous efforts recently to speed up the process and also to attempt to remove a greater number of people whose applications have failed. The streamlining of the system has led to a diminution of legal safeguards in dealing with people seeking asylum.

As asylum applications have dropped, the Home Office Quality Initiative Project aims to improve the way in which they are assessed and to expedite the process. It is hoped to get more decisions right at the first stage. The UNHCR has been working with the government and feels it is making genuine efforts but that there is still a need for improvement.Their fourth report to the Home Office in January 2007 continues to recommend improved training and accreditation for caseworkers, who should have university degrees or equivalent. They also stress the importance of improving the way in which facts are gathered and the need for good research and up to date information on the situation in countries of origin of claimants. Home Office Report 

The New Asylum Model (NAM)
From March 2007 new applicants fall within the government’s New Asylum Model (NAM) which is aimed at ensuring that as many asylum cases are concluded within 6 months, partly by categorising applicants at initial screening. This is called segmentation. The 5 segments include:

Segment 1: People who could have claimed asylum in a third country.
Segment 2: Unaccompanied minors.
Segment 3: People from one of 16 ’safe’ countries who may not be entitled to appeal in this country.
Segment 4: Applications that are regarded as ‘late and opportunistic’ e.g. following arrest for working without documentation.
Segment 5: All other cases.

On the positive side, each applicant will have a single Case Owner, a named Home Office official responsible for their case who will be better trained than before. It is also proposed that in complex cases there will be more flexibility in the time-scales, so that cases can be properly presented. However, in general, the Refugee Council feels that the timings are generally too short for proper evidence to be sought on behalf of applicants. In particular, vulnerable people such as abused women, children and victims of torture will find it difficult to disclose sensitive information within the time allowed. Also, under NAM, people will no longer have the opportunity to submit a written statement of evidence (SEF) and have no guarantee that they will see a legal representative before their substantive interview. There is also anxiety that segmentation may be arbitrary and difficult to challenge. Broader fears are that the longstanding culture of disbelief remains.
Previous applications, called Legacy Cases, will gradually come under NAM. To read more, see the Refugee Council briefing on NAM. 

NICRAS
NICRAS, the Northern Ireland Committee for Refugees and Asylum Seekers, is the only refugee-led organisation in Northern Ireland. This community group for refugees and people seeking asylum aims to support the integration process while consciousness raising, campaigning and informing people about the legal situation. The group also organise social and fundraising events.
The NICRAS Volunteer Programme provides opportunities for people who are applying for asylum to undertake worthwhile activities, often contributing in the community sector. There are also opportunities for people who support the aims of NICRAS to be involved in ways such as helping at social events, lobbying and advocacy, assisting asylum applicants in accessing funding for education and finding opportunities for them to volunteer.
For more information
write to: NICRAS, One Vision Offices, Unit 2, 129 Ormeau Road, Belfast, BT7 1SH
telephone: 028 9024 6699 

Problems for People Seeking Asylum:

Isolation: Many people have lost all contact with friends and family and a way of life where they had worthwhile jobs and status. People here are unlikely to understand their culture.
Language: The language barrier is a problem in the asylum application process, in daily life (including communication with doctors) and in developing a normal social life.
The Application Process: The process, described by Les Allamby of the Law Centre as, ‘a war of attrition’, includes delays, difficulties with translation, and limited access to financial and other social support. There can be high levels of fear and anxiety. People who may have been tortured or abused find the questioning difficult. It is also hard for most people to back up their cases with written evidence. Research has shown that people fleeing from repression often have difficulty in recalling the details of traumatic events. They do not always make the best witnesses.
Detention: There is a strong fear of detention and the humiliation it brings. 
Harassment and Discrimination: Most people will experience verbal abuse either on racial grounds, or because of the stigma attached to being an ‘asylum seeker’. The sense of rejection can be powerful.
Not Being Allowed to Work: Enforced idleness makes hours of anxiety seem longer and people feel shame at living off the state. Some find volunteering beneficial. (Recent changes in legislation mean that a very few claimants can get paid work if their case has not been determined by the Home Office within one year.)

Poverty: The basic allowance of 70% of normal benefit gives no leeway for emergencies, especially where there is none of the family support that exists for local people. There can also be administrative glitches that leave people temporarily without even enough to eat. As of 9 April 2007, a person who is applying for asylum receives £32.80 per week if they are over 18 and under 25 years of age, and £41.41 if they are over 25. They also receive housing support. See above for more detail on allowances.
Diet: It can take a while to adjust to cooking cheap, locally available, ingredients to replace a familiar diet. People end up with a poor diet and digestive problems.
Climate: Applicants often come from hot climates and find it hard to keep warm here.
Health: Pre-existing illnesses and injuries may be made worse by poverty, living conditions and climate.
Stress and Depression: Some people will be suffering from the after-effects of wounds and torture, or the death of relatives. Trauma and the worry about failing to achieve refugee status may easily contribute towards chronic depressive illness.
Exploitation: Asylum applicants who work illegally, or failed applicants who stay and work in the underground economy are often exploited, in the hours they work, and the conditions in which they live and work. They are vulnerable to abuse by their employers.
Destitution: Failed asylum seekers are not entitled to work and most lose their small amounts of benefit. They are forced to live on what handouts they can manage to obtain or by slipping into the black economy with all its dangers and potential for exploitation. Most are asked to leave the country as soon as possible.

Remember that international conflict, and trade and justice issues interact directly with migration issues. Campaigning around these issues and support for development organisations will help to prevent the misery of people having to flee from their homes or move because of extreme poverty.

Frequently asked Questions about Migrants and Refugees

Q Who is an immigrant?
A This term has been applied to all people coming into the country to work, but it is now often applied to people who intend to settle and integrate here, as opposed to being a more temporary ‘migrant worker’. It is important not to view people who are part of long-established ethnic communities and populations as ‘immigrants’.

Q Who is a migrant worker?
A Someone who leaves their country with the intention of seeking work elsewhere. In practice the words are usually applied today to people who do not intend to remain permanently in the host country.

Q Who is an economic migrant?
A Anyone who moves from their home country to improve their economic situation can be termed an ‘economic migrant’. This term is sometimes used in a derogatory way, to throw suspicion on people’s motives in seeking asylum. In fact, poverty and economic deprivation, as well as violence, are tools of those who persecute individuals and groups of people. Most economic migrants simply seek a better life for themselves and their families, as many people from Ireland have done for generations.

Q Who is an asylum seeker?
A Someone who has a well-founded fear of persecution by reason of their race, religion, nationality, social group or political opinion, in their own country, and seeks refuge in another country.

Q Who is a refugee?
A Someone who applies for asylum, and is successful in being granted refugee status, under the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to Refugees. ‘Refugee’ is also the general term for all people who have been displaced from their own countries by persecution, war and civil unrest.