Can’t Stay. Can’t Go. Refused asylum seekers who cannot be returned
1
Executive summary
I don’t want life to just stop
here. It’s not life! I feel like
I am in a prison and there is
nothing I can do.
Enaya, Palestine
R
efused asylum seekers who have no
appeal outstanding are considered
to have no basis to stay in the United
Kingdom. They are expected to
make arrangements to leave without delay.
However, not all of them are able to return
home. For some, there are no direct flight
routes into their country, others are stateless
– their country refuses to recognise them as a
citizen, and some people simply cannot get a
travel document in order to return. The option
of going back to their country of origin is not
open to everyone and this leaves them stuck in
the UK, living in limbo.