Dublin II in the UK

last update: 08/10/2010

The UK Border Agency suspended returns of asylum seekers to Greece under the Dublin II Regulation in the end of September 2010. With immediate effect the backlog of approximately 1300 cases and all new cases will have their applications heard in the UK, and not be deported to Greece. This is a great relief to all those facing return to the “broken asylum system” of Greece.

The decision comes as a result of the Court of Appeal’s decision to refer the case of NS (formerly known as Saeedi) to the Court of Justice of the European Union. It appears that this process could take up to two years, so the UK Government has decided to use its powers to assess asylum claims in the UK during this period, rather than have the applicants wait for the outcome. The UK Border Agency has stressed that this decision is purely pragmatic, and is in no way related to the multiple human rights abuses and the near impossibility of claiming asylum in Greece.

Be careful: This means only that you will not be deported to Greece. From the UK there are regularly deportation flights to Afghanistan and also to Iraq for those whose asylum claims got rejected, so in any case you will need support for your asylum claim!

    
Immigration Advisory service
190 Great Dover Street
London
SE1 4YB
Tel: 020 7967 1330
Fax: 020 7403 5875

Refugee Action
240A Clapham Road
London SW9 OPZ
Tel: 0044 (0) 20 7735 5361
Fax: 0044 (0) 20 7587 3676
Web: www.refugee-action.org.uk

Refugee Council
240-260 Ferndale Road
London SW9 8BB
Tel: 0044 (0) 20 7346 6709
Fax: 0044 (0) 20 7346 6760
Email: info(at)refugeecouncil.org.uk
Web: www.refugeecouncil.org.uk

UK suspends returns of asylum seekers to Greece

last update: 20/09/2010

The UK Border Agency has announced today the suspension of the return of asylum seekers to Greece under the Dublin Regulation. With immediate effect, the backlog of approximately 1300 cases and all new cases will have their applications heard in the UK, and not Greece.

This will come as a great relief to all those facing return to the “broken asylum system” of Greece. The decision-making process in the UK leaves a lot to be desired but at least we have legal aid (for now, and only just) and the initial success rate is more than Greece’s 1%.

The decision comes as a result of the Court of Appeal’s decision to refer the case of NS (formerly known as Saeedi) to the Court of Justice of the European Union. It appears that this process could take up to two years, so the UK Government has decided to use it’s powers to assess asylum claims in the UK during this period, rather than have the applicants wait for the outcome.

The UK Border Agency has stressed that this decision is purely pragmatic, and is in no way related to the mulitiple human rights abuses and the near impossibility of claiming asylum in Greece, as highlighted time and again by the United Nations refugee agency, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International etc.

source: http://ncadc.wordpress.com/2010/09/20/uk-suspends-returns-of-asylum-seekers-to-greece/#respond