Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jn8rn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T05:26:48.000Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

2 - Seeking asylum in the United Kingdom

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 August 2022

By
Jude Boyles ,
Robin Ewart-Biggs ,
Jonathan Kazembe ,
Jo Miller  and
Karin Oliver
Edited by
Chris Maloney ,
Julia Nelki  and
Alison Summers
Get access

Summary

The UK asylum processat the time of writing is described in detail to illustrate more general practices and effects. Claim handling and the role of immigration detention are discussed.Legal representation is important but hard to find. Asylum claim interviews are described.The decision-making process is outlined. Tribunals, appeals, appeals rights exhaustion, and fresh claims are described.The National Referral Mechanism for people who have been trafficked is outlined.Claiming asylum has a human context.People are excluded from society.Shame can be induced, and ‘retraumatisation’ can occur. Detention without limit of time can distress and destabilise individuals who were mentally stable on arrival.Fear and uncertainty prevail.

Possible reactions of the host society are reviewed; suspicion and disbelief, and deprivation and demands as part of the ‘hostile environment’.

The key themes of medical care and the role of medical evidence are introduced.Forms of recognition as a refugee are described, and some of their practical and psychological consequences.

Keywords

Asylum processHome OfficeInitial Accommodation Centres (IACs)Immigration detentionImmigration and Asylum tribunals (IATs)AppealsFresh claimsHuman traffickingNational Referral MechanismPoverty
Type
Chapter
Information
Seeking Asylum and Mental Health
A Practical Guide for Professionals
 , pp. 29 - 50
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Allen, W. (2013). Migration in the News: Portrayals of Immigrants, Migrants, Asylum Seekers and Refugees in National British Newspapers, 2010–2012. Oxford. Migration Observatory, University of Oxford.Google Scholar
Alleyne, A. (2018). The Internal Oppressor and Black Identity Wounding. www.baatn.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/The-Internal-Oppressor-and-Black-identity-wounding-1.pdf (accessed 21 November 2020).Google Scholar
Amnesty International (2017). A Matter of Routine: The Use of Immigration Detention in the UK. www.amnesty.org.uk/files/2017-12/A%20Matter%20Of%20Routine%20ADVANCE%20COPY.PDF?ya06n1Z2uH6J0bP8HmO7R2Pn7nabDymO= (accessed 17 November 2020).Google Scholar
APPG (2017) Refugees Welcome? The Experience of New Refugees in the UK. A Report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Refugees. www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/APPG_on_Refugees_-_Refugees_Welcome_report.pdf (accessed 30 August 2020).Google Scholar
Bail for Immigration Detainees (2019). ‘Nothing good comes from detention’: Voices from Detention. https://hubble-live-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/biduk/redactor2_assets/files/803/Voices_from_Detention_Website.pdf (accessed 20 November 2020).Google Scholar
Baker, R. (1983). The Psychosocial Problems of Refugees. London. British Refugee Council and European Consultation on Refugees and Exiles, pp. 83–106.Google Scholar
Bögner, D., Brewin, C., and Herlihy, J. (2009). ‘Refugees’ Experiences of Home Office Interviews: A Qualitative Study on the Disclosure of Sensitive Personal Information’, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. 36(3): 519–35. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691830903368329.Google Scholar
Bögner, D., Herlihy, J. and Brewin, C. (2007). The impact of sexual violence on disclosure during Home Office interviews. British Journal of Psychiatry. 191.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Boyles, J. (2015). In the shadow of detention. Therapy Today. 26(4):10–14.Google Scholar
Boyles, J., Turner, A., and Tolman, K. (2019). Social Work with Survivors of Torture. In: Social Work with Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Migrants: Theory and Skills Practice. Eds. Wroe, L., Larkin, R., Maglajlic, R. A. London. Jessica Kingsley Publishers. 163–84.Google Scholar
Kakooza, P. (2017). Treat us like people. In: Boyles, J. (ed) Psychological Therapies for Survivors of Torture: A Human Rights Approach with People Seeking Asylum. Monmouth: PCCS Books, pp. 97–108.Google Scholar
