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What is the ask? Asylum seekers in Northern France who are seeking to come to the UK should be provided with travel documents (a type of humanitarian visa) to make the crossing safely and have their claim assessed in this country. 

Background 

To apply for asylum in the UK, you must be on UK soil, but there is currently no visa that a person can apply to for this purpose. Few safe routes exist for people fleeing danger to reach the UK, and those that do are inadequate and highly restrictive. Resettlement schemes are important, but only assist a limited number of people. In the year ending March 2022, just 1,651 people were able to reach the UK via resettlement pathways. The Government cannot respond to humanitarian crises with resettlement schemes that only protect a select few. Instead, we need a holistic approach to asylum and a system that protects everyone.  

The situation for migrants in Northern France is a three-decades-long disaster. Hundreds of people live in destitution in ‘camps’ which lack basic hygiene and essentials. They are subject to abuse and degradation from the authorities, and at high risk of harm and exploitation by the people they’re forced to rely on to facilitate their journeys.  

The lack of safe routes to the UK does not stop people coming here, but forces already vulnerable people to make extremely dangerous and life-risking journeys across the Channel. In recent years, the reduction of safe routes to the UK has caused an upswing in the number of people entering the UK via ‘small boats’, as well as the number of border-related deaths.1 The Nationality & Borders Act 2022 further restricts safe routes to the UK and will increase the number of people making dangerous journeys.  

How would it work? 

We propose a regulated travel route to allow some people in France to be granted entry clearance to the UK, enabling them to claim asylum here. This will ensure that anyone who has good reason for wishing to make their asylum claim in the UK, can do so without resorting to dangerous journeys facilitated by potentially exploitative third parties. Granting people access to travel documents to enter the UK would also remove refugees’ liability for prosecution as irregular entrants. 

The travel document should be made available to any asylum seeker who can demonstrate that they are reasonably likely to be recognised as a refugee, and that it would be reasonable for their claim to be heard in the UK. A good reason might include, but not be limited to, linguistic and community ties to the UK, their experiences of hardship in France and any other vulnerabilities.  

During the application process, people would be guaranteed access to secure accommodation and legal advice under the scope of UK Legal Aid. The procedure should be free of charge and subject to a right of appeal to the First-tier Tribunal against the refusal of a visa, which should not under any circumstances lead to the automatic refusal of any future asylum claim.  

This regulated travel option would reflect our right under the Refugee Convention to lodge a claim for international protection in whichever country we feel we will be able to find safety, regardless of our method of travel. 

For more detail on this proposal read our longer joint-briefings here and here or contact [email protected].