The new plan is touted as the biggest overhaul of the U.K.’s asylum system in decades
The United Kingdom (U.K.) is all set to unveil the new set of rules under โNew Plan for Immigrationโ which will make it difficult for the refugees entering U.K. illegally to stay in the country.
The illegal immigrants will no longer have similar entitlements as given to those who enter legally. The people who will enter legally will immediately be given the right to remain in the U.K. indefinitely.
Ever since the Britain exited the European Union (E.U.) completely on January 1, 2021, the Prime Minister of U.K. โ Boris Johnson has been aggressively working to set out a new and independent vision for the country, unveiling new policies on defense, foreign affairs and immigration.
Taking it to twitter, the Home Secretary of U.K. โ Priti Patel tweeted,
Tomorrow we launch our ๐ก๐ฒ๐ ๐ฃ๐น๐ฎ๐ป ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐บ๐บ๐ถ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป.
— Priti Patel (@pritipatel) March 23, 2021
We are taking action to deter dangerous and illegal migration to the UK and create a new asylum system thatโs fair for those in genuine need. pic.twitter.com/9d0wjSDReN
She further tweeted,
๐ฌ๐ง At the heart of ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ก๐ฒ๐ ๐ฃ๐น๐ฎ๐ป ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐บ๐บ๐ถ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป is a simple principle: Access to the UKโs asylum system should be based on need, not on the ability to pay people smugglers ๐๐ฝ https://t.co/4Ap8fSyN2U
— Priti Patel (@pritipatel) March 22, 2021
The Home Office also plans to introduce Reception Centres for asylum seekers to provide them with simple, safe and secure accommodation, while their claims will be processed.
The new plan is touted as the biggest overhaul of the U.K.’s asylum system in decades. This gains significance as U.K. witnessed a huge surge in the number of refuges seeking asylum in the U.K. There were 35,099 asylum claims made in the U.K. during the year ending March 2020. The maximum number of people were from Iran, Albania and Iraq.
Speaking on the occasion, Priti said, โI make no apology for these actions being firm, but as they will also save lives and target people smugglers, they are also undeniably fair.โ
However, asylum seekers fleeing persecution or violence and coming to the U.K. legally from countries such as Syria would be given permission to stay in U.K. indefinitely. Presently, such people have to wait for 5 years after being granted refugee status to apply for this.
The new plan also includes proposal for bringing in rigorous age checks to stop adults entering the country by pretending to be children. Asylum applicants with criminal records who returned to the U.K. after being deported would receive a jail sentence of upto 5 years, as against the current sentence of 6 months.
Separately, 8,500 people had crossed the English Channel last year to enter U.K. illegally. The smugglers who had illegally sent them in small boats could get life sentence.
However, organisations working towards settling the refugees have criticised the Governmentโs new plan. Enver Solomon, the C.E.O. of Refugee Council, a U.K. based organisation which works with refugees and asylum seekers, has accused the Government of being unfair is differentiating between the deserving and undeserving refugees. Kolbassia Haoussou, the Co-Founder of ‘Freedom from Torture, a British registered charity which provides therapeutic care for survivors of torture who seek protection in the U.K. has said that Government is not concerned improving lives and creating a just asylum plan.
