Afghan Refugee Crisis – Reapplying For Asylum If You Are In The UK As A Failed Afghanistan Asylum Seeker
Asylum claims and further submissions under immigration rule 353
Most of us in the UK can't bear to watch the unfolding chaos at Kabul airport. It is with a heavy heart that so many immigrationsolicitors are saying ‘we told you so’ because whilst trying to help and protect Afghan asylum seekers immigration lawyers were told that the Home Office guidance said Afghanistan was a safe country to return to. Whilst the emphasis is currently on getting those at most risk out of Afghanistan, immigration solicitors are urging people to throw their weight in supporting fresh asylum claims from those Afghan asylum seekers who are already in the UK but who have unsuccessfully applied for asylum in the UK.
UK Online and London Based Asylum and Immigration Solicitors
For advice on any aspect of asylum or immigration law call the expert London immigration lawyers at OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.
Afghans in the UK
It is estimated that there are roughly 3,000 pending asylum claims from Afghan nationals. In addition, there are many Afghan asylum seekers who have been refused asylum in the UK. Those with pending or refused asylum applications are naturally more anxious than ever. In this article we focus on what you can and should do if you are an Afghan asylum seeker who is in the UK and you have had your asylum claim turned down. It is important to act now whilst the world and press attention is focussed on Afghanistan.
Asylum claims and further submissions under immigration rule 353
Many asylum seekers think that they have reached ‘the end of the line’ with their asylum application but under immigration rule 353 it may be possible to make further submissions. The current chaos in Afghanistan and the public outpouring of support for asylum seekers from Afghanistan means that this is the ideal time to make further submissions or to press for a response to a pending Afghan asylum claim.
Immigration rule 353 enables an asylum seeker to make a fresh claim and give new evidence to the Home Office. The Home Office can argue that the new evidence is not a fresh claim but with the current momentum of support and understanding for Afghan asylum seekers it is best to try to use immigration rule 353 if you have had an asylum application refused and you have exhausted the appeal process.
You can ask the Home Office to consider a fresh asylum claim if:
- There is new evidence about the reason you claimed asylum.
- Your situation has changed.
- The situation in your country has changed.
The current situation in Afghanistan may mean that you can bring a fresh asylum claim using all of the above three points as whilst it is self-evident that the Trump-Taliban agreement has not panned out as expected by the USA government, and the situation in Afghanistan has therefore changed, that may also mean you are able to produce new evidence about the reasons why it was necessary for you to apply for asylum in the UK and your situation and the risks you currently face if returned to Afghanistan or left in legal limbo in the UK, namely refused asylum but with the UK not able to deport you to Afghanistan.
The fresh asylum claims test
Under immigration rule 353, when a human rights claim or an asylum claim has been refused or withdrawn or treated as withdrawn and any appeal relating to that claim is no longer pending, the Home Office decision maker will consider any further submissions and determine whether they amount to a fresh claim.
The submission may amount to a fresh claim if the submissions are significantly different from the evidence and material that has previously been considered by the Home Office or tribunal. The submissions will be classed as significantly different if :
- The evidence has not already been considered and
- With the previously considered evidence and material, the new material and information creates a realistic prospect of success, notwithstanding the earlier rejection of the asylum claim.
Asylum and immigration solicitors say that you can't use immigration rule 353 just because you have changed immigration lawyer who wants to put a better case for you as the fresh claim has to be based on material or evidence that is ‘significantly different’ from the material previously considered. You therefore can't just assume that with a new immigration solicitor, using information based on BBC news reports, that this time your asylum claim will succeed. The new information and evidence must to be linked to your claim. That’s why you can’t use blanket information coming out of Afghanistan without specifically linking it to your situation and how it affects you as an asylum seeker.
When making a fresh asylum claim under immigration rule 353 your immigration solicitor is focussing on what is new and different whilst linking that to the material you supplied that resulted in your asylum claim being refused. In effect, what you are saying is that if the Home Office official had the benefit of the new evidence at the time of their original decision, then they would have found in your favour. Your immigration rule 353 claim therefore isn’t necessarily rubbishing the reasons for the original decision; it is more subtle than that. In this instance it is saying that if the Home Office official or tribunal could have foreseen the reality on the ground of the Trump-Taliban pact, and the impact on you and other asylum seekers, they would not have refused you UK asylum.
If your previous asylum claim was refused because the risks to you as an Afghan national were not accepted then your fresh claim is your opportunity to say that the current situation in Afghanistan shows that you were right to be highly concerned about your safety in Afghanistan and right to seek asylum.
UK Online and London Based Immigration Solicitors
For advice on any aspect of human rights and asylum claims or UK immigration law call the immigration team at OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.