450,000 Asylum Seekers may get a second chance

[yesenia]

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[ EDIT : by Admin --

The original post was moved due to concerns about promotion of a competitor.

The content, however, is critical information, so I've edited out the commentary among Mods & Admins and posted in a few other articles with supporting information.

Sorry to have kept it from you; I had hoped to have a longer conversation with the original author before doing this but I'm leaving for a few days and hope this will help some folks.

the Admin ]

Original post, edited:
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450,000 Asylum Seekers to be Allowed to Remain in UK

July 30, 2007 - Press Dispensary - It has come to the attention of leading immigration consultancy www. Named OISC advisers. com that the Home Office is preparing to grant over 450,000 asylum seekers 'Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK (ILR)'.

All cases that were pending in the system before the Immigration and Nationality Directorate obtained agency status in April 2007 are to be considered for ILR to clear the backlog. The Home Office will begin with families, many of whom have had children since arriving in the UK, increasing the exact numbers to an unknown figure.

Director Liam Clifford, says: "The Borders and Immigration Agency or BIA simply does not have the resources to tackle the problem and cannot investigate each case properly so it is going to grant all the applications it can in order to clear the backlog.

"In another admission of its inability to cope, the Home Office has given current instructions to prosecute anyone claiming NAS (National Asylum Support) benefits and working illegally earning over £4,000. However, this cannot be achieved because of a lack of resources. In our experience, and from what we are being told, officers now only deal with cases where people are illegally earning in excess of £20,000 p.a. Even in these cases, the Home Office and Department of Work and Pensions can only afford to slap the person on the wrist as no other options are available to them.

"While the UK Home Office talks tough and claims that biometrics and joint agency co-operation will reduce immigration of low skilled migrants and terrorists, they are preparing for one of the UK’s biggest mass grants of Leave to Remain for asylum seekers in history. The Home Office has said that this will not be called an amnesty as it may create the wrong impression. However, the word is out at street level that completing the questionnaire which the Home Office is about to send out to 450,000 people and families will result in the right to stay in the UK.

“With a record number of people emigrating overseas and UK PLC unable to attract the right skills it desperately requires, why does the government continue to present barriers for highly skilled people to come here, while being lenient on those immigrants who are of no benefit to our economy, and may actually burden the public purse and local council resources?

“In recent years, many of our corporate clients have been finding it more difficult to deal with the immigration process for highly skilled workers and work permits, which is about to get worse with commercial partnerships, biometrics, compliance audits and off-shore visa processing. In spite of this asylum seekers can arrive with no checks or controls and receive benefits and Leave to Remain."

[ EDITED by the Admin to break the URLs and make them inactive. We don't like to promote our competitors more than necessary, but important resources are welcome here, no matter the source. The biography after the news is very unnecessary to include and has been deleted. ]

[John]

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[ commentary on reason and actions regarding the move deleted. ]

the Admin

[Administrator]

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[ My response, edited ]

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The big long bio for the author/ 'CEO' of the company at the end of the piece could be deleted and the content would still be valuable.

I am much more concerned that the piece is written in such an hysteric tone and isn't properly sourced or attributed (e.g., URL or email news alert, etc. etc.)

Posting an article like this is acceptable behavior .. so long as some attribution/ sourcing and explanation(s) as appropriate are included by the poster.

For direct competitors, I'm happy just editing & breaking their links with spaces (such as I did here for an example). The URL doesn't hurt us so much if it's inactive ... but they get quite a bump from us via google & such if it can be spidered & clicked on.


Please let me know what feedback you get.

If the theme of the story is true, this is quite important news.


Thanks,

the Admin

[Administrator]

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Pending communication with the original poster, this topic could be restored. Although, editing out a few of our Mod/Admin comments would be prudent and the biography for the first article could be deleted out.

I notice that the website for the original post does not have this news item posted. Not under any portion of their regular news, etc. So, I suspect it was probably part of an email/newsletter or some such.

I can find only one news article directly on this topic (from yesterday):

NOTE TO ALL MEMBERS:

This is an example of preferred posting of a news article, either in full or partial.


