Glossary of words

A

Age-disputed child

An age-disputed child is an asylum applicant whose claimed date of birth is not accepted by the UK Border Agency (UKBA) and/or by the local authority who have been approached to provide support. This term is usually used to refer to people who claim to be children, but who are treated as adults by the Home Office and/or the local authority. Whether an individual is treated as an adult or as a child has serious implications for the way in which the person’s claim for asylum is treated, and the support received.

Application registration card (ARC)

ARC is a credit card sized document issued to asylum applicants after screening to show that they have applied for asylum. It is also used as evidence of identity, immigration status and entitlements in the UK. It holds identifying information including fingerprints and reporting arrangements in a microchip within the card.

Article 3 (of ECHR)

Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) states that ‘No one shall be subjected to torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment’. A person can make a claim for protection based directly on Article 3 of ECHR as states are prohibited from returning a person to a country where she/he may suffer a violation of his/her rights under Article 3.

Article 31

Article 31 of the 1951 Refugee Convention prohibits states from penalising a refugee for illegal entry when the purpose of their entry is to claim asylum.

As soon as is reasonably practicable

Section 55 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 gives the Home Secretary power to deny support to asylum seekers who have not applied for asylum ‘as soon as reasonably practicable’. In December 2003, the Home Secretary provided further clarification by announcing that asylum seekers would be considered to have made their claim ‘as soon as reasonably practicable’ if they could give ‘credible explanation’ of how they arrived in the UK within three days of applying for asylum. However, support and accommodation must be provided if the applicant would have to live in inhuman or degrading circumstances otherwise.

Asylum interview

An asylum interview is a substantive interview about a person’s reasons for claiming asylum in the UK.

Asylum Screening Unit

Asylum screening units are the entry points into the asylum system. It is here that in-country asylum seekers make their initial asylum claims and where immigration officers conduct screening interviews. See 'Screening Interview'.

Asylum seeker

An asylum seeker is someone who has lodged an application for protection on the basis of the Refugee Convention or Article 3 of the ECHR.

Asylum support

Asylum seekers who are destitute may be able to receive accommodation and/or subsistence support from the UK Border Agency (UKBA). This form of support is also referred to as 'UKBA support’, see below. If they have additional care needs, due to chronic illness or disability they may also be eligible to support from their local authority.

Asylum Support Adjudicators

Asylum Support Adjudicators consider appeals by asylum seekers against UKBA decisions to refuse or terminate asylum support.

Asylum Support Partnership (ASP)

The Asylum Support Partnership comprises of Refugee Action, Refugee Council, Scottish Refugee Council and Welsh Refugee Council which are contracted by UKBA to provide advice and support to asylum seekers and refugees. The Asylum Support Partnership used to be called the Inter Agency Partnership.

C

Case owner

The UKBA uses ‘case owner’ to refer to an official within its New Asylum Model who is responsible for an asylum seeker’s case throughout the process, from application to the granting of status or removal. Their roles include deciding whether status should be granted, handling any appeal, dealing with asylum support, integration or removal. The UKBA also uses the term to refer to an official at Senior Executive Officer level within the Case Resolution Directorate (see below) who is responsible for several teams of case workers.

Case resolution process

The case resolution process was set up by the UKBA to deal with unresolved cases of those who claimed asylum before April 2007. Claims are being dealt with by the Case Resolution Directorate at the UK Border Agency. It is expected that case resolution will take until 2011 to complete.

Certificate of Travel

Certificate of Travel, also known as the ‘Home Office travel document’ can be issued to people who have humanitarian protection or discretionary leave. The Certificate of Travel is not valid to travel to the country of origin.

Clearly unfounded claims

When the UKBA believes that the asylum seeker comes from a safe country and would not face a risk of being persecuted, it deems it a ‘clearly unfounded case’.

Convention Travel Document (CTD)

A Convention Travel Document, also known as ‘blue document’ is given to people with refugee status to use as a valid travel document in place of passport to travel overseas. This document is valid for all countries except the one from which the person sought asylum.

D

Discretionary leave

Discretionary leave is a form of immigration status granted to a person who the Home Office has decided does not qualify for refugee status or humanitarian protection but where there are other strong reasons why the person needs to stay in the UK temporarily.

