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UK: What will the Rwanda Act mean for Afghan asylum seekers?

The UK government's Rwanda plan will soon become law. How will it affect Afghans seeking asylum in Britain, especially those who arrive from across the Channel?

From file: In 2023 there was an increase in the numbers of Afghans crossing the Channel in small boats, but what will the new Rwanda Act mean for them? | Photo: Mark Large/SOLO Syndication/picture alliance

From file: In 2023 there was an increase in the numbers of Afghans crossing the Channel in small boats, but what will the new Rwanda Act mean for them? | Photo: Mark Large/SOLO Syndication/picture alliance

As the Safety of Rwanda bill overcame its final hurdle in the British parliament and was voted to proceed to royal assent and thus become law, fear was reportedly felt by some members of the Afghan migrant community in the UK.

According to data published in October 2023 by the Migration Observatory at Oxford University, around 13,000 Afghan nationals were awaiting a Home Office decision on their asylum applications in Britain as of June 30, 2023. It is not clear how many, if any, of these people could be sent to Rwanda to have their claims processed, but some members of the community fear that fate while a decision is pending.

On July 20 last year the Illegal Migration Act came into force, making the asylum claims of anyone arriving in the UK without documents inadmissible. Since then, more than 21,000 people have arrived "illegally" by boat in the UK, according to government figures.

Many of these people, whether or not they are Afghans, are in a kind of legal limbo: they also face the prospect of being sent to Rwanda, as they are unable to apply for asylum and could be eligible to be deported to the African country.

 

From file: Although many Afghans who worked for the British forces were eligible for official schemes, members of their families were not always able to get out with them, here a protest in 2021 underlines this point | Photo:Tayfun Salci/ZUMA Press Wire/ picture alliance
From file: Although many Afghans who worked for the British forces were eligible for official schemes, members of their families were not always able to get out with them, here a protest in 2021 underlines this point | Photo:Tayfun Salci/ZUMA Press Wire/ picture alliance

 

Government schemes and asylum

There are two British government schemes designed to provide relocation and assistance to Afghans who qualify – ARAP and ARAS. Those who worked for or with the UK government in Afghanistan in "exposed or meaningful roles" before the return of the Taliban to power are eligible for the schemes. But there are some Afghan nationals who have either not been able to qualify for those schemes or did not even begin to apply for them, and instead traveled to Britain via boats across the Channel.

 

From file: Afghan interpreters and their families were flown into the UK in 2021 but many didn't make it on to the flights | Photo: Roland Hoskins / dmg media Licensing / picture alliance
From file: Afghan interpreters and their families were flown into the UK in 2021 but many didn't make it on to the flights | Photo: Roland Hoskins / dmg media Licensing / picture alliance

 

 

According to Migration Observatory data published in October 2023, an estimated 21,500 Afghans had received settlement in the UK under ARAP and ARAS. About 70 percent of those who received protection status via the schemes were flown out during the initial evacuation of Kabul.

Also read: Accommodation troubles continue for Afghan refugees in the UK

But the Migration Observatory found that between January 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023, three times as many Afghans claimed asylum as were resettled through these schemes in the UK.

 

A graph charts the number of Afghans arriving by small boat since the fall of Kabul in 2021 and how much the number has increased | Source: Migration Observatory Oxford University
A graph charts the number of Afghans arriving by small boat since the fall of Kabul in 2021 and how much the number has increased | Source: Migration Observatory Oxford University

 

After August 2021, when the Taliban took back control of Afghanistan, the number of Afghans crossing the Channel by boat "rose substantially," noted the Migration Observatory. In the first half of 2023, Afghans became the most common nationality arriving in the UK by boat.

In the year ending March 31, 2023, 92 percent of Afghans arriving by boat applied for asylum. Two percent of them had received an initial decision by that time and 97 percent had been granted refugee status or another type of leave to remain.

 

Slipping through the cracks

Despite the schemes and the high previous grant rate for Afghans seeking asylum, some who were previously recognized for protection have slipped through the cracks.

The Labour MP Stella Creasy has repeatedly raised just such a case of one of her constituents, both in parliament and the media. On Monday in parliament, she again referred to the story of the man, who has British citizenship and served with the British armed forces for 15 years:

"He and his family were called forward to the Baron hotel [in Afghanistan when the Taliban took power and the British and other foreign powers were offering airlifts to those who qualified] but could not get there because of an explosion." Since then, the family has "been through hell," Creasy said.

 

From file: In January 2023, some Afghans living in the UK protested outside the British parliament about the lack of freedom to live and work under theTaliban | Photo. Tayfun Salci/ZUMA Press Wire/picture alliance
From file: In January 2023, some Afghans living in the UK protested outside the British parliament about the lack of freedom to live and work under theTaliban | Photo. Tayfun Salci/ZUMA Press Wire/picture alliance

 

Although the man reached Britain, his wife and family have been unable to join him in the UK. He is not eligible to apply for ARAP because he is now a British citizen. Creasy said that the government had written to her suggesting the man's children could apply for the ARAP scheme, but because they are under ten years old "they will probably not qualify."