It is very important that the formatting remain readable, so if someone wishes to post an article, they should also take the responsibility to ensure good formatting ... otherwise, deletion is one of our primary solutions. The URL & other author/date information AND THE COPYRIGHT need to be included so as to comply with international fair use legislation :


http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/157 ... ylum-cases

SECRET 'AMNESTY' FOR 500,000 ASYLUM CASES

[ Photo caption ]

ON THEIR WAY HERE: Asylum seekers queuing up in Calais make it clear they are coming to the UK

By Macer Hall, Political Editor, Monday August 6,2007

BRITAIN may allow nearly half a million failed asylum seekers to stay here under a back-door amnesty scheme.

Ministers are attempting to clear a backlog of 450,000 cases of immigrants who were turned down for refugee status but not expelled from the country.

Many will be granted "indefinite leave to remain" because of the time they have spent living in the UK.

The revelation last night led to accusations that the Government is operating an amnesty policy for newcomers and continuing Tony Blair's policy of allowing the UK to be seen as a soft touch for illegal immigrants and asylum seekers.

Yesterday, the Home Office confirmed hundreds of thousands of claims would be looked at on a "case-by-case basis".

The move angered the Tories. Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said: "The Government is effectively offering an amnesty via the back door."

It emerged yesterday that a 1,000-strong Home Office team has been set up to work through the list of failed asylum seekers to assess whether or not individuals and families should qualify for UK residency rights because such a long time has passed since the rejection of their asylum claims.

Last month, the first 6,000 families on the list were sent questionnaires asking about their current circumstances.

Insiders close to the scheme said those who gave the "right" answers would be granted "leave to remain". Asylum seekers who cannot be traced by immigration officials are expected to be simply struck off the "legacy" list to ease the backlog.

They would no longer be actively sought for removal, even though they would stay illegal immigrantsMPs are to be informed about the progress in dealing with the list when the House of Commons reconvenes in October.

Yesterday, Immigration Minister Liam Byrne said: "We have no plans for an amnesty, which I have condemned as wrong. This has always been our position and remains the case. In fact, we are doubling the budget for enforcement and we now remove a failed asylum seeker every half an hour. That is why the number of people claiming asylum in the UK is the lowest since 1993."

A spokeswoman for the Border and Immigration Agency said: "At the Home Affairs Select Committee evidence session on July 24, the Home Secretary stated that Lin Homer, chief executive of the Border and Immigration Agency, would provide an update on the legacy programme in due course.

"The top priority in dealing with these case records has always been those that pose a risk to the public.

"In addition, we will focus on those who can be easily removed, those receiving support and those who may be granted leave to stay.

"In February, Lin Homer confirmed the Case Resolution Directorate had been established to deal specifically with legacy cases, with case-working capability."

Several Labour MPs - including senior backbencher John Cruddas - and church groups have been calling for an amnesty for Britain's illegal immigrants.

They claim the move would curb the growing black market of illegal working and tax dodging but opponents argue an amnesty would simply encourage more migrants to head for the UK.

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Copyright ©2006 Northern and Shell Media Publications

In a case like this, it is a pretty important news item. But, making some commentary is usually a good idea since it is being used to generate a topic of discussion. That helps demonstrate it is posted under fair use guidelines.

Otherwise, we may be accused of copyright violations &/or intellectual property theft.

We wish to avoid such legal entanglements.


There is another related one from a couple of months back:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jh ... ylum02.xml

200,000 'lost' asylum seekers may stay
By Philip Johnston, Home Affairs Editor
Last Updated: 1:34am BST 02/04/2007

More than 200,000 failed asylum seekers may stay in Britain indefinitely because they cannot be traced.

Officials have conceded that nearly half of the 450,000 "legacy cases" in which the applicants are left in limbo may never be cleared.

Ministers have flatly ruled out an amnesty and have pledged to remove everyone not entitled to be here within five years.

Some "legacy" cases date back 15 years and experts believe the Government will not be able to fulfil its pledge to clear the backlog by July 2011. Officials attending a recent meeting to discuss the legacy policy were told that half of the 450,000 are "untraceable".

They were also told that 18,000 foreign nationals who have committed crimes in Britain were earmarked for deportation, the first time an official figure has been given.

Damian Green, the Conservative immigration spokesman, said: "It is concerning that there may be such a large number of foreign criminals possibly at large and that the Government is admitting defeat by writing off up to 200,000 lost asylum seekers."

Sir Andrew Green, the chairman of Migration Watch, said: "It is time they [the Government] came clean to the public about the possibly serious implication for the asylum system."

A Home Office spokesman said: "We remain confident that we will be able to clear the entire current legacy of cases by July 2011."

