Seeking Refuge? - Rights of Women

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2 Am I entitled to protection in the UK? Introduction Many people are forced to leave their country and seek safety somewhere else. This Chapter will explain the law that determines who is entitled to protection in the UK. There are three different types of protection that a person may be given: Refugee Leave, Humanitarian Protection and Discretionary Leave. This section will explain the law that determines who is entitled to each type of protection. The law discussed here is very complicated. This Chapter is written to give you information about the law but it is not legal advice. If you have applied for protection in the UK, or are thinking about doing this, it is very important that you seek legal advice from a solicitor or an immigration advisor. You can also contact Rights of Women’s legal advice line. See Chapter 12 at the end of this book for information about organisations that provide legal advice. What is the law that decides who is entitled to protection in the UK? There are three sources of law that determine who is entitled to protection in the UK: • the Refugee Convention 1951; • the European Convention on Human Rights 1950; and • European Union Law. The Refugee Convention Protection in the UK European Union Law European Convention on Human Rights This section will explain these three sources so that you know on what basis you may be entitled to remain in the UK. 10
For information about how claims are decided see Chapters 3, 4, 5 and 6. For information about the different types of leave to remain in the UK see Chapter 7. For information about appealing against a negative decision see Chapter 8. Who decides my case? A claim for asylum or some other form of protection in the UK is decided initially by a case-owner in the UK Border Agency. The UK Border Agency 1 is the part of the Home Office that deals with asylum, immigration and nationality issues. The Home Office is a department in the UK Government. A case-owner is someone in the UK Border Agency who interviews people who have applied for asylum and makes the initial decision on whether or not they should be given permission to remain in the UK. If your initial application for protection to the UK Border Agency is refused, you can appeal against it to the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal. If you do appeal, then the decision on your appeal is taken by an Immigration Judge who is independent of the UK Border Agency. In order to decide whether or not you should be given protection in the UK, and what type of protection you should be given, the person who makes the decision (the case-owner at the UK Border Agency or the Immigration Judge at the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal) must consider all the relevant international and domestic law. “ A decision-maker is the person who makes a decision in your case. The decision-maker could be either a case-owner at the UK Border Agency or an immigration judge at the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal. ” The Refugee Convention The UK follows the law set out in the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, usually called the Refugee Convention. The Refugee Convention is international law that tries to protect people who flee persecution in their country. A person who is granted protection under the Refugee Convention will be given Refugee Leave for 5 years. Article 1A of the Refugee Convention states that a refugee is someone who: • has a well-founded fear of being persecuted for one of the following convention reasons: AND “ “ o race o religion o nationality o political opinion o membership of a “particular social group” • is outside her home country; AND • her State is either unwilling or unable to protect her from the persecution. A country is the geographical area that a person lives in, such as England or Wales. ” A State is the government of a country. The word ‘State’ refers to the official institutions responsible for controlling a country, such as local and national government, the police and the army. What is persecution? ” Persecution is a form of serious harm, such as the abuse of a fundamental human right. A fundamental human right is one of the rights that are most important, such as the right to life and the right to be free from torture. 1 It used to be called the Border and Immigration Agency (the BIA) and before that the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (the IND). 11
Page 1 and 2: Seeking Refuge? A handbook for asyl
Page 3 and 4: Seeking Refuge? A handbook for asyl
Page 5 and 6: Contents Chapter 1: Introduction 8
Page 7 and 8: Chapter 9: Final refusal and remova
Page 9: epresentative. If you are supportin
Page 13 and 14: Would you be safe anywhere else? In
Page 15 and 16: Women may experience violence for a
Page 17 and 18: • Article 8 Right to respect for
Page 19 and 20: Your right to be free from inhuman
Page 21 and 22: 3 The New Asylum Model: Non-detaine
Page 23 and 24: the UK and what travel documents yo
Page 25 and 26: 4 The New Asylum Model: The detaine
Page 27 and 28: Case-owners have a number of respon
Page 29 and 30: Depending on your financial circums
Page 31 and 32: 5 Your Asylum Interview Introductio
Page 33 and 34: • look at the law that determines
Page 35 and 36: Support organisations For legal inf
Page 37 and 38: There are a number of different tea
Page 39 and 40: The law that determines whether or
Page 41 and 42: 7 Successful applications: an expla
Page 43 and 44: Unlike Refugee Leave or Humanitaria
Page 45 and 46: 8 Negative Decisions and Appeals In
Page 47 and 48: Your legal representative is the pe
Page 49 and 50: • to be adjourned (to take place
Page 51 and 52: In the room where your appeal will
Page 53 and 54: The process of deciding the appeal
Page 55 and 56: • At your appeal, your legal repr
Page 57 and 58: Voluntary Return and Assisted Volun
Page 59 and 60: • If you, or any member of your f
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10 Fresh claims Introduction A fres
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Does the new information create a r
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11 Financial and other support thro
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part of your asylum support and you
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What happens if someone in my famil
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order to challenge the decision 30
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y £35 every week and you can carry
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Education While you are in the UK,
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Choices Provides confidential, inde
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Rights of Women Provides women with
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