§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what provisions exist to explain their rights to asylum seekers at the port of entry; and what changes will occur to these arising from the passage of the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Bill.
§ Mr. Charles WardleAsylum seekers at ports are informed orally by the immigration officer, in a language with which they are familiar (through an interpreter if necessary), that their application will be treated in confidence, that it will be referred to the asylum division in Croydon, and that they are not obliged to leave the United Kingdom pending a decision. Asylum questionnaires contain a preamble supplementing these details in writing and inform applicants of the existence and function of the refugee legal centre. Detained asylum seekers have access to written information in ten languages.
The Asylum and Immigration Appeals Bill will not require any changes to these procedures.
§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish the full text of the document or written advice given to someone who has been granted clearance abroad to enter the United Kingdom in order to make an asylum application.
§ Mr. Charles WardleThere is no provision for receiving applications for asylum from abroad, but we are prepared to consider granting entry clearance for the purpose of making an asylum application where a person falls within 627W the definition of a refugee in article 1A of the 1951 UN refugees convention and has close ties with the United Kingdom such as to make it the most appropriate country of refuge.
There is no standard document or written advice for use in such circumstances.
§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many asylum seekers have been granted entry clearance abroad in each of the years for which figures are available since 1979;
(2) how many individuals have (a) applied for and(b)been granted asylum status by the United Kingdom before they have reached the United Kingdom for each of the last 15 years;
(3) how many times in each of the years for which figures are available entry clearance has been granted abroad for the purpose of making an asylum application.
§ Mr. Charles WardleAvailable information on principal applications for asylum made abroad is given in table A. This information may be under-recorded.
There is no provision to grant asylum to a person who is not in the United Kingdom. Figures for those granted entry clearance abroad either for the purpose of seeking asylum in the United Kingdom, or as dependants joining refugees or people with exceptional leave here, are not separately identifiable in the statistics.
Figures for grants of settlement to south east Asian refugees, who form a distinct group dealt with under a specific programme, are given in table B.
Table A: Applications1 2 for asylum in the United Kingdom received by British posts abroad and referred to the Home Office for decision, 1986–91 Year Number 1986 30 1987 35 31988 35 31992 30 31990 35 1991 35 1 Excluding dependants. 2 Figures may be under-recorded. Rounded to nearest 5. 1991 figure is provisional. 3 In addition, about 1,695 applications in 1988, 35 in 1989, 55 in 1990 and 15 in 1991 by nationals of Afghanistan to the British High Commission in New Delhi, and 40 applications in 1991 by nationals of Liberia to the British High Commission in Lagos, were processed locally.
Table B: Grants(1)(2) of settlement in the United Kingdom to south east Asian refugees Year Settlement grants 1979 3,150 1980 9,100 1981 2,880 1982 880 1983 1,220 1984 800 1985 530 1986 830 1987 440 1988 710 1989 720 1990 650 1991 490 1 Includes dependants. 2 All these grants were on arrival to the UK, except for a total of 2,700 during the years 1979–82 which were on removal of time limit.