The Home Office is already reviewing the cases of 4,000 failed asylum seekers in Scotland after pressure from the executive in Edinburgh.

As immigration is not a devolved matter, this move could be significant for policy in England, where most of the unsuccessful asylum seekers live.

Many countries, including America, have regularisation programmes for failed asylum seekers or illegal immigrants. Spain has just completed its fifth amnesty.

But a Commons committee last year said an amnesty in Britain would encourage the view that breaches of the immigration rules may be rewarded and undermine confidence in the system.

Last week's Whitehall shake-up left immigration in the hands of the Home Office but day-to-day policy will be handed over to a new Borders agency which comes into being today.

Also from today, any foreign national wanting to settle here will be required to take tests in the English language and the British way of life. This brings long-term immigrants into line with people who seek UK citizenship, who already have to sit the tests.

Last year 180,000 people were granted settlement to stay. Some go on to seek British nationality but others may choose to retain their own while staying permanently.

The Government believes migrants wishing to live in the UK permanently should properly integrate and understand the society they are joining.

Applicants who already possess a good standard of English will take the existing Life in the UK exam. Immigrants with poorer English can take a specially developed English for Speakers of Other Languages course with a simplified citizenship course.

The Life in the UK test is aimed at those with a good grasp of English and their pass mark will be at least 75 per cent. Each applicant sits a 45-minute exam of 24 questions to show a basic knowledge of national culture.

Those less accomplished in English can attend a combined language and citizenship class instead. They will be expected to complete the course "successfully" but do not have to pass the exam to gain citizenship.

A government handbook, Life in the UK, contains much of the information that will feature in the tests, including what to do if you spill someone's pint in a pub (offer to buy another).

Some immigrants and asylum seekers have cheated their way to UK citizenship by buying answers to the Home Office "Britishness" test.

Mandarin-speaking Chinese have paid £150 for the list in London's Soho, so they know which boxes to tick when they take the exam.

Now the Home Office has changed the questions, although applicants who studied the previous handbook are still allowed to take an exam based on the old questions.

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© Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2007

the Admin

[Administrator]

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The Telegraph has just posted on this today; no sign at BBC, Guardian or the Independent.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jh ... imm105.xml

'Back-door amnesty' may let immigrants stay

By Ben Leapman, Home Affairs Correspondent, Sunday Telegraph
Last Updated: 2:15am BST 07/08/2007

Hundreds of thousands of failed asylum seekers may be allowed to settle permanently in Britain under a "back-door amnesty" scheme.

The Government is striving to clear a backlog of 450,000 "legacy" cases of immigrants who were turned down for refugee status but were never expelled.

A 1,000-strong Home Office team has been set up to work through the list, giving priority to individuals and families who may now qualify for UK residency rights because such a long time has passed since their initial rejection.

Without publicity, the first 6,000 families on the list were sent questionnaires last month asking about their current circumstances. Insiders close to the scheme said those who gave the "right" answers would be granted "leave to remain".

Asylum seekers who cannot be traced are expected to be simply struck off the "legacy" list, giving the impression that officials have made progress in tackling the backlog. They would no longer be sought actively for removal, even though they would remain illegal immigrants - liable for deportation if ever caught.

A campaign for an amnesty for illegal migrants has won backing from many Labour MPs and Church leaders.

But David Davis, the shadow home secretary, said: "Senior members of this Government, including Harriet Harman [Labour deputy leader] and Alan Johnson [Health Secretary], may have publicly endorsed an amnesty for people entering the UK illegally, but now the Government is effectively offering an amnesty via the back door."

The Borders and Immigration Agency (BIA), a branch of the Home Office, aims to consider all "legacy" cases by 2011. It will not say how many of the 450,000 it expects to be allowed to remain.

Those granted leave-to-remain status will be able to live and work freely in the UK, and claim benefits. After five years they can apply for a British passport. This would normally be granted unless an applicant commits serious crimes or is considered a national security threat.

Officials have been told to give priority to cases in four categories: those likely to qualify for leave to remain; those receiving financial support from the Home Office pending appeal against refusal of asylum; those who can be removed easily; and those who pose a risk to the public.

One member of a Home Office advisory panel that has discussed the legacy exercise said: "They are upping the pace quite a lot now. By the end of this year, they ought to be progressing a lot of cases."

