South West Migration Partnership: July - August 2012 Bulletin

Policy Announcements, Resources, Consultations and Research

Section 1: Migrant Workers

Section 2: AsylumSeekers & Refugees

Section 3: Unaccompanied Asylum SeekingChildren

Section 4: Consultations

Section 5: Statistics

Section 1: Migrant Workers

Free webinar from Cities of Migration - Investing in Urban Prosperity: Municipal Leadership in Immigrant Integration: Weds 19 Sept 2012, 15:00

Learn how innovative local governments in Munich, Germany and Philadelphia, US are investing in employment and small business incubation strategies to ensure local immigrant skills, talent and energies can help transform their cities into engines of economic growth and urban prosperity. Further information is available here.

Trafficking awareness training in Bristol

The Poppy Project is running a series of training events for statutory and non-statutory agencies to enhance awareness of adult human trafficking with a focus on supporting female victims, including identification, victim care, supporting victims through immigration and criminal justice proceedings and the right to compensation.

Training will be taking place in Bristol on the 26 October & 2 November, venue to be confirmed.

For further info please contact SallyMontier: or go to the Eaves website.

Changes to the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006

The Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006 changed on the 16th July. The amended regulations set out the rights of EEA nationals and their family members to enter and reside in the UK and also confirm the criteria for rights to permanent residence.The key changes to the regulations include:

  • new rights of residence;
  • restrictions on free movement rights;
  • amendments to reflect current operational practice;
  • amendments to implement agreements reached with the European Commission or stakeholders in relation to the UK's implementation of Directive 2004/38/EC;
  • the extension of refusal powers based on public policy, public health, and public security; and
  • amended appeal rights.

Further details in the link below:

New interviews for students

Immigration Minister Damian Green has announced that a targeted interview system for students will be introduced this summer and will concentrate on high-risk applicants.If you are a student, you may be interviewed and asked a number of questions about your immigration and education history, study and post-study plans, and financial circumstances. UKBA expect to interview up to 14,000 students in the next 12 months. They will refuse visas if they are not satisfied that you are a genuine student.

Protecting girls from female genital mutilation

Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone recently announced that a new pocket guide to the UK law on female genital mutilation will soon be made available to girls at risk to help them speak out against the practice. The leaflet A Declaration Against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) for Families and Girls, is designed to slip in the back of a passport allowing girls to present it as a formal document to friends or family reminding them that FGM is against the law in the UK.It will also set out what the penalties are for offenders, including a maximum fourteen year custodial sentence, as well as advice on help and support.

Warning about fake UK Border Agency websites and calls

UKBA have become aware of a number of scam e-mails and websites claiming to be sent and operated by UKBA; and of calls made by people posing as UKBA staff. Details of the scams can be found in the press release linked below:

Section 2: Asylum Seekers & Refugees

Briefing: High Court ruling on destitution and section 4 support

Following a high court ruling in July on Home Office policy on the provision of support to people who have presented further submissions,Refugee action have produced a new briefing – attached below. The briefing sets out why the ruling means the UK Border Agency can no longer impose a delay of 15 days to allow them to decide further submissions before deciding a related section 4 application. In the briefing you will find:

  • An explanation of section 4 support and further submissions;
  • An explanation of the impact of the recent judgment on UKBA policy & practice;
  • Guidance on assisting applicants to access support;
  • Guidance on how to respond if a support decision is still delayed.

Reduced cost for travel documents for refugees and stateless persons

In October 2012 UKBA are reducing the cost of applying for travel documents issued to refugees and stateless persons by £5 for adults and £3 for children. From October 2012 the fees will be:

1951 UN Convention travel document issued to refugees

Adult: £72.50
Child: £46

1954 UN Convention travel document issued to Stateless persons
Adult: £72.50
Child: £46

Fact sheet on benefits and housing for refugees living with HIV

The National Aids Trust has published an up to date factsheet with guidance on benefits and housing for people living with HIV who have:

  • Refugee status
  • Humanitarian protection
  • Discretionary leave to remain in the UK.

The fact sheet is targeted at refugees and organisations that support them and can be downloaded here:

Charter of rights of women seeking asylum
Refugee Action is inviting organisations to endorse the Charter of rights of women seeking asylum. Supported by a broad coalition of 295 organisations, including Refugee Action, Oxfam, Refugee Council, the TUC and Amnesty International, the Charter of rights of women seeking asylum is a framework of principles aimed at persuading the UK Border Agency (UKBA) to take a strategic approach to the needs of women seeking asylum, and to put in place operational procedures and safeguards that will remove the discriminatory barriers faced by women.

The Charter was set up by Asylum Aid. For more information on the Charter and its current Every Single Woman campaign, please look on their website - To endorse the Charter you simply need to email your name and the name of the organisation to stating that you wish to endorse the Charter.

Section 3: Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children

Directory of services for young refugees and migrants

The Migrant Children's Project has compiled a directory of services available to young refugees and migrants. The directory is to assist practitioners and carers in identifying local and national organisations and projects that can offer support, advice and other assistance to refugee, asylum-seeking and migrant children and young people in England and Wales. The directory can be found here:

Assessment and Support of Post 18 UASC’s listed as Appeal Rights Exhausted

The Local Government Association Asylum Refugee and Migration Task Group has produced a report on the assessment and support of post-18 UASC’s listed as appeal rights exhausted.The report (link below) attempts to clarify the current position in asylum legislation in respectof the support that unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC) may be entitled to receive after they reach 18 years of age; to explore the implications of the case of R (on the Application of) S.O. v London Borough of Barking and Dagenham (2010); and the role of human rightsassessments.

Family tracing

The Coram Children’s Legal Centre have updated their information and resources on family tracing for children seeking asylum. Their new FAQs on family tracing and links to further info can be found here:

Scottish Age Assessment Practice Guidance

The Scottish Refugee Council has launched guidance to help social workers assess age of young people seeking asylum in Scotland. Whilst aimed at social workers in Scotland there is a lot of information and guidance that social workers in England may find useful. The guidance can be found here:

Joint Report: Children missing from care

The All Party Parliamentary Group for Runaway and Missing Children and the APPG for Looked After Children and Care Leavers have published a joint report following a parliamentary inquiry which examined the situation of children who go missing from care, including trafficked children.

Children’s Commissioner – “Age assessment still an issue for children seeking asylum”

The Fact of Age, a report published in July by Maggie Atkinson, Children's Commissioner for England has revealed problems still occur in age assessments of children seeking asylum. Decision-making often does not function smoothly. This could also result in children being judged to be adults. The full press release and report can be found at the link below.

Section 4: Consultations

Second Consultation Launched by the Commission on a Bill of Rights

The Commission set up to examine the value of replacing the Human Rights Act with a new UK Bill of Rights has launched a second public consultation on this proposal. Consultation documents can be found at the link below and the deadline is 30th September 2012.

Section 5: Statistics

Migration Data Briefing: COMPASS

This briefing discusses data on migration to the UK in terms of the categories of work, study, family, or asylum. Key points:

  • An estimated 54.5% of immigrants to the UK in 2010 were non-EU nationals.
  • Students make up the largest and fastest-growing category of immigrants.
  • Work and family migration from outside the EU have both declined since 2005.
  • Asylum applicants represent a declining share of migration to the UK in the last decade, down to about 3% of migration to the UK in 2010.

Migration and Asylum Statistics – Publications Page

The Home Office has published data on the number of children entering detention in June 2012 and monthly asylum application tables for May 2012. Both data sets can be found on the publications page link below.

Any questions or comments about this bulletin- please get in touch.

Don Wallace

Policy Officer

Tel: 01823 425268

South West Migration Partnership