Call for freeze on Syrian asylum claims to end as thousands still in limbo
Ministers are facing calls to start processing Syrian asylum applications again, as new figures showed more than 7,000 people are still in limbo. The UK paused decisions on Syrian claims for asylum and permanent settlement in December, after the fall of President Bashar al-Assad.But more than five months on, Syrians in the UK still do not know when their claims will be assessed. Charities including the Refugee Council say the current situation has left people in an "indefinite limbo" and are calling for claims to be processed again on a case-by-case basis.The government said decisions were paused "while we assess the current situation".
A Home Office source said this was "a necessary step while there is no stable, objective information available to make robust assessments of risk" on people returning to Syria and the policy "will remain under constant review". A total of 7,386 Syrians were waiting for an initial decision on an asylum claim by the end of March, according to the latest figures published on Thursday. Assad's regime was overthrown by a rebel offensive led by the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in December, after years of civil war.HTS leader Ahmad al-Sharaa was named as Syria's interim president earlier this year, but the situation remains uncertain and HTS is still designated a terrorist group by the UK. In December, the Conservatives suggested most Syrian asylum claims were related to the threat posed by Assad's government and those people could return when it was safe to do so.However, Haytham Alhamwi, chairman of the Syrian British Consortium, said while many Syrians left because of Assad's rule others may still feel unsafe to return. "Many of them are still calling for democratic change in Syria, which is not guaranteed at the moment. Some of them were afraid of those military groups, they didn't come running from Assad himself," he told the BBC.The number of Syrian asylum claims fell by 81% following the UK's decision to pause decisions. However, despite a sharp drop, 299 Syrians came to the UK on small boats in the first three months of this year - 5% of the total number of arrivals.
People claiming asylum do not normally have the right to work while their case is being considered and are provided with government-funded accommodation and financial support to pay for essentials if they would otherwise be destitute.Jon Featonby, chief policy analyst at the Refugee Council, said that as well as leaving Syrians "stuck in limbo" this also had an impact on the taxpayer as the government is paying to house many of them.More than 5,500 Syrians were living in government-funded accommodation at the end of March. Of these, 2,130 were in hotels, which the government has pledged to stop using for asylum seekers. With Labour promising to clear the overall backlog of asylum claims, Mr Featonby said the situation was causing a "blockage" in the system. Azadi - not his real name - arrived in the UK by small boat in June 2023 and is waiting for a decision on his asylum application. The 25-year-old, who is Kurdish, said he was grateful to the UK government for providing him with food and accommodation but he wanted to be able to work and pay tax. "I stay at home a lot of the time," he told the BBC. "Every day is the same. I am not progressing so it is stressful."Earlier this year, the new Syrian government signed a deal with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) which integrated its military and civilian institutions into the state and recognised the Kurdish minority. But Azadi said he did not trust the new government and felt Syria was not safe for Kurds, who were denied basic rights during Assad's rule.He said his hometown had been destroyed by the civil war and there was no way for him to get an education there."It's not a life there at all," he added.
'My whole life collapsed'
The pause also applies to Syrians who have already been granted refugee status and were initially given the right to stay in the UK for five years before they can apply for permanent settlement - also known as indefinite leave to remain. The Refugee Council says that whilst this group still have the right to live and work in the UK, their temporary status can often make it harder to secure a job or housing. Mr Featonby said Syrians in the UK were also nervous about whether they will be allowed to stay if the government's position on Syria changes and it is deemed a safe country. Leen Albrmawi arrived in the UK in October 2019 and applied for indefinite leave to remain last year.However, she said her "whole life collapsed" when the government paused decisions for Syrians in December. The 28-year-old had been accepted to study business at university but was told she was not eligible for a student loan because she did not have the right to live in the UK permanently. After spending the last five years obtaining the necessary qualifications to apply, Leen was devastated she could not afford to take up the offer.