Liam Clifford, a former immigration officer and head of the consultancy Named OISC advisers.com, said: "While the Home Office talks tough, it is preparing for one of the biggest mass grants of residency rights to asylum seekers in history.

"The word is out at street level that completing the questionnaire will result in the right to stay in the UK. The BIA simply does not have the resources to investigate each case properly, so it will grant all the applications it can in order to clear the backlog."

Ministers insist the scheme does not amount to an amnesty because decisions are being taken on a case-by-case basis. Liam Byrne, the immigration minister, said: "We have no plans for an amnesty, which I have condemned as wrong. This has always been our position and remains the case."

The move to clear up the asylum backlog follows the biggest wave of legal migration in history, with more than 600,000 eastern Europeans moving to the UK since the 2004 EU expansion.

Only about 18,000 failed asylum seekers were removed last year. Efforts by the Home Office to increase the rate of removals have met with limited success.

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© Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2007

the Admin

[John]

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[ commentary deleted by Admin ]

the Admin

[Administrator]

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I notice that news outlets are not covering it (very seriously or in-depth), and it seems to have gone right under the radar of ********* (so far).

I'm very curious about that. And happy. If the *** thinks they can make political hay out of this, it could really blow-up into a media frenzy fast.

I would like very VERY much to get a copy of that questionnaire to examine.

the Admin

[Administrator]

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This topic is being restored.

I consider the information too valuable to keep out of this forum.

Anyone who has information or experience on this topic, please contribute.

Thank you!

the Admin

[SYH]

Fantastic news. Just incredible
I know nothing about it sorry but from an HSMP applicant point of view, it is definitely a slap in the face

[jimquk]

Check this link:

http://www.ncadc.org.uk/archives/filed% ... gacy2.html

The press release creates a false (IMO) conflict of interest between "deserving" HSMP people and "undeserving" failed asylum-seekers. To describe the Government's treatment of the latter as lenient is pretty galling, as is the assertion that they would be of no benefit to the economy.

The questionnaire has gone out to families, and long-term asylum-seekers have also been reporting that they are being asked when signing about their current circumstances, more than in the past. Some are also being called for interviews; it seems that they are gathering the information they might need for documentation of those without passports. Unfortunately I haven't yet seen a questionnaire, I believe that there are only a few basic questions to confirm identity, lack of criminal convictions, and unwillingness to return home.

It has been reported that people are being charged for photocopied questionnairs which will be most unlikely to help them.

I think it is pretty clear that large numbers of non-returnables are going to get status, presumably five years LTR, after which their cases are supposed to be reviewed again - (can anyone believe they will be able to seriously review them again???). Non-returnables will be decided in road categories of nationality (Somali, Palestinian, etc) as well as with reference to ties in the UK making removal problematic.

On the other hand, those who can be sent back are going to be pursued a bit more diligently than before, now that the Home Office is on top of their current asylum workload.

The Government is clearly determined to avoid a massive one-off regularisation, preferring to resolve a few thousand cases a month, and hoping that the tabloids don't notice. In this they will have been encouraged by the family amnesty, which passed off quietly - though it took them two years to deal with about 45,000 cases (still a few pending).

Got to be good news overall.

[Administrator]

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>bump<

I am very VERY interested in obtaining a copy of the questionnaire being sent out. If anyone knows of a copy somewhere and could scan it ...? Or of a website or forum that claims to have a copy ..?

I want to make it a resource available to all on our website.

Thank you,

the Admin

[Lazarus]

Has this information being confirmed by the BIA?

Is it true?

[Christophe]

Has this information being confirmed by the BIA?

Is it true?

See this page from the BIA website about the Case Resolution Programme, and the page of FAQs that it links through to.

[Lazarus]

Would that just be for asylum aplicants or other immigration categories as well?

[Christophe]

Would that just be for asylum aplicants or other immigration categories as well?

It relates only to asylum applicants, I believe.

[Administrator]

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This appears to be for failed asylum applicants. The government seems to be trying to track them down and resolve all the open cases.

Some will have left, many will have not. Very carefully, the government is trying not to use the word "amnesty." It truly isn't ... but it could be a very cost-effective way to locate & evaluate a lot of cases and clear them from the files.

The reason why I want to see the questionnaire. It seems to be a preliminary evaluation form. It would be nice to get information out on what the questions are and offer advise on the "most correct" way to answer them.

the Admin

[Administrator]

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Oh ... Christophe .... THANK YOU for those links!

