Photo credit: The Guardian
The UN refugee agency has said a government plan to make refugees wait up to 30 years before they get permission to settle in the UK “raises significant concerns”.
The Guardian reports that the strategy was unveiled earlier this week by Shhabana Mahmood, the home secretary, as she announced a softening of aspects of her immigration plans, but kept some of the vigorous rules drawn up by her office last year.
Mahmood introduced a carve-out for care-workers to allow them to apply for indefinite leave to remain after five years, but maintained rules to make those who arrived by irregular means such as small boats having to wait up to 30 years.
UNHCR, which has international responsibility for refugees, told the Guardian that the plan to increase the time people had to wait for those who arrived by irregular means was “likely to be detrimental”.
Some refugees can reduce the upper limit of 30l years if they enter work or study, but there is a 10-year penalty for those who arrive on small boats or concealed in lorries rather than arriving via safe and legal routes. The government has significantly reduced the latter, and although it has announced some legal routes, these will only be able to be accessed by a small minority seeking sanctuary in the UK.
The UNHCR welcomed the legal routes but said: “An extended qualifying period for settlement for refugees raises significant concerns, particularly when considered alongside the introduction of short-term stay arrangements and changes made last year that would preclude many from ever accessing citizenship.
“Taken together, these measures are likely to be detrimental to refugees’ sense of security, belonging and stability, and to impact their ability to contribute and become part of their new communities.
“Refugees are not migrants: they have fled their countries because they cannot rely on their protection nor safely return home. For refugees, safety means more than a grant of asylum and settlement has an important role to play.
Kamena Dorling, the director of policy at Helen Bamber Foundation, also raised concerns about the 30-year rule. She said: “We are deeply alarmed and disappointed by the government’s announcement on ‘earned settlement’. It will cause profound and lasting harm to refugees, including survivors of torture, trafficking and other forms of extreme cruelty.
“The government had an opportunity to change its approach after receiving extensive evidence about the devastating consequences of this policy, but instead has doubled down on its approach that will damage the lives and futures of thousands of men, women, families and children, as well as harm wider integration and social cohesion.”
