We have joined over 170 lawyers, experts, solicitors’ firms and refugee groups in calling for changes to the government’s proposed ‘asylum questionnaire’.
The 10-page document will be sent to over 12,000 people seeking asylum from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Libya, Syria and Yemen.
More than 160,000 people seeking asylum are awaiting initial decisions on their applications, with some living in limbo for years. The Home Office has said the questionnaire is part of efforts to ‘clear the backlog.’
The document must be filled in in 20 working days, and in English.
If the questionnaire is not filled out within the timeframe the asylum application may be withdrawn.
Our joint letter, addressed to Suella Braverman, states:
“This proposed plan of withdrawing claims will only give the appearance of reducing the backlog, whilst in fact adding to the backlog of fresh asylum claims being made. We urge the government to rethink its plan and to remedy it.”
Matilda Bryce, asylum policy and campaigns manager at the charity Freedom from Torture, said: “The questionnaire in its current form risks exacerbating the asylum backlog while jeopardising the asylum claims of individuals unable to complete the form before the arbitrary deadline.”
Suggested amendments to the questionnaire include:
- Simplifying the document
- Providing translations in relevant languages
- Creating a user-friendly guide for completion of the questionnaire
- Providing an extension for all unrepresented individuals
Read the full letter here.
Find out more about the advice and information we offer to people arriving in Scotland from Afghanistan.
