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See other news storiesAsylum applications continue to fall
22 May 2007
Applications for asylum in the UK fell in the first quarter of 2007 according to figures released this week.
The asylum figures for the first quarter of 2007 showed that 5,680 asylum applications were lodged during that time - a 10 per cent drop compared to the same quarter in 2006.
The top applicant nationalities were Afghan (755), Iranian (600) and Chinese (480).
Between January and March 2007, 3,370 failed asylum seekers were deported. This represents a 4% drop in removals compared to the previous year. The drop was largely caused by a decision by the Border and Immigration Agency to prioritise removing people who were viewed as dangerous to the public.
In fact, the deportation of foreign national prisoners in this quarter almost doubled (to nearly 1,000) compared to the same quarter the previous year.
Figures also showed that 149,035 people applied for British citizenship in 2006, a fall of 32% compared to 2005.
Speeding up the process
In an effort to accelerate the deportation process, the Home Office this week proposed adding 10 more countries to the list of nations to which individuals with clearly unfounded claims can be returned before they appeal.
Because of that, all asylum seekers from Bosnia, Mauritius, Montenegro and Peru who have been refused asylum following a clearly unfounded claim will have no right of appeal from within the UK. The same rules will apply to male asylum seekers with clearly unfounded claims from the Gambia, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali and Sierra Leone.
Immigration Minister Liam Byrne said the drop in asylum applications was down to stronger border controls and a better overall process.
'Applications are down 72% since intake was its peak in 2002,' Mr Byrne said. 'By shifting the right to appeal to outside the UK, while also tightening our borders through juxtaposed controls, biometric visas and the use of new screening technology at our ports, we are making it harder than ever to come to Britain and abuse the system.'
Accession state figures
Figures for the numbers of Bulgarians and Romanians registering to work in the UK were also released this week.
These showed that between January and March 2007, 7,935 applications were approved. Of these:
- 5,075 allowed to access the full labour market
- 2,6690 registered as self-employed
- 200 registered as self-sufficient
- 2,425 joined the seasonal agricultural working scheme
Figures for the eight eastern European accession states showed 16,000 fewer people from those countries applied to work in the UK in the first quarter of this year, as 49,000 applications for work were received.
Mr Byrne said that, while it's early to assess the full impact of the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the EU, early indications are that the policy of restricting access to the labour market is helping to ensure that only those with something to offer the country are being allowed to work here.
'It is clear that workers from the accession states are filling skills and labour gaps, but the restrictions we introduced were right,' he said.
