Refugee returning (unlawfully) to country of origin

jannahjewel · Post by **jannahjewel** » Tue May 16, 2006 11:06 pm

Hi, a friend of mine has a partner who has ILR as a result of an asylum application several years ago. He is Kurdish.

Due to the illness of a close family member, her partner actually returned to his country of origin recently, but was detained and questioned on return to the UK, due to the fact that a condition of his ILR is that he is not permitted to return to Iraq.

The airport immigration officials released him, but have called him back in a week’s time where they will inform him of any decisions they will make regarding this issue. My friend is 6 months pregnant, working full-time, and has suitable accommodation. They have been together around two and a half years as a couple.

They have been briefed about the possibility that her partner might be deported back to Iraq - at which point would he be permitted to make a fiancé visa application (Jordan or Syria) in light of the deportation? My friend is aware of anecdotal evidence that suggests he might well be released after questioning rather than deported. However, is anyone aware of the likely outcome of this situation? Any case law? Any rights of appeal? She friend has faxed and posted a letter outlining the circumstances of their relationship and her partner's return to Iraq, so the Immigration officers have some background information. It is hoped that this information will be received positively by them, but who knows!?

Understandably, both are very stressed by this situation so any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Chess · Post by **Chess** » Wed May 17, 2006 9:11 am

This is quite Bizzare as there are no conditions attached on ILR - you may lose it if you have been away for more than 2 years or obtained it fraudulently

olisun · Post by **olisun** » Wed May 17, 2006 10:15 am

if the person could go to Iraq and come back safely then it is deemed that the country is safe and hence there is no need for Asylum any more (The ILR was granted based on the person's asylum application)

Maybe my understanding is wrong

ppron747 · Post by **ppron747** » Wed May 17, 2006 11:34 am

I don't know enough about this to form a view as to whether OP's friend has anything to worry about but this page of staff instructions on the IND website may help. Although the IND website is doing its usual "wading through treacle" trick, I did manage to access it this morning after waiting about ten minutes, so be patient...

Dawie · Post by **Dawie** » Fri May 19, 2006 11:35 am

if the person could go to Iraq and come back safely then it is deemed that the country is safe and hence there is no need for Asylum any more (The ILR was granted based on the person's asylum application)

By this same logic anyone who has been granted ILR based on 4 years on a work permit should have their ILR withdrawn if it can be proved that someone within the UK or EU can be found to do the job that they originally got the work permit for.

olisun · Post by **olisun** » Sat May 20, 2006 8:28 am

Dawie wrote:
if the person could go to Iraq and come back safely then it is deemed that the country is safe and hence there is no need for Asylum any more (The ILR was granted based on the person's asylum application)
By this same logic anyone who has been granted ILR based on 4 years on a work permit should have their ILR withdrawn if it can be proved that someone within the UK or EU can be found to do the job that they originally got the work permit for.

first of all a WP is not tied to a profession but to a Company

and my post was in relation to ILR obtained thru asylum..

Dawie · Post by **Dawie** » Sat May 20, 2006 10:06 am

Actually I was illustrating that the logic you used in your statement is nonsense.

olisun · Post by **olisun** » Sat May 20, 2006 11:37 am

Dawie wrote:Actually I was illustrating that the logic you used in your statement is nonsense.

Then in that case you should read my complete post, especially the last statement

sywahu · Post by **sywahu** » Tue May 23, 2006 12:10 am

Actually Dawie is 100% correct.

I have first hand experience of someone being on asylum, got ILR, travelled with me, came back etc etc. He came here on asylum some time ago and the conditions in his country when he travelled recently were better than here

No one even questioned HOW he got his ILR.

Interestingly, he was questioned in his home country on his way back to the UK i.e. "you applied for P.A. but its ok now....etc " but that was total nonsense.

ILR hasn't got any retrospective conditions/restrictions on it. Unless there is some "special" ILR type out there NOT listed in the home office web site? Also a person having ILR is not some special "refugee status" visa AFAIK.

ppron747 · Post by **ppron747** » Tue May 23, 2006 1:06 am

Actually, he isn't - and neither are you, Sywahu. If you read the APIs chapter to which I posted a link last Wednesday you'll see that there are circumstances in which an individual's refugee status can be withdrawn, and that if the individual holds ILE/ILR, consideration is given to withdrawing that, as well.
I'm not saying that loss of ILR happens every time - in fact it is probably a rarity - but it can happen, and posting an anecdote about one person's experience doesn't prove that it can't.

sywahu · Post by **sywahu** » Tue May 23, 2006 4:02 pm

well in that case it is a special "ILR" visa with conditions attached i.e. could be revoked under certain conditions. guess ILRs granted to various political asylum applicants can be different since some can have this wierd condition attached.

jannahjewel · Post by **jannahjewel** » Tue May 23, 2006 8:19 pm

Hi, my friend's husband who's matter we were discussing returned to the immigration section of the airport today. I'm not sure of the ins and outs of things yet, as I'll see her tomorrow. Anyway, he has not been detained, but his travel document was taken from him. They were told they now need to write to the Home Office to apply to have this given back. The couple did have a supporting letter from their MP but not sure whether this helped them or not. I'll find out more and post when I know. Thanks for all your help.

Thandia · Post by **Thandia** » Sat May 27, 2006 1:26 pm

I have loadsa friends who are asylum seekers and all of them have been issued with refugee travel documents. The condition of being granted refugee status is that for 10 years, none of them can return to their countries of origin. To me this makes sense a they have claimed asylum under political grounds. They've all said they felt unsafe in their countries of origin. IMHO, travelling back to ur country of origin effectively nullify's ur claim to asylum. In any case, the travel documents are also endorsed, "valid for all countries, except (country of origin)".

As far as I'm aware this is the norm for asylum cases. The only difference is where asylum was allowed and refugee status granted under the amnesty for families a couple of years ago. These people were immediately granted ILR with no restrictions, meaning they could still travel back to their countries of origin. Maybe others have a different experience of this, this however, is my experience from friends who have been granted refugee status.

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Refugee returning (unlawfully) to country of origin

Refugee returning (unlawfully) to country of origin