Syrian refugees challenge Home Office after being left in limbo over sanctuary applications
Five Syrian refugees in the UK are seeking to challenge the Home Office over a decision to pause all settlement decisions following the fall of Bashar al-Assad.
The Home Office put all Syrian asylum interviews and decisions on hold on 9 December last year so the department could 'assess the current situation'. They also paused applications by Syrians who have already received refugee status but are seeking to permanently settle in the UK.
At least 7,000 people have been left in limbo by the pause in asylum decisions, according to the latest government figures up to the end of March. However the number of Syrian refugees waiting on an outcome to a permanent settlement decision is not clear.
Now five Syrian refugees in this situation, represented by law firm Duncan Lewis, have threatened the Home Office with legal action if the decision is not reversed.
In pre-action letters sent to the government, lawyers argue that the pause cannot be justified while officials say they are unable to assess the safety of the current situation in Syria.
They say that if the Home Office cannot conclude whether their clients will be safe in Syria, they must act now to allow them the right to stay in the UK.
In January, Home Office minister Lord Hanson told parliament that decisions were paused as 'we do not yet understand what has happened in Syria on a permanent basis or know how stable Syria is as a whole'.
Dame Angela Eagle said in February that 'as soon as there is a sufficiently clear basis upon which to make determinations, asylum decision making will recommence'.
The Home Office has said that there is still no stable, objective information available to make assessments on the risk of returning refugees to Syria.
Refugees can apply for indefinite leave to remain in the UK five years after their asylum grant.
In December, former president Assad's regime was overthrown by a rebel offensive led by Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). The leader of the group Ahmad al-Sharaa is now Syria's interim president and HTS is still a proscribed terrorist group by the UK government.
President al-Sharaa, who previously had a $10m US bounty on his head, met with US president Donald Trump in May, with Mr Trump remarking afterwards that 'I think he has got the potential'.
Manini Menon, from Duncan Lewis, said: 'Our clients have all fled violence and persecution in Syria, and sought refuge in the United Kingdom. In granting them refugee status, the home secretary guaranteed our clients the protections afforded by the Refugee Convention, and assured them that they would be treated fairly and in line with the immigration rules as approved by parliament.
'Those rules are clear: as long as the home secretary cannot conclude that individuals who have been recognised as refugees may safely return to Syria (and that they are therefore no longer entitled to refugee status), she must grant their applications for settlement.'
A Home Office spokesperson said: "The Home Office has paused decisions on all Syrian asylum cases whilst we continue to assess the current situation, including those for individuals who arrived under the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme.
'We are keeping this pause under constant review.'
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