The FAQ answers a lot of critical questions.

Folks, Read This Now:

http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/applyi ... gammefaqs/


A couple of key excerpts; there's a bit more so visit the link:

Is this an amnesty?

No, each case will be evaluated on its individual merits, with an assessment of any human rights factors that may be relevant. A decision will then be made on whether the particular case justifies granting leave or effecting removal.

Does any decision on the information provided in the questionnaire get a right of appeal?

No. The usual asylum process still applies. i.e. appeal after initial decision, and usual removals process.

Can an individual send a copied version of the questionnaire if BIA have not sent one first?

No. The questionnaire will be sent to the individual when BIA is ready to do so for that individual.

Can the questionnaire be sent directly to an individual’s legal representative?

People change legal representatives all the time, so we prefer to use the last known address of the applicant themselves.

When must questionnaires be returned?

Questionnaires should be returned within 21 working days of being sent out.

the Admin

[Christophe]

This appears to be for failed asylum applicants. The government seems to be trying to track them down and resolve all the open cases.

A similar thing was done a few years ago for a backlog of asylum cases that had not at that time been determined - i.e. to put it more bluntly, cases that hadn't even got to the case worker stage even though the applicants had been in the country for x years - where x was a disgracefully large number that I can't now recall. I seem to remember that people with children were dealt with under that scheme, which was much less "trumpeted" by the Home Office than this case resolution programme is being. (Unfortunately I can't remember details, but someone else might, although it's of only academic interest now, really.)

[Lazarus]

to put it more bluntly, cases that hadn't even got to the case worker stage even though the applicants had been in the country for x years - where x was a disgracefully large num

Are you then saying that some people who claimed political asylum their case never reached the hands of a case worker.

Where are those cases kept if they never reach a caseworker?
Whats the actual procedure for non straightforward cases like asylum and other ones that as you said never get the chance to see a caseworker's hand.

[jimquk]

Christophe wrote:

A similar thing was done a few years ago for a backlog of asylum cases that had not at that time been determined

In about 1995 there was a backlog clearance exercise for people that had been waiting more than ten years; I'm not sure whether that included people that had had negative decisions, or just people that had never had any decision at all (I was an immigration innocent back then!). I think about twenty thousand cases were regularised in this way over a couple of years.

In 2004 the "family ILR exercise" was announced; basically asylum-seekers who had claimed before October 2000 (when NASS was rolled out across the country) and who had children were granted ILR. About 45,000 cases were regularised, it took them nearly three years, and a number of cases are still pending.......

[Christophe]

Are you then saying that some people who claimed political asylum their case never reached the hands of a case worker.

Well, they reached a case worker during this "clear-out" of cases (for want of a better term). Some may have been assigned a case worker before that, in theory (though certainly some had not), but the point was that none of the cases had had any work done on them.

[Christophe]

In about 1995 there was a backlog clearance exercise for people that had been waiting more than ten years; I'm not sure whether that included people that had had negative decisions, or just people that had never had any decision at all ...

They were cases about which no decision had been made; they were not cases of people's whose claim had failed.

[Janit]

I know someone who got sent a questionnaire.

He kept a copy of the completed form; I will ask him to let me borrow it; I will block out his details and try to send it to the admin, by Royal Mail as I am not clued up on sending things through emails. Give me a few days to get to him and see if he will allow me. If and when I get it I will come back to you all. Fingers crossed.

[Administrator]

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Janit --

Thanks for the offer.

However, I'm located in Riga, Latvia.

Maybe you or a friend can take a digital photograph (or a couple .. however many are necessary) and email it/them ..?

We can also accept a fax here.

+371 (Latvia country code) 781 4123

If you can get a copy, please PM me and we'll figure out a way to do this. I very seriously would like to post the questions to our website so everyone can see them.

Hopefully people could then discuss the questions and provide the best probable answers for positive results.

If the questionnaire is not too long, like maybe one page, if you could even just type the questions and post them here ...?

Any feedback from your friend would be VERY appreciated.

Maybe your friend could even join the board and post some comments ..?

THANK YOU !

the Admin

[ P.S. -- if absolutely necessary, we can make arrangements to accept a copy in London at our Bolton Court / Fleet street office ... it would just help if we can get it directly to our tech office in Riga. Be a nice coup over our consultants in London! ]

[pathaniprincess]