UK Asylum Policy Timeline
1993 - Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act
- First attempt to incoporate the UK's obligations under the 1951 Refugee Convention into UK Law.
- Previous to this no legislation had governed asylum in the UK; refugees were treated on an ad hoc basis and most were allowed to stay.
- Brought in to 'combat' the large increases in asylum applications between 1991-1992 and aimed to stream-line and quickly remove rejected applicants.
- Established the right to appeal negative decisions.
- Safe Third Country rule; an applicant can be refused if they are found to have travelled through a safe third country.
- Fast-track procedures; for those applications felt to have no foundation.
- Reduced duties of Local Authorities towards homeless Asylum Seekers; only obliged to house if nothing else available.
1996 - Asylum and Immigration Act
- Debates concerning benefit restrictions for Asylum Seekers introduced to this bill through the 'back-door' sparked media and political language that distinguished Asylum Seekers from so called bogus ones.
- Expanded fast-track procedures to include almost anyone.
- Criminalisation of immigration; new charges such as entering the country by deception formed and officials given more power to investigate.
- Restriction of entitlement to housing; Asylum Seekers prevented from registering on Local authority lists; only Seekers classed as priority needs recognised as having a right to temporary housing.
1999 - Immigration and Asylum Act
- Removed all access to mainstream welfare benefit for Asylum Seekers and introduced the National Asylum Support Service (NASS).
- Dispersal of asylum seekers to different locations around the UK introduced.
- Failed to address key issues of initial decision making on asylum claims; instead further segregated Asylum Seekers from mainstream welfare systems.
2002 - Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act
- NASS support withdrawn from all those who failed to claim asylum immediately upon entering the UK (this policy was suspended in August 2004 after a series of court rulings declared that it was creating extreme destitution, and thus constituted inhuman and degrading treatment under the European Convention on Human Rights).
- 'White list' of so-called safe countries created. Asylum applicants from these countries have their claims certified as 'clearly unfounded' and are fast-tracked into detention and deportation. Appeals against this decision must be lodged from the applicant's country of origin.
2004 - Asylum and Immigration Act
- Extension of range of criminal offences and sanctions for failure to possess valid identity documents (the UNHCR stated that
in most cases a person fleeing from persecution will have arrived with the barest necessities and very frequently without personal documents
). - Withdrawal of NASS support for families whose asylum applications have been refused. Children from destitute families can be separated from their parents and taken into care by local authorities.
- Restriction of asylum seekers' rights of appeal against Home Office decisions. Two-tier appeals system replaced with a single-tier tribunal.
2005 - Asylum and Immigration Act
- Indefinite leave to remain (ILR) no longer granted to people given refugee status. Recognised refugees must now wait for five years before receiving ILR, and their temporary leave to remain can be revoked at any time if the Home Office deems their country of origin to be safe
Asylum in the UK
The history of refugees in Norfolk has shaped distinctive elements of our local identity.
Local Support Groups