The Somali community in the UK: What we know and how we ... - ICAR

whole and 19% of asylum appeals overall. Similarly
35% of Somali appeals were allowed in 2002, as
compared with an overall average of 22%.
Return of failed asylum seekers
With the increasing number of refusals of Somali
asylum applicants another issue emerged - that of
refused Somali asylum applicants who were not
being removed to Somalia. Many Somalis found
themselves in a kind of limbo situation, without any
formal legal status in the UK and thus not entitled
to work or to receive asylum support. 55 According
to the Home Office, in July 2003 UK officials
signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU)
with the authorities in Somaliland to provide for
the return of people from Somaliland who had no
legal basis to remain in the UK. Somali nationals
may also return to Somalia on a voluntary basis,
under the auspices of the Return and Reintegration
to the Somali Regions voluntary assisted returns
programme, run by the International Organisation
for Migration (IOM) and co-funded by the
European Refugee Fund. 56 However, in response
to a parliamentary question by Ian Coleman MP
in January 2004, Beverley Hughes, then Minister of
Detention
Detention is not a significant issue for Somalis.
According to Home Office statistics, Somalis
constitute a very small proportion of total
immigration detainees in the UK. The annual
statistics do not record the total number of people
detained in a given year, but instead provide a
snapshot of those detained on one particular day in
late December of that year.
Resettlement
A small number of Somali refugees have also been
resettled in the UK in recent years - 178 in 2000
and 162 in 2001 (340 in total), the majority of
whom came from either Ethiopia (69%) or Kenya
(23%). 58 They composed the largest national group
resettled in the UK, accounting for 40% of all
refugees resettled during those two years.
Family reunion
Family reunion constituted a significant mode of
entry for many Somalis, particularly following the
Table C: Snapshot of Somali detainees
Year
Total
immigration
detainees
Somali
detainees
(percentage
of total)
Of whom:
asylum seekers
1998 741 7 (1%) 7 -
1999 n/a n/a n/a n/a
2000 n/a n/a n/a n/a
2001 1,545 5 (0.3%) 5 -
2002 1,415 15 (1%) 10 5
2003 1,615 15 (1%) 15 -
other detainees
State for Citizenship, Immigration and Community
Cohesion, stated that between January and June
2003, only 25 Somalis were either removed from
the UK, or returned voluntarily to Somalia. 57
Although it is not known how many failed Somali
asylum seekers left the UK, unrecorded, this figure
suggests that a significant number remained in a
situation of limbo in the UK.
outbreak of civil war. In Liverpool, for example, a
1997 survey estimated that out of a total Somali
population of some 3,000 on Merseyside, some
1,500 came to the country through the family
reunion scheme, with a further 500 arriving as
asylum seekers. 59 Applications for entry clearance
to join relatives already in the UK should normally
be made in the nearest British diplomatic posts
30 The Somali community in the UK