The proportion of asylum seekers granted asylum in the UK has risen to a maximum of 30 years, leading to renewed concern among refugee charities about recent changes to the system that will see many people criminalized or transferred to Rwanda.
New data from the Home Office show that 75% of asylum applications in the year ending March 2022 were granted, and most applicants entered the UK through small boats or other irregular routes. This means they could be prosecuted under the new Nationality and Borders Act, which was passed in April.
Dr Peter William Walsh, a senior researcher at the University of Oxford’s Migration Observatory, said: “This is a significant change from a few years ago, when most asylum applications were “This indicates that policies aimed at asylum seekers will inevitably affect some people who would be granted refugee status if their application was processed in the United Kingdom.”
The Interior Ministry said that the increase in approval rates was partly a consequence of Brexit, as this was the first year that officials have not been able to reject asylum applications. who traveled to other safe European countries before arriving in the United Kingdom. It also reflects a shift in the origin of applicants, with most people now coming from countries with high approval ratings, such as Syria, Eritrea and Sudan.
In the year ending March 2022, the number of denials was about a third of what it was two years earlier, standing at 3,710, compared to 9,447 in March 2020. There were 55,146 requests. asylum in the UK during the year to March 2022, the highest number in any 12-month period since 2003, when the total was 61,343.
The increase in requests was “probably linked in part to the easing of global travel restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic and a sharp increase in the arrival of small vessels in the United Kingdom.” , said the Interior Ministry report.
The same data revealed that more than 1,000 Afghan nationals arrived in small boats in the first quarter of 2022, accounting for almost a quarter of small boat arrivals, suggesting that Afghan resettlement plans, which were put in place. march last year after the fall of Kabul by the Taliban do not offer enough support. Of the 4,540 people detected who arrived with small boats between January and March 2022, 24% (1,094) were of Afghan nationality. They represented the highest of any registered nationality, followed by 16% who were Iranian (722) and 15% (681) Iraqi.
Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said: “This increase is the inevitable consequence of the restrictive nature of resettlement plans in Afghanistan, for which the vast majority of Afghans are simply not eligible. The government has to fulfill the promises he made to the people of Afghanistan by immediately ensuring that the most vulnerable people in the country can access a safe route to the UK so that they are not forced to risk their lives to find safety here . ”
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Marley Morris, associate director of migration for the IPPR think tank, said: “The government has said it is giving the Afghans a ‘warm welcome’, but these figures show that many have felt that they have not been left behind. The government’s new plans in response to the crossing of the Canal could mean that Afghan asylum seekers will be sent to Rwanda, contrary to government claims. There are few safe routes for people to get into small boats to get to the UK. “
The data also showed a backlog of some 110,000 unprocessed asylum cases, more than double the delay by the end of March 2020. “This leaves thousands trapped in limbo, banned from working, living off word of mouth with less than 6 pounds a day and they were left wondering what the future holds for them, “Solomon said.
An Interior Ministry spokesman said: “The United Kingdom has made one of the largest commitments to support Afghan refugees in any country and will resettle up to 20,000 Afghan women, children and others at risk. Dangerous crossings of the canal is unacceptable.