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The Nationality and Borders Bill – expected to become law in April - have been described as having “far reaching consequences for people seeking asylum in the UK”, according to the UN Refugee Agency.
As it stands, the Bill will essentially introduce a two-tier system for asylum-seekers arriving in the UK, differentiating between those entering by legal routes, like resettlement, and those arriving spontaneously or having passed through other countries deemed safe. Those in the latter category will be classified as ‘Group 2’ refugees, with restricted rights to remain in the UK, family reunification and financial support.
It's received widespread criticism from the Law Society in England and Wales, the UN Refugee Council, the joint parliamentary committee on human rights and civil society – who’ve all pointed out that the Bill completely undermines the principle of asylum protection in the UK and the basic tenets of the 1951 Refugee Convention - i.e. that how someone arrives should have no influence on whether they have a right to make an asylum claim, or whether they are later recognised as a refugee. The Home Office Minister Tom Pursglove also confirmed this week that if Ukrainian refugees arrived in the UK via an unofficial route, they could face jail or be sent to offshore processing camps.
For our April insight meeting, we brought together funders and expert speakers to discuss what the Nationality and Borders Bill will mean for London’s communities, what funders can learn from supporting advocacy efforts and what can be done, together, to continue to challenge hostile immigration policies and change the public conversation. We were delighted to be joined by the following speakers:
- Laura Taylor, Director of Refugee, Asylum and Migration Policy Project
- Hazel Williams, Head of the Justice Together Initiative
- Ben Jackson, Director, Asylum Reform Initiative
Please note that all our events are member-only, unless otherwise specified. You can read more about applying to London Funders' membership here.