The Great Asylum Myth

There is a common held misconception that anyone can claim asylum and will be readily handed out funds with which to fulfil a lavish lifestyle.

Another wrongly held belief is that Asylum Seekers cannot claim asylum in Britain if they’ve passed through other ’safe’ countries to get here.

As a short preamble, let’s look at the definition of an Asylum Seeker (taken from Save the Children)

http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/caris … /sr_01.php

What is an Asylum-Seeker?

An asylum-seeker is someone of any age who has fled his or her home country to find a safe place elsewhere.
Under the 1951 Convention on Refugees, an asylum applicant must be able to demonstrate a well-founded fear of persecution in their country of origin for reasons of political opinion, religion, ethnicity, race/nationality, or membership of a particular social group.

The applicant must also be able to demonstrate that they are unable to obtain any protection or assistance from their own national authorities.

The essential parts of this Convention are reiterated in, and up-dated by, ‘The Refugee or Person in Need of International Protection (Qualification) Regulations’ 2006.

Asylum applications in the UK are sent to the Home Office for consideration.

A refugee is someone whose asylum application is successful.

Why Does Britain Offer Asylum?

As one of the initial signatories to the 1951 Convention on Refugees, Great Britain has always been a leading light in all matters of Humanitarian Aid. We are duty bound to offer protection to those people displaced by war (The Geneva Convention) or who otherwise come under the remit of the 1951 Convention. This is something that the majority of Britons are very proud of. This document explains some frequently asked questions with regards to the Convention:
http://www.unhcr.org/3c0f495f4.html

What does the Geneva Convention say?:

‘Protected persons are entitled, in all circumstances, to respect for their persons, their honour, their family rights, their religious convictions and practices, and their manners and customs. They shall at all times be humanely treated, and shall be protected especially against all acts of violence or threats thereof and against insults and public curiosity. Women shall be especially protected against any attack on their honour, in particular against rape, enforced prostitution, or any form of indecent assault. Without prejudice to the provisions relating to their state of health, age and sex, all protected persons shall be treated with the same consideration by the Party to the conflict in whose power they are, without any adverse distinction based, in particular, on race, religion or political opinion. However, the Parties to the conflict may take such measures of control and security in regard to protected persons as may be necessary as a result of the war. ‘

Many BNP supporters believe the following about Asylum Seekers (taken from a BNP member of our Facebook group):

3. Under present circumstances we would abide by our obligations under the 1951 United Nations Convention on Refugees. We recognise the existence of legitimate international refugees from persecution and war, but point to the fact that international law provides that such persons must be given -  and must seek – refuge in the nearest safe country. So, unless a flood of refugees from a civil war in France or Denmark shows up on our shores, these refugees are simply not Britain’s responsibility and have no right to refuge here.

This is simply not true. Asylum Seekers can seek refuge in whichever country they wish. A safe country is NOT OBLIGED to offer asylum if the person has already passed through other safe countries but this does not make them an illegal immigrant- there is no such thing as an ‘illegal asylum seeker’.

The Dublin Regulation (formerly Dublin Convention) adopted in 2003 is a set of EU regulations that deals with Asylum applicants seeking International Protection under the Geneva Convention. The Geneva Convention addresses the rights of persons captured during a war as well as dealing with civilians displaced by war (see above in italics).

Chapter II of the Dublin Convention.

Article 3
1. Member States shall examine the application of any third-country national who applies at the border or in their territory to any one of them for asylum. The application shall be examined by a single Member State, which shall be the one which the criteria set out in Chapter III indicate is responsible.

2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, each Member State may examine an application for asylum lodged with it by a third-country national, even if such examination is not its responsibility under the criteria laid down in this Regulation. In such an event, that Member State shall become the Member State responsible within the meaning of this Regulation and shall assume the obligations associated with that responsibility.

Article 4
1. The process of determining the Member State responsible under this Regulation shall start as soon as an application for asylum is first lodged with a Member State.

2. An application for asylum shall be deemed to have been lodged once a form submitted by the applicant for asylum or a report prepared by the authorities has reached the competent authorities of the Member State concerned.