Dispersal

Dispersal is the process by which the UKBA moves an asylum seeker to accommodation outside London and the South East. They are first moved to initial accommodation while their application for asylum support is processed. Once the application has been processed and approved they are moved to dispersal accommodation elsewhere in the UK.

Dublin II Regulation

Dublin II Regulation provides EU member states with a mechanism for allocating responsibility to a single member state for processing an asylum claim.

E

European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)

The ECHR is an international legal instrument adopted under the auspices of the Council of Europe. Its provisions are enforceable in UK law courts.

Exceptional leave to remain (ELR)

ELR was a form of immigration status in use before April 2003. It was granted to asylum seekers who the Home Office decided did not meet the definition of a refugee as defined in the Refugee Convention but it decided should be allowed to remain in the UK for other reasons.

Explore and Prepare

‘Explore and Prepare’ is a Government funded programme which allows a group of refugees to visit their country of origin to assess the situation and prepare for their permanent return.

F

Family amnesty

The Family ILR Exercise announced by the Home Secretary on 24 October 2003 allowed certain asylum seeking families in the UK to stay. The main applicant of the family unit must have applied for asylum before 2 October 2000 and must have had a least one dependant child under 18 (other than a spouse or civil partner) in the UK on 2 October 2000 or 24 October 2003.

Family reunion

Family reunion is the policy enabling people bring their spouse and dependent children join them in the UK.

Fast track procedure

The fast track procedure is used to determine asylum applications from people who the UKBA assesses to be ‘suitable’. Applicants in the detained fast track are held at an Immigration Removal Centre and the initial decision on their case and any appeals happen at a faster pace than in the community. A case is considered suitable for the fast track process where it appears to the UKBA that the asylum claim can be decided ‘quickly’.

First reporting event

Shortly after the screening interview the asylum applicant will be asked to attend a ‘first reporting event’ where they will meet the UKBA case owner who will deal with their case and have the procedures explained to them, in particular the ways in which the UKBA expects the applicant to keep in touch with them during the course of the asylum process.

Further submissions

Further submissions can be made by unsuccessful asylum seekers if their personal circumstances or the circumstances in their home country have changed. Further submissions can only be made in person at Liverpool Further Submissions Unit. Some asylum seekers can make further submissions at a regular reporting event and those who meet the exceptional criteria may be able to send further submissions by post rather than in person.

G

Gateway Protection Programme

The Gateway Protection Programme is a government scheme which brings certain particularly vulnerable refugees living outside their home country to resettle permanently in the UK. Many refugees resettled under the Gateway Protection Programme have been living in refugee camps for several years and have not prospect of returning to their own country.

H

Hard case support

See 'Section 4 support'.

HC1 form

Application form for help with medical costs.

HC2 certificate

Certificate which allows someone to claim free prescriptions and some dental and optical services.

High Court

The High Court can consider applications against determinations made by the Immigration and Asylum Chamber in England and Wales. This normally takes a form of a statutory review which is a paper-based examination made by a single judge whether the law has been correctly applied.

Human Rights Act 1998

The Human Rights Act incorporated the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) into the UK law.

Humanitarian protection (HP)

Humanitarian protection is a form of immigration status. It is granted by the Home Office to a person who it decides has a need for protection but who does not meet the criteria for refugee status.

I

Immigration and Asylum Chamber (First-tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal)

The First-tier Tribunal is a tribunal dealing with appeals against decisions made by the Home Secretary and his officials, in immigration, asylum and nationality matters. Appeals are heard by one or more immigration judges who are sometimes accompanied by non legal members of the Tribunal. Upper Tribunal is a superior court dealing with appeals against decisions made by the First-tier Tribunal. A right of appeal lies to the Upper Tribunal on a point of law arising from certain decisions of the First-tier Tribunal.

Immigration judge

An immigration judge is a person appointed by the Lord Chancellor to decide appeals made to the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal.

Immigration removal centre

Immigration removal centres are detention centres. They are used to detain people under Immigration Act powers, including those at any stage of the asylum process, not as the title might imply, just prior to removal.

Immigration service

The Immigration Service is the UKBA department that regulates entry at UK ports, screens asylum seekers, manages asylum cases and contact with asylum seekers, and enforces removal of people who don’t have permission to remain in the country.

In-country applicant

An in-country applicant is a person who applies for asylum at the UK Border Agency office in Croydon after passing through immigration control.

