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Can’t Stay. Can’t Go. Refused asylum seekers who cannot be returned
Single adults who cannot be returned and are
applying for Section 95A
The Home Office should:
1. Provide clear, realistic and practical guidelines
on what is considered as appropriate evidence
of them taking reasonable steps to obtain a
travel document. The guidelines should:
Recommendation 2
The Home Office should share the burden of
proof for taking reasonable steps to obtain a
travel document.
The Home Office should:
>> Be specific to the person’s country of
origin, rather than taking a one-size-fits-all
approach.
1. Use its resources to assist in contacting the
relevant embassy (or embassies) to request a
travel document.
>> Be clear as to what form of contact is
acceptable – written, telephone or inperson – and specify what is considered
acceptable evidence of such contact.
2. Provide funding for travel to embassies to
facilitate the process of gathering documents.
The process of applying for such funding
should be simple and information about the
funding should be widely available.
>> Specify how many times a person is
expected to attempt to contact the relevant
embassy (or embassies) to request a travel
document, within reasonable parameters.
2. Expect a person to apply for AVR only once
they are in possession of the necessary
travel document specified for their country
of origin in the Home Office Country Returns
Guide (Home Office 2016b). Only then will
it be feasible to limit people to one AVR
application and expect them to leave before
the application expires.
Recommendation 3
The Home Office should grant discretionary
leave to people who cannot be returned
through no fault of their own.
3. Suspend the policy of regularly reviewing an
individual’s support when there is evidence
that the person has done everything in their
power to comply with re-documentation
procedures.
Where appeal rights exhausted individuals cannot,
after a period of 12 months, be re-documented,
or there is a barrier to return that is beyond their
control, and they are complying with the system,
they should be given discretionary leave to remain
with a right to work and access higher education in
the UK.
4. Re-instate the right of appeal for those who
are refused Section 95A support.
Putting in place temporary status for this
group will prevent destitution.
5. Allow people who cannot be returned to apply
for Section 95A at any time, removing the
restriction of only being able to apply within the
21-day grace period.
6. Take measures to ensure people who cannot
be returned do not fall through the safety net
when making the transition from Section 95 to
Section 95A.
Keeping this group on support will prevent
destitution and protect them from potential
exploitation.
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