How do asylum seekers get to the uk

This can be in their own country, other countries they have passed through or in refugee camps. Refugee camps, including in Europe, can be over-crowded with living conditions that contribute to poor physical and mental health. They are given a relatively high level of formal support, including help to register with a GP. Despite this, they may experience barriers to accessing healthcare. Resettled refugees receive a full health assessment before coming to the UK, but records may not be available to GPs.

Although some asylum seekers arrive in the UK by air, many travel over land or by sea for long periods before reaching the UK. There are very few legal ways for people to openly come into the UK as asylum seekers and, in many cases, they may initially enter the country illegally. Individual circumstances can vary widely. For example, people may enter the UK on a valid visa but later be unable return due to political changes in their home country, or they may be trafficked into the UK against their will.

This can make it difficult to manage every-day demands such as food, prescriptions, sanitary products, transportation to appointments, fees for medical letters and phone credit. During this period asylum seekers are at risk of health problems linked to poverty, such as malnutrition. Extended periods of stress and uncertainty can also lead to declines in mental health, including among patients who arrived in the UK in good mental health or who had no previous history of mental health problems.

Your application is more likely to be denied if you wait. After your screening the Home Office will decide if your claim can be considered in the UK. You can get up to 2 years in prison or have to leave the UK if you give false information on your application. You will not usually be allowed to work while your asylum claim is being considered. You can apply as a child on your own if you do not have an adult relative who is also claiming asylum. To help us improve GOV.

It will take only 2 minutes to fill in. They partly reflect the increase in asylum applications and grants of asylum-related leave during the late s and early s Figure 2. Changes over time in the number of people seeking asylum in the UK are driven in large part by geopolitical events, since asylum seekers come mainly from countries embroiled in political and military conflicts see Crawley, For example, the spike in people who came to the UK to seek asylum from to were mainly nationals of Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq, and the former Yugoslavia — at that time sites of war.

An analysis of the composition of grants over time by nationality can be found in a House of Commons Library briefing on Asylum statistics Sturge, , p. The coronavirus pandemic and associated lockdown has had a substantial impact on all major aspects of asylum seeking in the UK Figure 3.

Most appeals are against refusals, but some appeals are against positive decisions to seek a stronger form of leave Home Office, b. For applications received in to with known outcomes as of May , successful appeals increased success rates by between 12 and 20 percentage points each year Figure 5. Changes in grant rates following appeal are in part the result of changes in the success rate of appeals. The time it takes for asylum seekers to receive an initial decision on their application has increased substantially in recent years.

There are several possible explanations for this trend. Factors that are likely to influence the time taken to process asylum applications include the number of applications received; changes in administrative policy and management, including the end of the Detained Fast-Track process in ; resource constraints or capacity; and the shifting characteristics of applicants themselves, with some claims taking longer to resolve than others. The asylum backlog has increased substantially in recent years, due to an increase in applications, and applications taking longer to process.

On 31 December , there were around 65, people awaiting an initial decision on their asylum claim including main applicants and dependants — a near seven-fold increase on the number awaiting an initial decision on 30 June Figure 7. A further 5, were awaiting further review, such as an appeal to the First-tier Tribunal.

The region of the UK with the most asylum seekers per 1, of its resident population was the North East, which hosted around 17 times more than the South East Figure 8, regional bar chart. The local authority with the most asylum seekers was Glasgow City Figure 8, local authority table. The UK also hosts resettled refugees. However, since the government announced the target of resettling an additional 20, refugees under the scheme by , 19, refugees were resettled an additional refugees were resettled under the scheme before the target was announced, and do not count towards it.

An additional 7, refugees were resettled under the Gateway Protection Programme from 1 January to 30 June As of June , the region with the largest number of resettled refugees per 1, of its population was Northern Ireland, eight times more than London Figure 8, regional bar chart.

Table 1 shows the fifteen most common countries of nationality of people who claimed asylum in the UK in The share of applications that result ultimately in a grant rate of asylum or other leave varies significantly by nationality. The UK ranked seventh, offering asylum-related protection to around 9, people at initial decision Figure 9. When adjusting for population size, the UK ranks 19 th among the EU, having granted protection in to 0.

These figures do not include people given protection under refugee resettlement programmes. Under such programmes, the UK resettled around 29, refugees from to , more than any other EU country.

They may also be given permission to stay for other reasons - for example, if they are an unaccompanied minor or a victim of trafficking. How long they can stay will depend on their situation. In , more than 36, people, including dependents, applied for asylum in the UK.

About 10, were offered refugee status or other protections. Both of these figures were down on the previous year, likely due to the impact of coronavirus. Under government proposals, those who arrive in the UK in ways it considers illegal would find it far more difficult to receive permanent residency, even if their asylum claims are successful.

The new system would not give them the same settlement entitlements and those who arrived "illegally" would constantly have their status evaluated. The current system would stay in place for those who arrive through the government's preferred means, such as the resettlement scheme which ran during the peak of the Syria crisis.

That scheme brought in approximately 20, from camps near the Syrian border. Follow-on schemes are promised, including an evolving plan to bring people from Afghanistan, following the country's fall to the Taliban. Although several MPs have expressed frustration with the government at the lack of detail - saying they've been contacted by constituents who know of people stuck in Afghanistan.

The government argues these official resettlement schemes tackle people smugglers and deter people from making dangerous trips to the UK. But critics have said they take far too long to settle people.

Once an asylum application is under way, help with housing and money to live on is provided while the claim is processed and the individual has no means to support themselves. Asylum seekers in the UK are not allowed to work - including voluntary work - unless they have waited more than a year for a decision and can fill a role in a limited number of skilled occupations where there is a shortage.

This hugely controversial rule is aimed at preventing people applying for asylum as a route to work in the UK. Critics say it prevents refugees integrating into communities and wastes the skills they have brought with them,. Asylum seekers get no choice in where they live. Most are initially placed in hostel-type accommodation before longer-term housing is arranged.