Indefinite leave to remain (ILR)

ILR is a form of immigration status given by the UK Border Agency. Indefinite leave to remain (ILR) is also called ‘permanent residence’ or ‘settled status’ as it gives permission to stay in the UK on a permanent basis.

Induction (asylum support)

Induction is the part of the process asylum seekers go through in order to access UKBA support. See 'UKBA support'. In the induction process asylum seekers receive information about the asylum and support processes and their rights and responsibilities in the UK.

Initial accommodation

Initial accommodation is provided to destitute asylum seekers while they wait for the outcome of their application for UKBA support. If the application is successful an asylum seeker is moved to dispersal accommodation elsewhere.

Integration loans

Integration loans are available to people who have been granted refugee status or humanitarian protection.

Interim support tokens (UKBA support)

Asylum seekers who claim UKBA support are given interim support tokens during the period when they are being dispersed. The tokens provide short-term support until their subsistence payments are available through their asylum registration cards at their local Post Office.

International Organization for Migration (IOM)

The International Organization for Migration is an intergovernmental organisation which works in the field of migration worldwide. It runs various schemes on behalf of the UKBA to help people return permanently to their country of origin.

J

Judicial review

In the context of asylum claims, judicial review enables the applicant to challenge a decision on the basis that the original decision was based on the incorrect application of law. Judicial reviews cannot be used to challenge the asylum decision itself, this is the role of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber.

L

Legal representative

Legal representative is a barrister or a solicitor, solicitor’s employee or other authorised person who acts for an applicant or appellant in relation to a claim.

N

NASS 35

A NASS 35 is a UKBA document which states that the holder is no longer entitled to support as they have received a positive decision on their asylum application. It is used to demonstrate that they are eligible for welfare benefits.

National Assistance Act 1948 (NAA)

The National Assistance Act 1948 gives local authorities the responsibility to provide accommodation and services to people with a disability or other care need. It also puts an obligation on local authorities to conduct an assessment of anyone who might require residential care. In practice, the UKBA is responsible for asylum seekers whose need for care and attention arises solely because they are destitute or from the effects of destiution, while local authorities are responsible for asylum seekers whose needs are additional to being destitute.

Naturalisation

Naturalisation is the process of becoming a British national.

New Asylum Model (NAM)

The New Asylum Model was introduced by the UKBA for all new asylum claims in April 2007. NAM entails a ‘case owner’ from the UKBA who is responsible for processing the application from beginning to end.

Non-compliance refusal

A non-compliance refusal is a refusal of an asylum claim on the grounds that the applicant has not complied with a direction given by the Home Office. These can include failure to provide appropriate documentation or failure to attend a Home Office interview.

Non-refoulement

Non-refoulement is the central obligation of the 1951 Refugee Convention requiring a state not to ‘expel or return a refugee in any manner whatsoever to the frontiers of territories where her life or freedom would be threatened …’

Non-suspensive appeals (NSA)

When a claim for asylum falls under the non-suspensive appeals process it means that the applicant only has the right to appeal against a negative UKBA decision once outside of the UK.

O

Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner

The Commissioner regulates immigration advice in the UK.

One stop appeal

The one stop appeal procedure aims to ensure that all grounds for appeal are dealt at one appeal only.

One Stop Service

One Stop Services are provided by the Asylum Support Partnership under contract with the UKBA. See 'Asylum Support Partnership'.

One-Day Induction (UKBA support)

The One-Day Induction process provides those asylum seekers who only need subsistence type UKBA support with information about asylum and support processes, their rights and responsibilities, and how to access health care.

Overstayer

An overstayer is a person who was allowed into the UK for a limited period but who has remained longer than the time allowed without permission from the Home Office or under the immigration rules.

P

Port applicant

A person who applies for asylum to the immigration officer at an airport or seaport when she/he first arrives, ie. before passing through immigration control.

R

Refugee

A refugee is a person who ‘owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country…’ (Definition quoted from the 1951 Refugee Convention)

Refugee Convention

Refugee Convention means the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees 1951 and the 1967 Protocol.

Refugee status

Refugee status is awarded to someone the UKBA recognises as a refugee as described in the Refugee Convention.

Removal

Removal is a process whereby immigration officers enforce return from the UK to another country.

Reporting

Most asylum seekers who are not detained are expected to report to a reporting centre or police station.

