Asylum Seekers to Refugees - the process and difference.

June marks refugee month. Today we want to share more information with you to help you get a better understanding of the commonly often misunderstood difference between an asylum seeker and a refugee.

Asylum seekers and refugees are often categorised as being the same, being people who have fled their home countries and become citizens of a new, safer country in which they attempt to start a new, more hopeful life – sound familiar? Well, asylum seekers and refugees are very much not the same thing, and there is a long, often painful and hard process between the two, although the motivation to leave their home countries can be political, security or economic.

So, what is an asylum seeker?

Asylum seekers can be defined as people who have left their country of origin and formally applied for asylum in another country, but their application has not yet been accepted. Until someone’s application is formerly accepted, they are an asylum seeker and are not legal citizens of the country they have entered. This means they are unable to access and carry out basic things such as the ability to work or claim benefits.

What is a refugee?

A refugee is someone who has left their home country and has been granted refuge and citizenship in another country. A refugee is therefore theoretically able to start a new life in their new home country, integrate into society, get a job and “start again”.

Once granted refuge it is sadly not always a straight road from there. Refugees commonly face issues when trying to fit into UK society. Sadly, politicians and the media regularly portray asylum seekers as exploitative ‘economic migrants’ who abuse the UK’s welfare system for housing and food allowances, whilst giving nothing back to the country in terms of skills or improvements to the economy which instead they are seen to undermine, but the facts speak otherwise.

How does an asylum seeker become a refugee in the UK?

• Upon arrival in the UK the asylum seeker must apply for asylum online.

• After applying, they are assigned an immigration officer and have a meeting with them, known as a ‘screening’ to discuss their application.

• Whilst waiting to hear if their application has been successful or not, the asylum seeker will often be placed in a detention centre.

• The UK government has no statutory restraints on the length of time asylum seekers can be detained as it chose not to adopt the European Union Returns Directive which limits the duration of detention to 18 months.

• This leaves asylum seekers in highly ambiguous situations and means their lives are unpredictable and uncertain, with the additional anxiety that there is no finite limit to their detention period.

• The asylum seeker’s application will eventually (after weeks, months or sometimes over a year) be either denied or accepted.

• If accepted they are then granted citizenship of the UK thus becoming a refugee. If denied, they are sent back to their home country. 

At NEMI we have the privilege to hire and work alongside refugees here in the UK. The intellect and work ethic they bring to our workforce is invaluable and we couldn’t do it without them.