Seeking Refuge? - Rights of Women

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• Your legal representative does not come, or come on time. Your interview should then be delayed. • There is no interpreter. Your interview should then be delayed until one is available. • You are distressed or too tired and your legal representative thinks that you need more time before your interview. The interview should then be delayed for a day. • More time is needed for your legal representative to put forward relevant information after your interview. The decision should then be delayed if it would be unfair not to do so. If one of these things has happened or is happening to you, you should tell your legal representative and case-owner. Things to remember • You can ask for a female case-owner and interpreter to interview you. • If you are taken into immigration detention you have certain rights, including the right to a medical examination and legal advice. • While all claims may be decided in the detained fast-track, there are certain people who should not be detained, such as torture survivors. If you think that you should not be detained, you should tell your legal representative and your case-owner. Your detention can be challenged by your legal representative. • Decisions in the fast-track are made on a fixed timescale. However, case-owners can take a case out of the fast-track or give you more time in certain circumstances. There is a policy that sets out when more time may be needed to prepare a case. If you think that you need more time, for example before an interview, tell your legal representative and your case-owner. Support organisations For legal information and advice on immigration and asylum law, see: • Anti-Trafficking Legal Project (ATLeP) • Asylum Aid (includes the Refugee Women’s Resource Project) • Community Legal Advice • Immigration Advisory Service • Immigration Lawyers Practitioners Association • Refugee and Migrant Justice (formerly the Refugee Legal Centre) • Rights of Women To discuss any other problem, contact your local One Stop Service: • Refugee Action • Refugee Council • Migrant Helpline • North of England Refugee Service • Welsh Refugee Council See Chapter 12 at the end of this book for the contact details of these, and other useful organisations. 30
5 Your Asylum Interview Introduction All applications for asylum are considered by the UK Border Agency 17 . There are currently two systems in operation for deciding claims for asylum: the New Asylum Model (NAM) and the Case Resolution Directorate (CRD). See Chapter 6 for information about the Case Resolution Directorate. Some cases were dealt with under NAM from May 2005. From 5th March 2007, all new claims for asylum will be dealt with through NAM. Under NAM there are currently two systems for determining applications, general casework (see Chapter 3) and the detained fast-track (see Chapter 4). Whichever process you go through, your asylum interview is very important, as it is your chance to explain why you need protection in the UK. 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 immigration advisor. You can also contact Rights of Women’s legal advice line. For information about organisations that provide legal advice, see Chapter 12 at the end of this book. The interview Decisions about who should be given protection in the UK are initially taken by case-owners in the UK Border Agency. Case-owners also carry out asylum interviews. “ The case-owner is the person under NAM who is responsible for your case. You may have one case-owner throughout your case or you may have different case-owners at different stages in the process. Case-owners have a number of responsibilities including: - Meeting you at your first reporting event. - Being responsible for any reporting conditions that are imposed on you. - Conducting your asylum interview. - Working with your legal representative to clarify the issues in the case. - Controlling the progression of your case by altering the times that certain things are done (for example, the date of the interview), if flexibility is required. - Making an initial decision on whether you should be granted protection in the UK or whether your claim should be refused. - Ending your case by either assisting you with your integration in the UK or arranging for your re-documentation and removal. Your legal representative (or you, if you don’t have a legal representative) should be in close contact with your case-owner(s) throughout the process. ” 17 It used to be called the Border and Immigration Agency (the BIA) and before that the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (the IND). 31
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 and 10: epresentative. If you are supportin
Page 11 and 12: For information about how claims ar
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: Depending on your financial circums
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
Page 61 and 62: 10 Fresh claims Introduction A fres
Page 63 and 64: Does the new information create a r
Page 65 and 66: 11 Financial and other support thro
Page 67 and 68: part of your asylum support and you
Page 69 and 70: What happens if someone in my famil
Page 71 and 72: order to challenge the decision 30
Page 73 and 74: y £35 every week and you can carry
Page 75 and 76: Education While you are in the UK,
Page 77 and 78: Choices Provides confidential, inde
Page 79 and 80: Rights of Women Provides women with

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