“All migrants want to come to England”
In fact, most of the 551,000 who claimed asylum in Europe in 2021 went elsewhere. Germany received the most asylum seekers among EU countries: 148,200 applicants. This was followed by France (103,800), Spain (62,100), Italy (43,900), and Austria (36,700). The United Kingdom received 48,540 applications. This means the UK received 6 asylum applications for every 10,000 residents, making it 14th in the EU for asylum applications as a share of population. (House of Commons Library)
It is important not to conflate refugees and asylum seekers with other nationals in the UK. In 2017 there were close to 9.4 million foreign-born residents in the UK. Of these, an estimated 374,000 came seeking asylum, ie only 4-6% of the total foreign-born population of the country. People who join family (44%), who come to study, or for employment (29%) account for far higher percentages. (COMPAS 2019)
“They come here because we’re a soft touch”
In fact, the UK asylum system is complex and tough, requiring people to produce evidence from their home country they often do not have, which results in many claims being rejected.
In the year ending March 2020, only 54% of initial decisions granted of asylum or other form of protection. Of the remainder, a further half got a positive outcome on appeal, demonstrating the inaccuracy of the asylum process.
More common reasons for people to come to the UK are: they may already have some English language ability; they have relatives here; or they have positive perceptions of Great Britain from textbook images or their country’s historical links with us.
“They shouldn’t come here illegally in lorries and small boats”
It is NOT against any law to cross a border with the intention of claiming asylum. In fact, the only way to claim asylum in the UK is to do so on British soil; you cannot do it from abroad, even from an embassy or consulate. If this were possible, there would be no need for anyone to risk their lives at sea.
There are also refugees who have come to UK through an official resettlement programme – the case for the Syrian families in Colchester. In theory, such refugees should benefit from greater specialist support to help them access mainstream services, but unfortunately government provision is patchy.
“Migrants stay in cushy hotels and get hand-outs from the government”
In fact, asylum seekers are given a roof over their heads while they wait for their claim to be processed, but they have no control over the location of this provision, and they can be moved at short notice. This ‘dispersal accommodation’ tends to be in larger cities like Glasgow, Manchester and Liverpool, although Colchester is now on that list. The shared houses on offer are generally far from high quality.
Individuals receive £37.50 per week, meaning most also need to turn to friends, food banks or organizations like RAMA to survive. Most asylum seekers are living in poverty and experience poor health and hunger, unable to afford basics such as clothing, powdered milk and nappies.
A positive outcome to an asylum claim means that within 28 days this support ends, and people are left to fend for themselves in finding accommodation, opening a bank account, finding a source of income etc. It is at this point that refugees are even more likely to face homelessness and destitution.
“They don’t work, they just sit around in cafes” OR “They come here and steal our jobs”
In fact, asylum seekers are not allowed to work in the UK.
Not only is this detrimental to their mental health, as they all want to make a contribution to the host society, but it also means the Exchequer is missing out on potential income in taxes.
When given official status to remain in UK, many refugees take jobs below their skill/experience level because of difficulties in proving qualifications, language fluency or PTSD induced by their history or circumstances.