Call for freeze on Syrian asylum claims to end

Ministers are facing calls to start processing Syrian asylum applications again, as new figures showed more than 7,000 people are still in limbo.

The UK paused decisions on Syrian claims for asylum and permanent settlement in December, after the fall of President Bashar al-Assad.

But more than five months on, Syrians in the UK still do not know when their claims will be assessed.

Charities including the Refugee Council say the current situation has left people in an "indefinite limbo" and are calling for claims to be processed again on a case-by-case basis.

The government said decisions were paused "while we assess the current situation".

A Home Office source said this was "a necessary step while there is no stable, objective information available to make robust assessments of risk" on people returning to Syria and the policy "will remain under constant review".

A total of 7,386 Syrians were waiting for an initial decision on an asylum claim by the end of March, according to the latest figures published on Thursday.

Assad's regime was overthrown by a rebel offensive led by the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in December, after years of civil war.

HTS leader Ahmad al-Sharaa was named as Syria's interim president earlier this year, but the situation remains uncertain and HTS is still designated a terrorist group by the UK.

In December, the Conservatives suggested most Syrian asylum claims were related to the threat posed by Assad's government and those people could return when it was safe to do so.

However, Haytham Alhamwi, chairman of the Syrian British Consortium, said while many Syrians left because of Assad's rule others may still feel unsafe to return.

"Many of them are still calling for democratic change in Syria, which is not guaranteed at the moment. Some of them were afraid of those military groups, they didn't come running from Assad himself," he told the BBC.

The number of Syrian asylum claims fell by 81% following the UK's decision to pause decisions.

However, despite a sharp drop, 299 Syrians came to the UK on small boats in the first three months of this year - 5% of the total number of arrivals.

People claiming asylum do not normally have the right to work while their case is being considered and are provided with government-funded accommodation and financial support to pay for essentials if they would otherwise be destitute.

Jon Featonby, chief policy analyst at the Refugee Council, said that as well as leaving Syrians "stuck in limbo" this also had an impact on the taxpayer as the government is paying to house many of them.

More than 5,500 Syrians were living in government-funded accommodation at the end of March.

Of these, 2,130 were in hotels, which the government has pledged to stop using for asylum seekers.

With Labour promising to clear the overall backlog of asylum claims, Mr Featonby said the situation was causing a "blockage" in the system.

Azadi - not his real name - arrived in the UK by small boat in June 2023 and is waiting for a decision on his asylum application.

The 25-year-old, who is Kurdish, said he was grateful to the UK government for providing him with food and accommodation but he wanted to be able to work and pay tax.

"I stay at home a lot of the time," he told the BBC. "Every day is the same. I am not progressing so it is stressful."

Earlier this year, the new Syrian government signed a deal with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) which integrated its military and civilian institutions into the state and recognised the Kurdish minority.

But Azadi said he did not trust the new government and felt Syria was not safe for Kurds, who were denied basic rights during Assad's rule.

He said his hometown had been destroyed by the civil war and there was no way for him to get an education there.

"It's not a life there at all," he added.

The pause also applies to Syrians who have already been granted refugee status and were initially given the right to stay in the UK for five years before they can apply for permanent settlement - also known as indefinite leave to remain.

The Refugee Council says that whilst this group still have the right to live and work in the UK, their temporary status can often make it harder to secure a job or housing.

Mr Featonby said Syrians in the UK were also nervous about whether they will be allowed to stay if the government's position on Syria changes and it is deemed a safe country.

Leen Albrmawi arrived in the UK in October 2019 and applied for indefinite leave to remain last year.

However, she said her "whole life collapsed" when the government paused decisions for Syrians in December.

The 28-year-old had been accepted to study business at university but was told she was not eligible for a student loan because she did not have the right to live in the UK permanently.

After spending the last five years obtaining the necessary qualifications to apply, Leen was devastated she could not afford to take up the offer.

Meanwhile, her employer, a telecoms company, has been chasing her for an update on her leave to remain application.

Leen still has the right to work while her application is pending but is concerned she could lose her job.

She also fears that if the Home Office changes its position on Syria she could be forced to leave the UK.

"I literally have no one in Syria, no family, nothing," she told the BBC, adding that her hometown had been destroyed in the civil war.

Leen lives in Salford with her mother and sister, who already have British citizenship as they came to the UK earlier than her.

"I've been in the UK now nearly six years, so I've built my whole life here," she said.

Mr Featonby said the Refugee Council recognised the situation in Syria had changed but there was unlikely to be clarity on how safe the country would be in the future anytime soon.

He suggested people who were seeking protection for reasons unrelated to the previous regime could have their claims prioritised.

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