British Red Cross (2018). Never truly free: The humanitarian impact of the UK immigration detention system. https://blog.redcross.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Never-Truly-Free-2018.pdf (accessed 20 November 2020).Google Scholar
British Red Cross (2018). Still an ordeal: The move-on period for new refugees www.redcross.org.uk/-/media/documents/about-us/research-publications/refugee-support/still-an-ordeal-move-on-period-report.pdf (accessed 21 November 2020).Google Scholar
Carr, M. (2015). Fortress Europe: Inside the War Against Immigration. London. Hurst.Google Scholar
Consonant [formerly Asylum Aid] (2013). Rethinking Asylum Legal Representation: Promoting Quality and Innovation at a Time of Austerity. www.refworld.org/pdfid/54080e334.pdf (accessed 6 February 2021).Google Scholar
The Coram Children’s Legal Centre (2017). Migrant Children’s Project Fact Sheet, The Age Assessment process. The Coram Children’s Legal Centre (2018). www.childrenslegalcentre.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Leaving-Care-Support-June-2018-FINAL.pdf (accessed 6 February 2021).Google Scholar
Crawley, H. (2012). Working with Children and Young People Subject to Immigration Control, Guidelines for Best Practice. London: Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association.Google Scholar
Dorling, K., Girma, M., and Walter, N. (2012). Refused: The Experiences of Women Denied Asylum in the UK. www.refugeewomen.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/women-for-refugee-women-reports-refused.pdf (accessed 17 November 2020).Google Scholar
Fletcher, A. (2017). Queering the Pitch: Sexuality, Torture and Recovery. In: Boyles, J. Ed. Psychological Therapies for Survivors of Torture: A Human Rights Approach with People Seeking Asylum. Monmouth. PCCS Books, pp. 223–45.Google Scholar
Foley, J. (2020). Refugee Protection United Kingdom Report – Global Papers. Global Migration: Consequences and Responses. Paper 2020/36, January 2020. Glasgow Caledonian University.Google Scholar
Freedom from Torture (2013). The Poverty Barrier: The Right to Rehabilitation for Survivors of Torture in the UK. www.freedomfromtorture.org/sites/default/files/2019-04/Poverty%20report%20FINAL%20a4%20web.pdf (accessed 12 February 2021).Google Scholar
Freedom from Torture (2016). Proving Torture. Demanding the Impossible: Home Office Mistreatment of Expert Medical Evidence of Torture. Freedom from Torture. www.freedomfromtorture.org/sites/default/files/2019-04/proving_torture_a4_final.pdf (accessed 6 September 2020).Google Scholar
Freedom from Torture (2019). Lessons Not Learned: The Failures of Asylum Decision-making in the UK. www.freedomfromtorture.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/FFT_LessonsNotLearned_Report_A4_FINAL_LOWRES_1.pdf (accessed 21 November 2020).Google Scholar
Freedom from Torture (2020). Beyond Belief: How the Home Office Fails Survivors of Torture at the Asylum Interview. https://freedomfromtorturestories.contentfiles.net/media/documents/Beyond_Belief_report.pdf (accessed 21 November 2020).Google Scholar
Girma, M., Radice, S., Tsangarides, N., and Walter, N. (2014). Detained: Women Asylum Seekers Locked Up in the UK. www.refugeewomen.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/women-for-refugee-women-reports-detained.pdf (accessed 21 November 2020).Google Scholar
Herlihy, J. and Turner, S. W. (2006). Should discrepant accounts given by asylum seekers be taken as proof of deceit? Torture 16(2) 81–92.Google ScholarPubMed
Home Affairs Select Committee (2013), Asylum, Seventh Report of Session 2013–14. https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmselect/cmhaff/71/71.pdf (accessed 15 March 2021).Google Scholar
Home Office (2018). Factsheet: Asylum and Resettlement. https://homeofficemedia.blog.gov.uk/2018/01/19/fact-sheet-on-the-uks-support-for-asylum-seeking-and-refugee-children-in-europe/ (accessed 15 March 2020).Google Scholar
Home Office (2019). Asylum Interviews. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/807031/asylum-interviews-v7.0ext.pdf (accessed 21 March 2021).Google Scholar
Independent Chief Inspector for Borders and Immigration (2021). An inspection of the use of contingency asylum accommodation – key findings from site visits to Penally Camp and Napier Barracks. www.gov.uk/government/news/an-inspection-of-the-use-of-contingency-asylum-accommodation-key-findings-from-site-visits-to-penally-camp-and-napier-barracks (accessed 19 March 2021).Google Scholar
