§ Baroness Coxasked Her Majesty's Government:
What measures are taken to ensure that those who are refused asylum and who agree to depart voluntarily actually do. [HL2847]
§ Lord RookerA voluntary departure is where an asylum seeker withdraws their asylum claim before all appeal rights have been exhausted and wishes to leave the United Kingdom. In all cases they are asked to sign a disclaimer confirming that they wish to leave prior to the conclusion of their application.
Some individuals make themselves known to the Immigration Service at the point of embarkation, for example, in order to collect ticketing and other documentation. The Immigration Service will confirm with the carrier that individuals have departed from the United Kingdom.
224WAIf an individual does not inform the Immigration Service of his intentions and obtains his/her own documents, we may not be aware that he/she has departed from the United Kingdom.
Where a person is voluntarily leaving the United Kingdom under the Voluntary Assisted Returns Programme (VARP), operated on behalf of the Home Office by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), she/he will be assisted at the airport by the IOM. Before the flight leaves, the individual is required to sign a disclaimer confirming that the departure is voluntary. The IOM's London office advises IOM offices in the destination country and any transit country of the departure and notifies the Home Office.