The Home Secretary has announced implementation of sweeping changes to the asylum system, first announced in November in its policy paper Restoring Order and Control.
We have previously welcomed the Home Office’s statement that the government would consider the appropriate pathway for refugee children in families at the time of publication. However, we are now very disappointed to see that, from today, refugee children and their families who are granted refugee status will be given only a short-term visa. This goes against everything we know about how children recover, integrate and build a new life in a new country. It is clearly contrary to what is expected under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Importantly, unaccompanied children will still receive five years’ leave, as before. We welcome this.
It is vital that the Home Office gives clarity to refugees and people seeking asylum who are already in the UK about exactly who the new system applies to. Information must be shared with people seeking asylum and refugees so that they are reassured that anyone who applied for asylum up to and including 1st March will be assessed and processed under the previous system.
Anita Hurrell, Head of Policy at Coram Children’s Legal Centre, said:
Refugee children need stability. When the UK grants protection, accepting a family was forced to flee, that family should be given stability to recover and rebuild their life. Refugee children do not need more upheaval. They need a horizon for their future so they can recover, learn English and integrate.
