Since 2008, we have been campaigning actively in support of the national campaign to restore the right to work for asylum seekers. Permission to work whilst waiting longer than 6 months for a decision, or if unable to return to country of origin through no fault of their own, was withdrawn in July 2002. See our Flyer for how you can get involved in the campaign in our region.

We greatly appreciate the support of our regional campaign partners, the Northern TUC and Church’s Regional Commission, and the national campaigns team at the Refugee Council.

Read Testimonies from our group members to understand the impact of not being allowed to work, on asylum seekers, their families, and local communities. Listen to our Voice on the BBC Politics show 

See Campaign Actions in the North East for full details of the work of our Let Us Work campaign leader, Samouka Dore, and members of our campaign group

Contact us at:   This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  or on our Blog, Facebook, Twitter

LATEST CAMPAIGN NEWS

Take 2 minutes to e-mail your MP  and ask them to sign a declaration which supports asylum seekers being allowed to get jobs to pay their own way if they’ve been in the UK for over six months.

Tuesday, 27 Jul 2010 Supreme Court rules some 'fresh claim' asylum seekers should be allowed to work

Judgment finds that failed asylum seekers should be allowed to work if they have waited longer than 12 months for a decision on their further submission.

In this case, the Supreme Court considered whether failed asylum seekers who have made further submissions asserting they have a fresh claim for asylum should be entitled to apply for permission to work.

The court found that they could, if their cases had been outstanding for 12 months or more.

Short-term effect

Damian Green immigration minister said: 'This judgement will only have a short term effect. The long delays in the asylum system will be resolved by the summer of next year when all the older asylum cases are concluded. 
 
'I believe it is important to maintain a distinction between economic migration and asylum - giving failed asylum seekers access to the labour market undermines this principle. 
 
'I am already committed to reviewing the asylum process to make it more cost effective and quicker. In the future I want to be able to remove failed asylum seekers who refuse to return home voluntarily well before they can qualify to work.

See also report from Refugee Council at http://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/news/archive/news/2010/280710_news_rulingonwork

Flyer 

RRF & Nothern TUC Campaign Leaflet

Sign the petition 

National Research reports

2010  Chance or choice? Understanding why asylum seekers come to the UK

This report presents the findings of research commissioned by the Refugee Council, which was undertaken by Professor Heaven Crawley, Director of the Centre for Migration Policy Research at the University of Swansea. The research investigated the decisions made by asylum seekers who come to the UK and explored the extent to which these decisions are a reflection of chance or choice. It builds upon the growing, but as yet still limited, body of evidence about the ‘choices’ that individuals are (or are not) able to exert over the country in which they will seek asylum, and the factors that might contribute to the decision making process.

2009 “I hate being idle”: Wasted skills and enforced dependence among Zimbabwean asylum seekers in the UK [July 2009]

This report presents the findings of a research project conducted by the Refugee Council and the Zimbabwe Association. The research investigated the experiences of Zimbabwean asylum seekers living in the UK, and explored:

• the education, skills and work experience of Zimbabwean asylum seekers in the UK;
• the ways in which people were supporting themselves;
• the impact of living in the UK on people’s skills;
• whether Zimbabweans want to return home when it is safe to do so;
• the resources people would have available on return, and the skills they would have to aid reconstruction.