Policy in practice: Real-life implications for asylum seekers and refugees
In our new series, “Policy in practice: Real-life implications for asylum seekers and refugees ?”, the RLI blog focusses on the perspectives and experience of refugees and asylum-seekers, and those who work in front-line roles. The aim of this series is to explore the real-life implications of immigration policy and investigate the disparity between policy and practice, both in the UK and internationally.
If you have lived experience of the immigration system, or work closely with refugees and migrants, we would encourage you to contribute an article to the series! See our contribution guidelines here.
The asylum questionnaire: experiences of supporting people through the UK’s new streamlined asylum process
Blog post by Holly Grey (Young Visitor Engagement Lead) and Claire Garrett (CEO) at The Habour Project In February 2023, the UK Home Office announced it would be sending a questionnaire to around 12,000 people in the asylum system, instead of conducting interviews to...
Human rights and health failures in immigration detention exemplify the UK’s hostile environment
Blog post by James Smith, Module Convenor, Displacement, Healthcare and Humanitarian Action, MA in Refugee Protection and Forced Migration Studies. Reports of overcrowding, hunger, inadequate sanitary conditions, and outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases propelled...
Pay to prove that you are a child: the UK government consults on fees for age assessment appeals to the Immigration and Asylum Chambers
Blog post by Jonathan Collinson, a senior lecturer at University of Huddersfield. This is a cross-post with the Administrative Justice Institute Blog. The UK government has launched a consultation on the fees payable by applicants who lodge certain kinds of appeals in...
New Freedom of Information data indicates half of asylum applicants are unable to access legal aid representation
Blog post by Jo Wilding* Recent weeks and months have seen a lot of discussion about people arriving in the UK to claim asylum, the increasing backlog of cases awaiting decisions, and the appalling conditions in what should be a 24-hour processing centre for new...
The Evolution of Programs for Community Sponsorship of Refugees in Australia
Blog post by Susan Kneebone, Anthea Vogl and Kate Ogg Australia is often cast as a newcomer to private or community sponsorship of refugees and community involvement in refugee resettlement. However, Australia’s first sponsorship program, the Community Refugee...
Feeling alive but dead inside
This blog post is written by a member of Refugees Call for Change. Refugees Call for Change is a group of people with experience of the asylum system advocating for change in the asylum system, supported by the Jesuit Refugee Service UK. Sometimes I regret coming to...
More labels, less protection: A comparison of the Afghan and Ukraine protection schemes
Blog post by Olivia Clark, Senior Associate at DLA Piper The last two weeks saw the one-year anniversary of the fall of Kabul and the six-month anniversary of the start of the war in the Ukraine. These two humanitarian crises have resulted in significant changes to...
Safe in Scotland: A Pandemic-Era Alternative to institutional asylum accommodation
Annika Joy (Safe In Scotland), Teresa Piacentini (University of Glasgow), Molly Gilmour (University of Glasgow), Pinar Aksu (Maryhill Integration Network). As explored in our previous blog post 'Destitution, hotels, and pandemic responses to asylum housing in Glasgow,...
Making our voices heard against the hostile environment
This blog post is written by a member of Refugees Call for Change. Refugees Call for Change is a group of people with experience of the asylum system advocating for change in the asylum system, supported by the Jesuit Refugee Service UK. I am from West Africa. I...
Asylum Support in the UK: More Hostile Environment Messaging
Blog post by an anonymous contributor working in a front-line organisation The financial support given to asylum seekers is far too low. Worse, payments are not backdated when Home Office mistakes cause delays in its administration. Comparing Universal Credit with...
Destitution, hotels, and pandemic responses to asylum housing in Glasgow, Scotland
Molly Gilmour (University of Glasgow), Pinar Aksu (Maryhill Integration Network), Teresa Piacentini (University of Glasgow), Annika Joy (Safe In Scotland) Glasgow is Scotland’s largest city and has, since 1999, also been the UK Home Office’s largest and only Scottish...