Immigration Solicitors

A report by the Commons Public Accounts Committee has revealed that waste and poor management within the UK’s immigration system has led to 50,000 asylum seekers whose applications have been rejected disappearing into the community – and a failed IT system which may have cost the taxpayer up to £1 billion.

The Guardian reports that 11,000 asylum seekers in Britain have been waiting for at least seven years for a decision on whether they will be allowed to remain in the UK.

There are also 29,000 asylum applications outstanding which date back to at least 2007.

The report by the committee was published just hours after the Home Office defended its decision not to fund search and rescue missions to recover migrants from the Mediterranean Sea.

Operation Mare Nostrum is due to be replaced from 1 November by a service run by the EU Border Patrol, Frontex, at one-third of the costs of Mare Nostrum. The coast off Italy will be patrolled within 30 miles – but any migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean who encounter difficulties at sea will not be detected or picked up as routine.

Amnesty UK has criticised the UK government’s decision not to continue search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean. The Home Office said such missions encourage more migrants from North Africa to attempt the perilous journey to Europe, usually Italy.

From there they make their way across the EU – and many end up at Calais waiting to cross to Britain illegally. The Mayor of Calais Natacha Bouchart has said that the UK is a haven for many migrants because of its more generous benefits system, compared with other EU member states.

There are currently an estimated 2,500 migrants waiting to cross to the UK from Calais – mainly in the back or lorries or underneath vehicles making the crossing.

Ms Bouchart said the migrants waiting at Calais were “willing to die” for their chance to live in the UK. The UK government has funded more police patrols in Calais to help prevent migrants risking their lives by climbing on board UK-bound lorries.

The Home Office abolished the UK Border Agency in 2013 because of the backlog of cases that had built up. Three other bodies now handle asylum applications – UK Visas and Immigration, Immigration Enforcement and Border Force.

However, there have been failures in two major IT projects, The Guardian reports – the Immigration Case Work programme and the e-Borders IT programme.

As a result the Home Office has found it difficult to track people as their cases are passed through the system.

In the first quarter of 2014, the number of new asylum claims waiting an initial decision also rose by 70% to a total of 16,273, compared with the same quarter in 2013.

Duncan Lewis Immigration Lawyers

Duncan Lewis is a leading firm of immigration lawyers and can advise migrants to the UK on how to make an asylum application – as well as how to appeal against a Home Office decision to refuse an asylum application.

Duncan Lewis is a leading firm of Legal Aid solicitors and can also advise on:


• British citizenship
• Illegal entry to the UK
• Marriage in the UK
• Right to work in the UK
• Spouse visas
• Student visas
• Visa overstays.

For expert legal advice on immigration and asylum in the UK, call Duncan Lewis immigration lawyers on 020 7923 4020.