The Colombian community in London - Geography - Queen Mary ...

many Colombians living in London (along with Ecuadorians). Colombians were also major
beneficiaries of the family exercise in 2003 because so many had been embroiled in the
asylum system.
Indeed, many complained about the long delays in dealing with asylum claims and their
feelings of vulnerability and insecurity as a result. The majority had to wait a minimum of a
year and a half to have their cases heard, with many waiting between 6 and 8 years. For
example, 34 year old Margarita from Armenia (interviewed in 2005) who had Indefinite Leave
to Remain, had to wait for 8 years during which time she lived in a state of constant worry, as
did her 2 daughters who would regularly ask her if they were staying in London:
„It was really hard for us. It was such a long time, such a long time, every day we were
thinking, worrying ourselves sick that were going to be deported from here, and
thinking about what was going to happen to us‟.
Many had to live in hotels during their wait which often proved uncomfortable. For instance, 31
year old Clarena from Quindío (interviewed in 2007) remembered how they had lived in a hotel
for 9 months having been sent there directly from Heathrow. She found it very difficult:
„It was really hard as there were people from different countries with lots of children.
People arrived from everywhere and the hygiene was very difficult, I had to clean the
bathrooms all the time, and the kitchen, it was really uncomfortable‟.
There were also several claims about the chaos of the system and the lack of consistency in
the success of applications. Some successful migrants were open about the economic motives
behind their claims, while others who had been turned down recounted shocking stories about
how their lives had been in danger in Colombia. Luz Maria (interviewed in 2005 – see above)
had her asylum claim turned down despite being disabled because of the gun-fight with the
paramilitaries who were trying to kill her. She reported that she was completely humiliated by
the judge in her case hearing because he openly said that he didn‟t believe her story.
Figure 8: Visa or documents used to enter the UK
Source: Questionnaire survey (N=99)
In terms of the immigration status held at the time of the survey, the majority had changed
their papers after initial entry. Almost one-third had a temporary visa, most of which were
student visas (20%). Only 7% admitted to having no valid documents although irregularity is
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