§ Lord Ashley of Stokeasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many refugees from Bosnia are in the United Kingdom; and how many in each other country of the European Union.
§ Baroness BlatchThe available information on asylum applications from nationals of the former Yugoslavia, and on decisions made for the period 1 January 1992 to 31 December 1994, is given in Table 1; data for Bosnians are not separately identifiable in the statistics. The large majority of applications made in the period are under consideration and the applicants are being allowed to remain in the meantime.
In addition to consideration of asylum applications, the Government have, under arrangements announced in November 1992 and June 1993, stated their willingness to accept up to 1,000 individuals from the former Yugoslavia along with their immediate dependants judged by UNHCR to be particularly vulnerable and in need of evacuation. As at 8 February 1995, 844 particularly vulnerable individuals and 1,148 dependants had arrived under these arrangements. Prior to this, 68 sick and wounded ex-detainees from Bosnia arrived in September 1992.
Information on the number of Bosnian refugees in each EU country is not readily available. The available information is of UNHCR estimates of the number of former Yugoslays who have sought asylum in EU member countries up to April 1994 and is given in Table 2.
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Table 1 Decisions1 on applications1 received for asylum from nationals of the former Yugoslavia in the United Kingdom, excluding dependants, 1992 to 1994 Number of principal applicants 1992 1993 1994 Asylum applications2 5,635 1,830 1,385 Decisions2 3 130 175 1,765 — Recognised as a refugee and granted asylum * — 25 — Not recognised as a refugee but granted exceptional leave to remain4 * 55 1,265 — Refused asylum and ELR—after full consideration — 10 375 — Refused under para 180F5 65 80 75 — Refused on safe third country grounds6 60 30 25 1 Provisional figures rounded to the nearest 5, with '*'= 1 or 2. 2 Figures exclude information on applications made overseas. 3 Decisions do not necessarily relate to applications made in the same year. 4 Usually granted for a year in the first instance, subject then to further review. 5 For failure to provide evidence to support the asylum claim within a reasonable period, including failure to respond to invitation to interview to establish identity (para. 101 prior to 26 July 1993.) 6 Refused on the grounds that the applicant had arrived from a safe third country.
Table 2 UNHCR's estimate of the number1 of former Yugoslays who have sought asylum or have been given temporary protection/resettlement in EU member countries. Asylum seekers Number given temporary protection/resettlement 2(July 1991—April 1994) (October 1992—July 1994) principal applicants dependants Austria 55,000 208 204 Belgium 4,900 55 124 Denmark 20,100 1,747 3,451 Finland 3,000 74 304 France 15,900 301 619 Germany 309,400 1,416 1,590 Greece 170 — — Ireland 20 6 3 Italy 33,900 55 105 Luxembourg 2,500 10 — Netherlands 42,300 222 267 Portugal 150 1 — Spain 3,700 227 384 Sweden 76,200 892 1,537 Total 567,300 4,914 8,588 Source UNHCR. 1 Figures include dependants and rounded to the nearest 100. 2 Estimated number who have sought asylum since the conflict began in the former Yugoslavia (July 1991 in Croatia, and April 1992 in Bosnia).