Chapter III

2. The Member State responsible in accordance with the criteria shall be determined on the basis of the situation obtaining when the asylum seeker first lodged his application with a Member State.

Article 10
1. Where it is established, on the basis of proof or circumstantial evidence as described in the two lists mentioned in Article 18(3), including the data referred to in Chapter III of Regulation (EC) No 2725/2000, that an asylum seeker has irregularly crossed the border into a Member State by land, sea or air having come from a third country, the Member State thus entered shall be responsible for examining the application for asylum. This responsibility shall cease 12 months after the date on which the irregular border crossing took place.

Article 13
Where no Member State responsible for examining the application for asylum can be designated on the basis of the criteria listed in this Regulation, the first Member State with which the application for asylum was lodged shall be responsible for examining it.

Or in other words the member nation where the claim for asylum was FIRST MADE is responsible for dealing with the application for up to 12 months. That includes all air and surface travel as well as illegal entry and passing through other EU states.

Now let’s take a look at entitlement to financial assistance:

HOUSING

We’ve already looked at this in the Housing Myth section but just to reiterate, Asylum Seekers are not entitled to housing in the same way that British Citizens are. The following in an excerpt from the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996:

9 Entitlement to housing accommodation and assistance

(1) Each housing authority shall secure that, so far as practicable, no tenancy of, or licence to occupy, housing accommodation provided under the accommodation Part is granted to a person subject to immigration control unless he is of a class specified in an order made by the Secretary of State.
(2) A person subject to immigration control:
(a) shall not be eligible for accommodation or assistance under the homelessness Part; and
(b) shall be disregarded in determining, for the purposes of that Part, whether another person:
(i) is homeless or is threatened with homelessness; or
(ii) has a priority need for accommodation,
unless he is of a class specified in an order made by the Secretary of State.
(3) An order under this section:
(a) may make different provision for different circumstances or for accommodation or assistance of different descriptions; and
(b) shall be made by statutory instrument which shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

What the above means is that Housing Authorities will NOT offer contracts or tenancy agreements to anyone who is subject to immigration controls – or Asylum Seekers. As the country is unsure of the applicant’s status with regards to the Dublin Regulation, it is not obliged to enter into tenancy agreements. Asylum Seekers are NOT offered council accommodation unless the Secretary of State intervenes and subjects them to a legal order which will make provisions for the Asylum Seeker.

Are Asylum Seekers and Immigrants allowed to claim benefits?

What does the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 say?

10 Entitlement to child benefit

(1) The provision set out in subsection (2) below shall be inserted:
(a) after section 146 of the [1992 c. 4.] Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, as section 146A of that Act; and
(b) after section 142 of the [1992 c. 7.] Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992, as section 142A of that Act.
(2) The provision is as follows:
Persons subject to immigration control
No person subject to immigration control within the meaning of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 shall be entitled to child benefit for any week unless he satisfies prescribed conditions.”

Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992

146 Persons outside Great Britain

(1) Regulations may modify the provisions of this Part of this Act in their application to persons who are or have been outside Great Britain at any prescribed time or in any prescribed circumstances.
(2) Subject to any regulations under subsection (1) above, no child benefit shall be payable in respect of a child for any week unless:
(a) he is in Great Britain in that week; and
(b) either he or at least one of his parents has been in Great Britain for more than 182 days in the 52 weeks preceding that week.
(3) Subject to any regulations under subsection (1) above, no person shall be entitled to child benefit for any week unless—
(a) he is in Great Britain in that week; and
(b) he has been in Great Britain for more than 182 days in the 52 weeks preceding that week.

So, nobody from outside Britain can claim child benefit unless they have been resident in the UK for at least six months within the year of the claim and has been granted Refugee Status or is a working immigrant.

