More information on the work campaign

Allowing asylum seekers to work would help avoid the consequences that often come with long-term unemployment: poverty, marriage breakdown, poor mental health and damage to social cohesion. Paid employment would not only reduce the amount government spends on asylum support, it would also enable asylum seekers to contribute to the economy. For those people whose asylum claim is subsequently accepted, experience of work in the UK will make it much easier to integrate into life here.

Refused asylum seekers

Refused asylum seekers are people whose claim for refugee protection has been turned down. This doesn’t mean that they don’t have a genuine fear of going back to their own country, or that it’s safe for them to do so. Many people from countries where human rights abuses are rife –such as Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq and Zimbabwe –cannot leave the UK for this reason. Allowing these people to work would mean they are no longer indefinitely dependent on benefits or charity. In Canada, refused asylum seekers have been entitled to work while no removals could take place to a particular country.

Some asylum seekers whose claims have been refused don’t sign up for asylum support, as they’re afraid that it will result in their being forced to return to their country of origin. These people end up destitute, with literally no money.