Meanwhile, her employer, a telecoms company, has been chasing her for an update on her leave to remain application. Leen still has the right to work while her application is pending but is concerned she could lose her job. She also fears that if the Home Office changes its position on Syria she could be forced to leave the UK. "I literally have no one in Syria, no family, nothing," she told the BBC, adding that her hometown had been destroyed in the civil war. Leen lives in Salford with her mother and sister, who already have British citizenship as they came to the UK earlier than her."I've been in the UK now nearly six years, so I've built my whole life here," she said.
Mr Featonby said the Refugee Council recognised the situation in Syria had changed but there was unlikely to be clarity on how safe the country would be in the future anytime soon. He suggested people who were seeking protection for reasons unrelated to the previous regime could have their claims prioritised.
Sign up for our Politics Essential newsletter to keep up with the inner workings of Westminster and beyond.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
19 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Trump's bravado has totally backfired. China has the President right where it wants him - for one devastating reason: DOMINIC LAWSON
'Ladies and gentlemen, Britain is back on the world stage.' This, preposterously, was how Sir Keir Starmer addressed European leaders at an event in London to mark his dismal deal with Brussels last month. But today our capital really will be the stage on which global attention is focused: representatives of the governments of China and the US – including Donald Trump 's Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent – have flown in for negotiations designed to defuse the trade war between the world's two mightiest economic powers.
Daily Mail
19 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
ANDREW PIERCE: Celebrate Mrs T! Just what would grumpy Ted say?
The feud between Ted Heath and Margaret Thatcher, who ousted him as Tory leader, was one of the most long-running and rancorous in politics. So what a nice surprise to learn that the Sir Edward Heath Charitable Foundation, set up to promote his memory, is to honour the Iron Lady. Next month they will mark the centenary of her birth with a tribute at the Sarah Thorne Theatre in Broadstairs, the genteel seaside resort in Kent where Heath was born in 1925. There will be a discussion chaired by Iain Dale, who has written a new biography of her. The panel on July 20 includes John Redwood, who ran Mrs T's Downing Street policy unit, Virginia Bottomley, who served in her government, and veteran MP Roger Gale, who – as a former TV producer – advised the Iron Lady on how to conduct herself when parliament was televised in 1989. Steve Nallon, the voice of Maggie for Spitting Image, will also be on the panel. Michael MacManus, who worked for Heath and Thatcher, said: 'I don't think my fellow trustees ever expected to stage an event celebrating Mrs T, but I think it's a great departure.' Truss could make a dram out of a crisis Much mockery of 49-day PM Liz Truss after she promoted an Irish whiskey brand alongside bare-knuckle fighter Dougie Joyce, once jailed for punching a pensioner. Sir Roderic Lyne, our former ambassador to Russia, suggests Truss might follow the example of Alec Douglas-Home after his 14 months in No 10: 'Perhaps she could take up salmon fishing like Douglas-Home. It goes down very well with a wee dram.' What a bunch of heels Labour MPs were cock-a-hoop after Prime Minister's Questions last week amid suggestions they had discovered Kemi Badenoch's 'Achilles heel'. They claimed they could see the Tory leader had forgotten to remove a 'bargain sale' label from the sole of one her shoes. Quipped one Labourite: 'She must know she's on the way out and will soon lose that nice extra salary as Opposition leader. She's already cutting back on essentials!' But is this yet another Labour dirty trick? The Tory leader's office certainly thinks so. The footwear was from M&S, said a source. And there was no such 'bargain' tag upon them. Flushed with Labour's surprise success in last week's Scottish Parliament by-election, party insiders know who to thank for victory over the SNP. 'Virtually every Labour MP came up to campaign in Hamilton. The only one who didn't was Keir Starmer – so it definitely was Keir 'wot won it',' sniped one. Labour historians noted that the Govan shipyard, where Starmer outlined his defence strategy last week, was earmarked for closure by the Heath Tory government in 1971. It was saved after a 'work-in' organised by Communist union leaders Jimmy Airlie and Jimmy Reid. Lefty Labour MPs grumble that the massive expansion in defence spending, which will benefit the Govan yard, will be paid for by trimming benefits – the sort of cuts those Communist diehards would have fought to resist. Labour MP Markus Campbell-Savours may now sport a Trotskyite beard, but he wants reform of the House of Lords to be delayed. Young Markus should perhaps have declared a family interest. His father Dale, a former Labour MP, is now a life peer. The status quo suits the Campbell-Savours family just fine. Meanwhile, peers are feathering their nests. Last week they increased their hotel expenses allowance from £103 to £125 a night. That's well above the rate of inflation.
