Definitions
Below is a list of terms commonly used in the asylum and refugee debate. Elsewhere in the Media section you will find an index to other sources that offer guidelines for the accurate and unbiased reporting of asylum and refugee issues, including general codes of conduct and practice.
Advisory Board on Naturalisation & Immigration (ABNI) - An advisory board to provide independent advice to the Home Office on its citizenship and integration programme.
Advisory Panel on Country Information (APCI) - has a remit 'to consider and make recommendations to the Secretary of State about the content of country information'. (see CIPU below)
Amsterdam (treaty of) - drawn up in 1997 by the 15 member states of the European Community to 'maintain and develop the Union as an area of freedom, security and justice', and marking early steps towards creating a common European asylum system (CEAS - see below)
Asylum & Immigration Tribunal - the body that hears immigration appeals. This single stage process replaces the previous two-tier system conducted under the Immigration Appellate Authority (IAA).
Asylum Procedure Policy Instructions (API) - the definitive guide to the Government's policy on asylum and used by caseworkers in the Immigration & Nationality Directorate to provide guidance on all aspects of asylum policy.
Asylum Registration Card (ARC) - Once an asylum applicant has registered a claim with the immigration authorities (s)he will be given an identity document - an asylum registration card (ARC), which replaced the Standard Acknowledgement Letter (SAL) in January 2002. The ARC contains important information about applicants such as their name, date of birth and nationality.
Asylum Screening Unit (ASU) - the Home Office department, based at Lunar House in Croydon, and Reliance House in Liverpool where people go in person to make 'in-country' asylum applications.
Asylum seeker - when a person lodges an application for asylum under the 1951 Refugee Convention they are described as an asylum seeker. In the UK, a person is not officially described as a refugee until they have been granted asylum (or refugee status).
Common European Asylum System (CEAS) - European union member states are working towards creating a common policy on asylum. An initial aim will be to harmonise all of the different asylum policies of the member states and agree minimum standards.
Country Information & Policy Unit(CIPU) - This department was based in the Home Office Asylum and Appeals Policy Directorate and compiled reports about countries from which asylum seekers originated. The work is now done by the Country of Origin Information (COI) Service in the Research, Development and Statistics (RDS) section of the Home Office
Dispersal - the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 introduced new measures to reduce pressure on services in London and the South East by dispersing asylum seekers to other parts of the country. Since April 2000, unless there are exceptional circumstances, asylum seekers who qualify for National Asylum Support Service (NASS) support and who need both subsistence and accommodation are offered accommodation outside London and the Southeast.
Discretionary leave - discretionary leave is granted outside the immigration rules in very limited circumstances to people who have been refused refugee status but who do not fulfil the criteria for humanitarian protection.
Exceptional Leave to Remain (ELR) - Until April 2003 applicants whose circumstances did not merit a grant of asylum under the Refugee Convention, but whom the Home office felt should be given leave to remain in the UK on humanitarian grounds or compassionate grounds were granted 'exceptional leave to remain'. This applied when a case was accepted under the Human Rights Act 1998 or the UK's obligations under the 1984 UN Convention Against Torture (which the UK ratified in 1988). It was also Home Office policy to award unaccompanied minors ELR until their 18th birthday if their asylum claim was refused. ELR has now been replaced by two new forms of limited leave: 'humanitarian protection' (HP) and 'discretionary leave' (DL).
Fast-track - there are two separate detained fast-track processes. The first is operated in Oakington Reception Centre and applies to nationals from countries that have been designated as ‘safe'. Asylum applicants are only entitled to appeal from outside the UK if their claim is refused. The second is operated in Harmondsworth removal centre. These claimants have an in-country right of appeal against refusal but are given tighter deadlines to make appeals than individuals who are not fast-tracked.
Five Year Strategy - in February 2005 the Government announced a new Strategy for Asylum and Immigration.
Gateway Protection Programme (GPP) - see resettlement
Humanitarian protection (HP) - humanitarian protection will be granted for up to five years to people who have been refused refugee status, but cannot be returned to their country of origin as they face a serious risk to life or person for one or more specific reason. These are: death penalty, unlawful killing, torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Illegal entrant - this term is applied to people who enter the country by clandestine means (such as hiding in a lorry), by deception (this can include lying about identity or reason for staying in the country and using false documents) or people who are in breach of a deportation order.
Immigration & Nationality Directorate (IND) - the government department, situated within the Home Office, responsible for regulation of entry to and settlement in the UK. The website includes Immigration Rules, contact details and downloadable immigration forms.
Indefinite leave to remain (ILR) - -if after the five year qualifying period a refugee is granted continuing status (s)he is given 'indefinite leave to remain'.
International Organisation for Migration (IOM) - an international organisation that works with migrants and governments to provide humane responses to migration challenges.
