Exclusions

Article 1F of the Refugee Convention applies where the Secretary of State is satisfied that the person has instigated or otherwise participated in the crimes or acts mentioned therein. In these circumstances the applicant will not be classified as a refugee.

Alternative Grants

If refused Refugee status you may receive the following:

• Humanitarian Protection- this used to be a grant for 5 years but now is for 30 months. 

Test:

‘substantial grounds have been shown for believing that the person concerned, if returned to the country of return, would face a real risk of suffering serious harm and is unable, or, owing to such risk, unwilling to avail themselves of the protection of that country’.

• Leave on family and private life
• Discretionary Leave/temporary leave on other grounds of compassion based on Article 2, 3 or Article 8 ECHR rights.

Article 2– ‘’Everyone’s right to life shall be protected by law. No one shall be deprived of his life intentionally save in the execution of a sentence of a court following his conviction of a crime for which this penalty is provided by law’’.

Article 3– “No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment’’.

► Family reunion- If you have Refugee Status or Humanitarian Protection, you may be able to apply to bring your partner/spouse and any children you have to the UK, as long as they were part of your family unit at the time you fled your country of origin. 

Fresh Claim (Further submissions)

This stage is reached after an asylum seeker’s claim has been refused and appeal rights have been exhausted. Previous evidence will not be considered. 

The test:

The submissions will amount to a fresh claim if they are significantly different from the material that has previously been considered.

The submissions will only be significantly different if the content:

(i) had not already been considered; and
(ii) taken together with the previously considered material, created a realistic prospect of success, notwithstanding its rejection. 

►  You only receive a right of appeal on a refusal of a fresh claim if the Home Office considers the evidence to meet the evidence criteria but you do not have a well founded fear of persecution to the country you would be returned to. In these circumstances you may only make an application for Judicial Review if the fresh claim decision is negative i.e. ‘rejected’.

TRAFFICKING AND MODERN SLAVERY

The law governing this is derived from ARTICLE 4 of Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings. This has been implemented and modified in Modern Slavery Act 2015. Modern slavery encompasses human trafficking and slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour. 

“Trafficking in human beings” shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. 

Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs; 

Human trafficking consists of three basic components:

• Action, 

• Means (not required for children), 

• Purpose of exploitation. 

In layman terms it is when a person makes you do things against your will, where your freedom has been taken away, because that person wants to gain something for him/her. Human trafficking is the modern day form of slavery. It is the illegal trade in human beings for reasons such as sexual exploitation, forced labour, domestic servitude, forced criminal activity or removal of human organs. 

Process

Potential Victim Of Trafficking Identification

NRM Referral

Reasonable Grounds Decision

Reflection Period

Conclusive Grounds Decision

If you have mentioned anything in your statement or interview that highlights the above components you will be identified as a ‘potential victim of trafficking’. You are then referred to the NRM- National Referral Mechanism. NRM is a single framework that identifies victims and refers them to appropriate support. Certain specified public authorities are under a statutory duty, pursuant to the 2015 Act, to refer or notify the Home Office about any potential victims of modern slavery. ‘First Responder’ organisations are those authorised to refer individuals into the NRM such as police forces, the National Crime Agency, UK Visas and Immigration, local authorities, Migrant help, Refugee Council, health and social care trusts.

Referrals are made to the relevant Competent Authority, which is either The SCA (‘Single Competent Authority’) or the Immigration Enforcement Competent Authority (IECA).  These Competent Authorities are the United Kingdom’s decision-making bodies. If the potential victim is under 18, or may be under 18, an NRM referral must be made. Child victims do not have to consent to be referred into the NRM and must first be safeguarded and then referred into the NRM process.

A positive reasonable grounds decision entitles the potential victim to a recovery and reflection period for a minimum of 45 days, and until the conclusive grounds decision is made.

The Competent Authority then makes a decision to be made on whether the individual is a victim of modern slavery, human trafficking and / or slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour.

Grant of leave

An asylum claim and that of trafficking can run simultaneously. You may receive a positive conclusive grounds decision but yet not receive your leave to remain as you need to wait for the substantive asylum decision. However, this can be challenged by way of judicial review.

However, every applicant will want to be granted asylum as opposed to modern slavery/trafficking only as it provides you between 12 to 30months leave which is renewable whereas asylum is for five years and takes you to settlement subsequently.

You can receive support from the following organisations:

• Migrant Help
• Salvation Army
• Medical Justice (if in detention)