Rhyl Journal
29 minutes ago
- Rhyl Journal
SNP calls on Labour to match Scottish Government action on poverty
Ahead of the UK spending review, the SNP asked the House of Commons Library to produce an independent analysis on the number of British children in poverty and the impact that replicating Scottish Government policies across the UK would have. The research showed 1.83 million families would be lifted out of poverty if policies were matched, including abolishing the two-child benefit cap, scrapping the bedroom tax and raising the child element of Universal Credit to match the Scottish child payment, according to the SNP. Statistics showed a third of British children were anticipated to be living in poverty by 2029-30 unless action was taken. Sir Keir Starmer was urged to act on the figures ahead of the UK spending review on Wednesday amid warnings the number of British children living in poverty is expected to rise to a record 4.6 million by 2029-30. Over the past decade, the number of children living in poverty has risen from 3.7 million (27%) in 2013/14 to 4.5 million (31%) in 2023/24, the SNP said. The SNP said Scotland is the only part of the UK where child poverty is falling, due to 'bold' policies such as the Scottish child payment of £27.15 per child, per week, paid in addition to other benefits. Replicating it UK-wide, by raising the child element of Universal Credit by the same amount, would lift 732,000 families out of poverty, including a further 38,000 families in Scotland, analysis showed. The SNP said it has also mitigated the bedroom tax and is in the process of ending the two-child benefit cap in Scotland. It said replicating the policies would lift a further 609,000 British families out of poverty, with the combined impact of introducing all three policies lifting 1.83 million families out of poverty, including a further 75,000 in Scotland. The UK Government delayed its child poverty taskforce review to the autumn and last year Labour MPs voted against abolishing the two-child benefit cap, in a motion tabled by the SNP. The Chancellor has previously rejected proposals to abolish the bedroom tax. The SNP said the UK Government's own impact analysis showed planned cuts to disability benefits will push 250,000 more people into poverty, including 50,000 children, with families losing out on £4,500 a year on average as a result of the cuts, branding it 'shameful'. SNP work and pensions spokeswoman Kirsty Blackman MP said: 'The evidence shows Keir Starmer's Labour Government is keeping almost two million families in poverty by failing to match SNP action across the UK. 'It's shameful that UK child poverty is rising to record levels under the Labour Government, which has pushed thousands more children into deprivation by imposing punitive welfare cuts. 'It's vital that the Prime Minister finally listens to families struggling with the soaring cost of living – and takes the long-overdue action needed to end child poverty at the UK spending review this week. 'That means abandoning the devastating austerity cuts to disabled families, matching the Scottish child payment UK-wide, abolishing the bedroom tax and scrapping the two-child limit and benefit cap. 'With 4.5 million children living in poverty in the UK, only bold and immediate action will do. 'The two-child benefit cap and bedroom tax must be abolished immediately, but that alone isn't enough to end child poverty. It's vital the Labour Government matches the Scottish child payment by raising the child element of Universal Credit across the UK. 'Scotland is the only part of the UK where child poverty is falling – and families receive the best cost-of-living help of anywhere in the UK. 'Westminster must match this action – or it will leave millions more children languishing in poverty.' A UK Government spokesperson said: 'We are determined to bring down child poverty and we have already expanded free breakfast clubs, increased the national minimum wage for those on the lowest incomes, uprated benefits in April and supported 700,000 of the poorest families by introducing a fair repayment rate on universal credit deductions. 'We will also publish an ambitious child poverty strategy later this year to ensure we deliver fully funded measures that tackle the structural and root causes of child poverty across the country.'
