HC Deb 26 November 1973 vol 865 cc47-8W
Mr. Sproat

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out the conditions which a political refugee who is not a holder of a United Kingdom passport must satisfy before being allowed to settle ; and if he will say how "political" is defined in this context.

Mr. Lane

The criteria for granting asylum, which are very strictly applied, are contained in the immigration rules and derive from Article 1 of the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees : namely, where a person would otherwise have to go to a country to which he is unwilling to go owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion. There is no definition of "political"; each case is determined in the light of all the relevant facts.