"[The] Afghan citizens resettlement scheme is in tatters and will not accept them, as the government are now trying to say that they were invited, rather than instructed, to go to the Baron hotel," Creasy said.

Also read: Hila's tale, 'if no one wants me, then I want myself'

 

Between a rock and a hard place

Many report being caught in similar predicaments, unable to apply for schemes because they are no longer in Afghanistan, or disqualified from claiming asylum because they decided to try and join their family members by traveling independently to Britain, and thus entering irregularly.

Between January 2018 and June 2023, according to British government data, the number of Afghan citizens to have made the Channel crossing totals 12,599.

Also read: UK government proposes moving Afghan refugees out of hotels

Flights to Rwanda are not due to start until July this year, the British government confirmed on Monday. However, once they do start, it hopes to schedule a "drumbeat" of flights, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told a press conference on Monday, both to act as a deterrent to those who still hope to make the crossing and to try to shift as many as 52,000 asylum seekers the government says could be eligible to be sent to Rwanda.

 

Data published by Oxford University's Migration Observatory in October 2023 shows the increasing numbers of Afghans entering the UK 'irregularly' including by Channel crossings in small boats | Source: Migration Observatory Oxford University
Data published by Oxford University's Migration Observatory in October 2023 shows the increasing numbers of Afghans entering the UK 'irregularly' including by Channel crossings in small boats | Source: Migration Observatory Oxford University

 

 

InfoMigrants asked the Home Office (Interior Ministry) to confirm how many of that number are Afghan citizens and who might be flown to Rwanda to have their asylum claims processed. The Home Office declined to provide further information by phone and has yet to provide a written reply.

 

'Deeply fearful'

One former military interpreter, who wanted to remain anonymous, spoke to the Abu Dhabi-financed National News. He told the paper that many friends of his who had paid smugglers to leave Afghanistan were now "deeply fearful" of being sent to Rwanda. He described them as having "no hope for the future" because of their fears of being included in a future Rwanda deportation flight.

The military interpreter, who the National says worked for special forces between 2006 and 2014, including the SAS, said many of his friends had paid up to 15,000 dollars (around 14,000 euros) to leave Afghanistan as economic migrants. It was not clear whether any of these people had worked for the British military before leaving.

Also read: Are Afghans really welcome in the UK?

The interpreter also said that Afghans felt their rights would not be as strongly protected in Rwanda as they might be in the UK. He said those who had paid to leave Afghanistan were fleeing the oppressive rule of the Taliban and hoped to establish a "new life" with their families in the UK.

 

Afghan amendment dropped along with all the others

The Rwanda bill passed after a lengthy process of debate between the upper and lower houses of parliament.

 

A graph published by the Migration Observatory in October 2023 shows the high grant rate for asylum applications from Afghans in the UK from 2001 to 2022 | Source: Migration Observatory Oxford University
A graph published by the Migration Observatory in October 2023 shows the high grant rate for asylum applications from Afghans in the UK from 2001 to 2022 | Source: Migration Observatory Oxford University

 

 

One of the sticking points during the process was a proposed amendment by the House of Lords concerning additional protection for Afghan migrants arriving in Britain without papers rather than via official resettlement programs.

Also read: UK's policy of 'warm welcome' towards Afghans challenged in court

The government ultimately rejected the amendment relating to Afghan citizens, saying that there were already safe and legal routes for Afghan citizens to reach the UK and no one needed to travel to the UK by boat across the Channel.

The Home Secretary stated in a video on social media that the "Act will prevent people from abusing the law by using false human rights claims to block removals."

 

 

 

 

Bill branded a 'sham' by opposition

Michael Tomlinson, the UK's minister responsible for countering "illegal migration", told parliament on Monday that the government was not planning to remove to Rwanda those "who receive a positive eligibility decision as a result of the review." He promised that the government did not intend to let combat veterans down.

 

From file: The new Rwanda Act has been branded a 'sham' by the opposition and anecdotal evidence suggests it won't stop migrants attempting to leave French beaches to make it across the Channel by boat | Photo: Mark Large / SOLO Syndication / picture alliance
From file: The new Rwanda Act has been branded a 'sham' by the opposition and anecdotal evidence suggests it won't stop migrants attempting to leave French beaches to make it across the Channel by boat | Photo: Mark Large / SOLO Syndication / picture alliance

 

 

But opposition MP Stephen Kinnock called the bill a "sham" and said the government’s plan was "to get a few symbolic flights off the ground ahead of a general election, regardless of the wider impact." Kinnock added that it was "tokenism and posturing of the worst sort."

Another Labour MP, Florence Eshalomi, said any deportations to Rwanda would account for just one percent of those crossing the Channel and added that if true, the new law could be regarded as a "gimmick."

 

 

Although the government refused to pass the Lords' Afghan amendment, it did agree to setting up an independent monitoring committee to assess any Afghan asylum claims.

From the information provided by the Home Office so far, however, it cannot be ruled out that Afghans may be on board the first plane to depart for Rwanda in the coming months.

 

Author: Editors Desk

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