Claiming for Job Seekers Allowance/Income Support:
(taken from the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996)

11 Saving for social security regulations
(1) Notwithstanding any enactment or rule of law, regulations may exclude any person who has made a claim for asylum from entitlement to any of the following benefits, namely:
(a) income support, housing benefit and council tax benefit under the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992;
(b) income support and housing benefit under the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992; and
(c) jobseeker’s allowance under the [1995 c. 18.] Jobseekers Act 1995 or the [S.I. 1995/2705.] Jobseekers (Northern Ireland) Order 1995.
(2) Regulations may provide that, where such a person who is so excluded is subsequently recorded by the Secretary of State as a refugee within the meaning of the Convention:
(a) that person may, within a prescribed period, claim the whole or any prescribed proportion of any income support, housing benefit or council tax benefit to which he would have been entitled had he been recorded as a refugee immediately after he made the claim for asylum; and
(b) where he makes such a claim as is mentioned in paragraph (a) above in respect of housing benefit or council tax benefit having resided in the areas of two or more local authorities in Great Britain, the claim shall be investigated and determined, and any benefit awarded shall be paid or allowed, by such one of those authorities as may be prescribed.
(3) Regulations making such provision as is mentioned in subsection (2)(b) above may require the other authorities there mentioned to supply the prescribed authority with such information as it may reasonably require in connection with the exercise of its functions under the regulations.
What the above means is that Asylum Seekers cannot work nor make any claims on public funds, be that Income Support or Job Seekers Allowance, until they are granted Refugee status. When Refugee status is granted, a person can seek work and make National Insurance contributions as a British Citizen or EU National.

Taken from DirectGov – information on Housing Benefit:

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAnd … G_10018926

Who isn’t eligible

You can’t usually get Housing Benefit if:

* you have savings of over £16,000, unless you are aged 60 or over and getting the ‘guarantee credit’ of Pension Credit
* you live in the home of a close relative
* you’re a full-time student (unless you’re disabled or have children)
* you’re an asylum seeker or are sponsored to be in the UK

How do Asylum Seekers get financial assistance then?

The UK along with all other EU countries has access to the European Refugee Fund which is currently in its 3rd (2008-2013) period and has been in place since 2000. The fund gives financial assistance to countries accepting Asylum Seekers as refugees. Below is an outline taken from:
http://ec.europa.eu/justice_home/fundin … gee_en.htm

1. Purpose
The general objective of the European Refugee Fund (ERF) is to support and improve the efforts of Member States to grant reception conditions to refugees, displaced persons and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection, to apply fair and effective asylum procedures and to promote good practices in the field of asylum so as to protect the rights of persons requiring international protection and enable Member States asylum systems to work efficiently.
The new ERF will be applicable as of 1 January 2008. In light of the objectives and priorities of the Hague Programme regarding the development of the Common European Asylum System in its second phase, it introduces support for three new actions: capacity building for the asylum systems of the Member States in general; the voluntary efforts of Member States to provide a durable solution in their territories to refugees and displaced persons identified as eligible for resettlement by the UNHCR and the voluntary burden sharing between Member States consisting of the transfer of beneficiaries of international protection from one Member State to another, which grants them a similar protection.
Moreover, from 2008 the reserve established for emergency measures in the context of temporary protection (Council Decision 2001/55/EC of 20 July 2001 (10 million each year)) can also be used to address particular pressures situations resulting from sudden arrivals of large numbers of persons who may be in need of international protection and which place significant and urgent demands on Member States’ reception facilities or asylum systems.

2. Beneficiaries
All Member States participate, except Denmark. UK and Ireland have opted in.
3. Resources and financial structure
628 million Euro for the period 2008 – 2013 is divided as follows:
566 million distributed among the states on the basis of objective criteria relating to the number of asylum seekers and integrating persons benefiting from international protection (refugees, persons benefiting from subsidiary protection)(’solidarity’);
62 million (10% of the total annual resources each year) for Community actions, with a particular emphasis on supporting practical cooperation between Member States.

So as long winded as it all sounds, all the above regulations show that Asylum Seekers are not entitled to social housing or benefits. Once an Asylum Seeker is granted Refugee status they can make claims along with other British Citizens and all circumstances are taken into consideration when any claims for public monies are applied for. Most Asylum Seekers are kept in Holding Centres:

http://www.ncadc.org.uk/resources/addresses.html

For further reading on how miserable life can be for people facing deportation please read articles from this website

http://www.ncadc.org.uk/index.htm

© One Million United, 2009