Amnesty on Asylum --
Added: (Thu Aug 30 2007)
Pressbox (Press Release) -
For Immediate Release
30th August 2007
Amnesty on Asylum
The visa specialists www.globalvisas.com claim that the Home Office will grant all legacy immigration cases to clear the backlog and meet its own targets by 2012, has today been reinforced by official figures from the Home Office with a noted reduction in refusal rates.
Director Liam Clifford, says: “This is an achievable target if the Home Office grants the vast majority of cases. The only way would be an extremely pragmatic view amounting to a 'back door amnesty'. The Home Secretary claimed last week that an amnesty would be wrong - yet the figures today suggest a different reality.”
The target published by the Home Office shows 450,000+ cases must be granted by the end of 2011. It has allocated 1,000 staff to deal with these legacy cases going back several years. The internal target set is that 10,000 cases per month must be completed. This is approximately in line with the published figures.
According to research and findings by globalvisas.com, the Home Secretary needs to either accept the inevitable ‘Back Door Amnesty’ or review the target.
Mr Clifford says: “Any attempt at removing these people would throw the Home Office target of 10,000 cases a month or 450,000 cases in four years out of the window. So, the question is how can the Home Office expect to tackle this 20-year-old problem effectively if its strategy is not clear and the Home Secretary states that amnesties are wrong? Unless it is believed that a person who has been waiting in the UK for many years for a decision is just going to willingly accept their refusal, seek no legal assistance and go home.
”There are not enough tolerances or resources built into the target to effectively refuse and then remove people”.
“Refusals would lead to lengthy court hearings and any removals would be hard fought by expert immigration solicitors and members of ILPA, rendering the target an impossible goal.”
As local councillors write to the Home Secretary demanding a review of this Amnesty and the plan to grant 70% or more of the cases in the pipeline, the Home Office still refuses to announce the Amnesty officially.
Notes for Editors:
Global Visas is a leading UK visa and immigration consultancy specialising in migration to the UK and Australia as well as New Zealand, Canada, the United States and South Africa. It is registered with the Migration Agents Registration Authority as well as the Migration Institute of Australia, and holds the highest immigration accreditation level possible with the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner.
Founded in 1995 by an ex-Home Office immigration official, Global Visas is at the forefront of immigration today. The consultancy can draw on the combined experience of its team of dedicated immigration lawyers and migration specialists to help people obtain their visas.
For further information, please contact:
Liam Clifford, director, Global Visas
Tel: 0207 190 6555
Email: liam.clifford@globalvisas.com
Site: www.globalvisas.com