Leave to enter/remain (LTE/LTR) - if an asylum applicant is found to meet the criteria for refugee status (s)he is given leave to enter or remain for a period of five years. An applicant's refugee status may be reviewed during this five-year period and/or at the end of the five years. If it is found that a refugee no longer requires, or is entitled to refugee protection their refugee status will be withdrawn and leave curtailed. At the end of the five years the refugee may apply for ILR (see above)
National Asylum Support Service (NASS) - NASS provides accommodation financial help and some support for asylum seekers whilst their claim is being considered.
New asylum model (NAM) - a proposal outlined in the Government's five year strategy for asylum and immigration ("Controlling our Borders: Making Migration work for Britain") published in February 2005. It introduces a new system for processing asylum applications by dividing cases according to their characteristics into separate segments or tracks. Each track will determine how the case is determined and the kind of support, accommodation and reporting requirements. For a more detailed explanation see ICAR's In the News.
Non-suspensive appeal (NSA) - Asylum applicants from the so-called 'safe country list' (see below)whose claims are deemed to be unfounded are returned to their country of origin. It is only possible to appeal against the refusal from outside the UK. Such cases are known as 'non-suspensive appeals' (or NSA) cases.
One-stop procedure - since October 2000, asylum applicants are required to submit any other grounds for permission to remain in the UK at the same time as submitting their asylum application. This is part of the 'one stop procedure' and ensures that any human rights grounds are considered alongside a claim for asylum.
Overstayer - a person who stays in the country beyond the period of time that they have been granted and without making a valid application for extending their leave (before it runs out) is defined as an ‘overstayer'.
Public Enquiry Office (PEO) - where applicants may go in person to lodge their claim for asylum.
Refugee - the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention defines a refugee as: 'A person who has a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.' In addition the person is outside the country of his/her origin and is unable or unwilling to it out of fear of persecution.
Resettlement - resettlement is a process initiated by the by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which involves the organised movement of selected refugees from their country of first asylum to a third country for permanent settlement and integration. It is a specialised protection process for recognised refugees. The UK is one of 19 countries currently participating in the resettlement programme. In 2003 the government launched its Gateway Protection Programme to enable the UK, through UNHCR, to accept an annual quota of refugees from outside the UK for resettlement each year. The initial target was to resettle 500 people by the end of the 2003-2004 financial year. See ICAR's navigation guide to resettlement and the UK for more information.
Safe country list - The Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 (section 94) created a list of 'safe countries' from which claims would be dealt with in a different way. Applicants whose claims are rejected and returned home and can only appeal from outside the UK. The designated countries are Albania, Jamaica, Macedonia, Moldova, Serbia and Montenegro (previously the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia), Brazil, Ecuador, Bolivia, South Africa, Ukraine and India. Bangladesh was removed from the list in April 2005 following a legal challenge. Sri Lanka was removed in December 2006. In October 2005 the Home Office announced it would be further expanding the list to include Mongolia, Ghana (male applicants only) and Nigeria (male applicants only). The list is sometimes referred to as the 'white list'.
Standard Acknowledgement Letter (SAL) - Until January 2002 asylum applicants were given an identity document known as a Standard Acknowledgement Letter. This has been replaced by an Asylum Registration Card (see above).
Statement of Evidence Form (SEF) - asylum seekers are given a 'statement of evidence form' on which they are required to write down their reasons for claiming asylum. The SEF is being phased out under the new NAM (see above) procedures.
Temporary Admission (TA) - If an asylum application is made and the applicant is not being detained, they will be given an IS96 paper which grants them 'temporary admission' into the UK. This allows them to remain in the country whilst their asylum application is being determined and is usually subject to certain conditions, such as residing at a particular address and the requirement to report to a designated immigration reporting centre, or a local police station, at specified intervals.
3rd country case - the name given to an asylum application where the person claiming asylum landed in another country before arriving in the UK. They are identified using the EURODAC fingerprinting system and will normally be returned to the country they passed through before reaching the UK.
UASC - unaccompanied asylum-seeking child
UNHCR - The office of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is based in Geneva with offices in London: "an impartial humanitarian organisation mandated by the United Nations to lead and co-ordinate international action for the world-wide protection of refugees and the resolution of refugee problems. UNHCR has two basic and closely related aims: to protect refugees and to seek ways to help them restart their lives in a normal environment".
Voluntary assisted returns programme - asylum seekers can ask to be returned to their country of origin at any point during an asylum claim. The International Organisation for Migration facilitates the voluntary return of those who cannot afford to return without help. Anyone with an undecided claim, a refused claim or who has been granted discretionary leave to remain may apply for this scheme.
'White list' - see 'safe country list' above
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Last Updated: 25/02/09