Resettlement

Resettlement if the process whereby refugees living outside their country of origin are moved to another country for permanent resettlement. See 'Gateway Protection Programme'.

S

Safe country list

A list drawn up by the Home Office of countries where it believes that persecution does not take place. Asylum seekers from these countries are likely to have their asylum application refused and are unlikely to be allowed to stay in the UK for their appeal.

Safe third country

The Home Office deems certain countries to be places where a refugee is safe from persecution: all EU states, Canada, the USA, Switzerland and Norway. If an asylum seeker travels through any of these states en route to the UK, she may be returned there on grounds of having travelled through a safe third country.

Screening interview

Screening interviews are meetings between asylum seekers and immigration officers to establish: identity, route to the UK, liability to return to a third country, eligibility for UKBA support, liability to prosecution, liability to detention and suitability for being dealt with under the fast track procedure. During the interview asylum seekers have their photo and fingerprints taken and are issued with an asylum registration card. See 'Asylum Registration Card'.

Section 10

Section 10 in the Asylum & Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc) Act 2004 makes provision of ‘hard case’ (Section 4) support conditional on completion of ‘community activities’.

Section 2

Section 2 of the Asylum & Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc) Act 2004 gives the UKBA power to prosecute asylum seekers who fail to provide a valid document which states their name, nationality or citizenship.

Section 4 support

Section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 gives the UKBA power to grant support to some destitute asylum seekers whose asylum application and appeals have been rejected. Support granted under Section 4 is also known as ‘hard case’ support.

Section 55

Section 55 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 gives the UKBA power to deny support to asylum seekers deemed not to have applied for asylum ‘as soon as reasonably practicable’. See ‘As soon as reasonably practicable’.

Section 57

Section 57 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 states that UKBA support can be withheld if the asylum seeker fails to provide complete or accurate information to the authorities or fails to co-operate with further enquiries.

Section 9

Section 9 of the Asylum & Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc) Act 2004 gives the UKBA power to withdraw support from families with children under 18 whose asylum application and appeals have been rejected and who are thought not to be co-operating with efforts to remove them. It also prevents local authorities from providing such support for the whole family although they may have the power to provide support to the child.

Separated children

Separated children are children under 18 years of age who are outside their country of origin and separated from both parents, or previous/legal customary care giver. Separated children are typically asylum seekers, but not in every case.

Standard acknowledgement letter (SAL)

In some cases, the UKBA will not be able to issue an asylum registration card, see Application registration card. Instead, a standard acknowledgement letter may be given which acknowledges an asylum application.

Statement of evidence form (SEF)

A UKBA form which separated children applying for asylum use to set out their grounds for claiming asylum. The form was previously used for all asylum seekers.

Statutory review

Paper-based examination made by a single judge in the High Court determining whether the law has been correctly applied.

Subsistence support

Subsistence support is the cash element of UKBA support. Asylum seekers who have accommodation, for example with friends or relatives, can apply for subsistence support only. This form of support is also known as cash support.

Substantive interview

See 'Asylum interview'.

T

Temporary admission (TA)

Temporary admission is notice of a liability to be detained. It is given to asylum seekers applying for asylum at the port of entry who the UKBA does not put into detention. Those granted temporary admission are issued with an IS96 document.

U

UK Border Agency (UKBA)

The UK Border Agency (UKBA) is an executive agency of the Home Office. The Agency manages and enforces immigration control in the UK, including applications for permission to stay, citizenship and asylum. It is responsible for policy development in these areas of law.

UKBA support

Asylum seekers who are destitute may be able to receive accommodation and/or subsistence support from the UK Border Agency (UKBA).

Unaccompanied children seeking asylum

Unaccompanied children seeking asylum are children who have applied for asylum in their own right, who are outside their country of origin and separated from both parents, or previous/legal customary primary care giver.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is the UN agency with a mandate to protect refugees worldwide.

V

Voluntary Assisted Return & Reintegration Programme (VAARP)

Voluntary Assisted Return & Reintegration Programme is a UK scheme to help people return permanently to their home country. The scheme is operated by the International Organization for Migration for the UK Border Agency. See 'International Organization for Migration'.

W

White list

‘White list’ was formally abolished in 1999. However, the term continues to be used informally referring to countries whose nationals in general are considered not to be at threat of persecution.