UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has reportedly dropped a key element of the asylum law from the last year. The law initiated a two-tier refugee system, making the lives of tens of thousands of illegal migrants coming to the UK in small boats miserable.
Now the Home Office stated that individuals who arrive illegally wouldn’t be treated differently. This includes people who entered the country by crossing the Channel and other asylum seekers. The Government claims to be doing this to try and cut the asylum backlog.
As a result, refugee experts believe the government can efficiently process the claims of nearly 55,000 individuals who have been in the UK since June last year. Almost 15,000 people from those migrants are from countries with high grant rates, like Sudan and Afghanistan. Their claims could be processed via questionnaires instead of in-person interviews.
Furthermore, it seems that people who come to the UK in small boats will enjoy better rights, like being able to reunite with their family members.
The surprising U-turn from the government’s side was announced by Robert Jenrick, UK immigration minister.
According to a Home Office spokesperson, the differentiation policy means that people who arrive illegally and claim asylum would be offered a different type of protection compared to those who enter legally. This is aimed at minimizing the incentive of coming to the UK.
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