Institute of Race Relations (2018). The Embedding of State Hostility: A background paper on the Windrush Scandal. Briefing paper no. 11. https://s3-eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/wpmedia.outlandish.com/irr/2018/11/19150132/Embedding-State-hostility-v4.pdf (accessed 21 November 2020).Google Scholar
Jesuit Refugee Service (2020). Detained and Dehumanised: The Impact of Immigration Detention. www.jrsuk.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Detained-and-Dehumanised_JRS-UK-Report_28.06.2020_FINAL-1.pdf (accessed 21 November 2020).Google Scholar
Joint Committee on Human Rights (2007). The Treatment of Asylum Seekers. https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/jt200607/jtselect/jtrights/81/81i.pdf (accessed15 May 2021).Google Scholar
Joint Committee on Human Rights (2020). Black people, racism and human rights. Eleventh Report of Session 2019–21. https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/3376/documents/32359/default/ (accessed 19 March 2021).Google Scholar
Kang, C. , Tomkow,, L. and Farrington, F. (2019). Access to primary health care for asylum seekers and refugees: A qualitative study of service user experiences in the UK. British Journal of General Practice 69 (685): e537–e545.Google Scholar
Kirkup, J. and Winnett, R. (2012).Theresa May interview: ‘We’re going to give illegal migrants a really hostile reception’. Daily Telegraph, 25 May 2012: www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/immigration/9291483/Theresa-May-interview-Were-going-to-give-illegal-migrants-a-really-hostile-reception.html (last accessed June 2021).Google Scholar
McKinnon, N (2017). The Door to My Garden: Kevin, Me and the Clock. In: Boyles, J. (Ed.) Psychological Therapies for Survivors of Torture: A Human Rights Approach with People Seeking Asylum. Monmouth. PCCS Books, pp. 36–55.Google Scholar
Munt, S (2007). Queer Attachments: The Cultural Politics of Shame. Farnham. Ashgate.Google Scholar
Refugee Action (2014) Briefing on Refugee Action’s Bring Back Dignity campaign. www.refugee-action.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Briefing_on_support_rates_legal_challenge_April_2014.pdf (accessed 21 November 2020).Google Scholar
Refugee Council (2008). Court of Appeal rules the Home Office Age Assessment Policy as Unlawful. www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/latest/news/court-of-appeal-rules-the-home-office-age-assessment-policy-as-unlawful/ (accessed 25 September 2020).Google Scholar
Refugee Council (2020). Quarterly Asylum Statistics, May 2020.Google Scholar
www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Asylum-Statistics-May-2020.pdf (accessed 23 November 2020).Google Scholar
Shaw, S. (2016). Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons: A Report to the Home Office. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/490782/52532_Shaw_Review_Accessible.pdf (accessed 21 November 2020).Google Scholar
Shaw, S. (2018). Assessment of government progress in implementing the report on the welfare in detention of vulnerable persons: A follow-up report to the Home Office. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/728376/Shaw_report_2018_Final_web_accessible.pdf (accessed 21 November 2020).Google Scholar
Teather, S. (2020). Detained and Dehumanised. The Impact of Immigration Detention. Jesuit Refugee Service UK. www.jrsuk.net/detentionreport/.Google Scholar
Travis, A. (2007). Officials launch drive to seek out illegal migrants at work. www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/may/16/immigration.immigrationandpublicservices (accessed 25 September 2020).Google Scholar
Tribe, R. (2007). Working with interpreters. The Psychologist. 20 (3): 159–161.Google Scholar
Turner, S., and Gorst-Unsworth, C. (1990). Psychological sequelae of torture: a descriptive model. British Journal of Psychiatry 157: 475–80.Google Scholar
UNHCR. (1951). Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees. www.unhcr.org/uk/protection/basic/3b66c2aa10/convention-protocol-relating-status-refugees.html.Google Scholar
UNHCR. (2021). UK Asylum Bill Would Break International Law, Damaging Refugees and Global Co-Operation. www.unhcr.org/uk/news/press/2021/9/614c163f4/unhcr-uk-asylum-bill-would-break-international-law-damaging-refugees-and.html (accessed 4 April 2022).Google Scholar
Van der Veer, G. (1998). Counselling and therapy with refugees and victims of torture: Psychological problems of victims of war, torture and repression (2nd ed). Chichester. John Wiley and Sons.Google Scholar
Yeo, C. (2020). Welcome to Britain: Fixing our Broken Immigration System. London. Biteback Publishing Ltd.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×