Coming to the UK: What do Asylum-Seekers Know About the UK before Arrival?

Abstract

Received wisdom suggests that asylum-seekers come to the UK because of the generosity of the welfare state and the ease of finding work in the growing informal labour market, because the UK has no identity cards, and because of a fairly poor record on sending home unsuccessful asylum applicants. Based on interviews with 87 asylum-seekers from Afghanistan, Colombia, Kosovo and Somalia, this paper suggests that the realities of asylum-seeking are quite different. Few of the respondents arrived with much knowledge of the UK, and their knowledge was limited to general impressions of the country; they knew little about asylum policy and practice. There are five main reasons why they knew so little: many had not chosen their own destination; surprisingly few had family or friends already in the UK; in some cases they had been provided with false or misleading information; many had departed their country of origin in a rush; and most were relatively poorly educated. Why they ended up in the UK was often linked to the role of smugglers, who often chose the final destination. In light of these findings, we question both the efficacy and the fairness of current UK asylum policy.

Keywords:

• Asylum-Seekers
• Information
• Policy
• Smugglers
• the UK

Notes

1. This paper draws on research funded by the UK Home Office. We are grateful for the research assistance provided by Oliver Bakewell and Laura Hammond, the help offered by several refugee organisations in the UK, and for the time afforded by 87 asylum-seekers prepared to be interviewed and by numerous other people who provided us with information both in the UK and in the study countries.

2. In this paper, Kosovo is being referred to as a country although it is of course still a region of Serbia.

3. Circumstances precluded a visit to Afghanistan and fieldwork was conducted in Pakistan instead. The visit to Somalia also included Ethiopia given that there was no official British representation in Somalia at the time.

4. See the discussion in Robinson (2002: 63) about the best ways to maximise the number of good responses from interviews with asylum-seekers.

5. Robinson and Segrott (2002: 46) found that many of their respondents ‘…felt that the UK was a tolerant country that was sympathetic to asylum-seekers…’ The colonial heritage was also important in attracting asylum-seekers from some parts of the Commonwealth and in reinforcing the positive image.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Alan Gilbert

Alan Gilbert is Professor and Head of Geography at University College London

Khalid Koser

Dr Khalid Koser is Senior Policy Analyst at the Global Commission on International Migration