Asylum Aid

We have joined 700+ organisations & individuals in expressing our deep concern & opposition to the UK government's decision to suspend asylum claims for Syrians. This move will leave thousands of Syrians stuck in limbo, uncertainty, and fear. https://lnkd.in/dCAnHUMP

🚨 The Home Office has apologised to our client from Cote D’Ivoire for the errors they made in his case, resulting in him waiting 4+ years for an asylum decision. The limbo took a huge toll on his mental health. This is significant as the Home Office rarely issues such an apology. 👇 Secure immigration status is fundamental for refugees to move on and rebuild their lives with dignity, instead of living in limbo for years. The Labour govt has inherited an asylum backlog, but it has the opportunity to invest in fair, reliable & timely asylum decision-making.

We are extremely concerned that the UK government has decided to suspend decision making in Syrian asylum cases. The reasons for Syrian nationals claiming asylum in the UK are complex and not limited solely to the atrocities committed by the Bashar al-Assad regime. Our statement: https://lnkd.in/dN8HNqXj

It's great that the government has finally extended the time refugees get to move on from asylum accommodation from 28 to 56 days. This will make a difference to the thousands who find themselves facing homelessness after getting their refugee status. https://lnkd.in/eSppRy3S

Such exciting news! Do visit the wonderful store and support our incredible partners at Choose Love 🥰

🚨 As asylum backlogs remain high, our client, a 52-year-old man from Cote D’Ivoire seeking protection in the UK, will receive an apology & compensation from the Home Office for waiting 4 years and 2 months for a decision on his asylum claim. Here's why this is important 👇 Our client's win comes on the back of our fight against one of the biggest problems in the UK asylum system – delays in decision making on asylum claims. We had gone to court on behalf of our client as the delay in his asylum decision was impeding his recovery from trauma. We argued that the Home Office was breaching the Immigration Rules & our client’s human rights. The Rules require officials to make asylum decisions as soon as possible and give a timeframe for the decision, if it has not been taken within six months of the claim. Our case raised the profile of this issue in the Home Office. In October 2023, they issued policy guidance called ‘Asylum decision-making prioritisation’. This policy provided much-needed clarity to the process of prioritisations of asylum decisions. But our evidence shows that the Home Office still does not have an adequate system to give realistic and reliable timeframes for a decision on an asylum claim pending more than 6 months. The backlog waiting for an initial decision is now higher than it was in December 2023. The Labour government has inherited a backlog, but it has the opportunity to break this cycle and turn a new page on the asylum system. Investing in fair, reliable, timely asylum decision-making benefits everyone. Read more about our case here: https://lnkd.in/dabwW6es

🚨 We are delighted that the government has announced an increase in legal aid rates for immigration, which were last revised three decades ago. The UK’s immigration and asylum systems are extremely complex and challenging to go through. Free legal advice is fundamental for people seeking protection to navigate those systems. But since 1996, there’s been no increase in funding. This has decimated the legal aid sector to such an extent that more than half of people seeking asylum or appealing a refusal in the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) were unable to secure legal aid representation in 2023-24. This means that over 50,000 people were left without access to a lawyer, denying them access to justice. Some may resort to paying private lawyers and may get into high levels of debt for services which are often substandard. This has knock-on implications on clearing the backlog of asylum cases. Survivors of torture and trafficking in particular require individual assistance to access the asylum and trafficking systems. They need legal help to provide appropriate evidence, including medical documents, to substantiate their case. These cases are often uniquely complex, long running and costly, yet the rates of pay have remained stagnant for years and no longer cover the costs of providing a service. It means that taking on such complex cases is not viable or sustainable for many legal aid providers. Those supporting people seeking protection have been calling for an increase in legal aid rates for years so that legal aid is sustainable, and providers can afford to continue this vital work. We welcome the government’s decision to act. But a 10% increase in hourly rate (as announced by the Ministry of Justice) is not close to inflationary, given that rates were last increased in 1996. Further changes are still needed, including re-introducing legal aid for areas of immigration law that were removed from scope following the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (including family reunion and applications based on Article 8 and statelessness), but this is a positive step towards ensuring access to justice for survivors.

⏰ Deadline to apply to be our next Justice First Fellow and Trainee Solicitor is tomorrow, Friday 29th November! If you want to be a part of our casework team and have the incredible opportunity to train and qualify as a solicitor, apply NOW: https://lnkd.in/d4-BdcaJ More information in the video 👇

⏰only 2 days left to apply to be a Justice First Fellow at Asylum Aid - deadline is Friday, 29 November

This is such an exciting opportunity to train with the brilliant team at @AsylumAid as a #justicefirstfellow As I explain in this video, we are offering a guaranteed interview to people with lived experience of forced migration and statelessness who meet minimum criteria, and mentoring support is available from the Experts By Experience Employment Initiative. Thanks to The Legal Education Foundation for supporting the Fellowship!