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This is someone who has arrived in a country and asked for asylum. Until they receive a decision from the Home Office as to whether or not they can be granted refugee status, they are classified as an Asylum Seeker.

In the UK, this means they do not have the same rights as a refugee or a British citizen.

According to the UN Refugee Convention, a refugee is someone 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’.

If someone wants to remain in the UK, i.e. to be given refugee status, they must first claim asylum.

International law states that asylum seekers and refugees, like all of us, have basic human rights including: life and liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of opinion and expression.

They cannot be returned to their home country if their life would be at risk or they could face persecution.

When a person is given refugee status, they are given just a number of days before they are evicted from asylum accommodation. At this point they must find accommodation, apply for mainstream benefits and then look for work.

Many become homeless during this transition period.

The vast majority of people who seek asylum in the UK have fled countries ravaged by war and human rights abuses. In 2018, the top five nationalities of asylum applicants were Iranian (3,327), Iraqi (2,697), Eritrean (2,158), Pakistani (2,022) and Albanian (2,001).

The table below shows how many people the DP Casework team saw in a year (June 2018 to May 2019)

Asylum seekers aren’t allowed to claim benefits or work in the UK. While their asylum claim is being considered, they are provided with somewhere to live, usually a room in shared accommodation, plus £37.75 per week per adult or child (i.e., just over £5 per day).