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Home Office

Answer

Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps his Department has taken in the last 12 months to improve its ability to deter people who attempt to acquire refugee status by giving a false nationality or country or region of origin. [195472] Mr. Browne: We have taken a number of steps to deal with this issue. Section 2 of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants) Act 2004 came into force on 22 September 2004. This provision allows for the prosecution of asylum seekers (and others) who arrive in the UK undocumented without reasonable excuse. If found guilty, they face a maximum two-year prison sentence. To date 79 individuals have been arrested and charged with this new criminal offence. In addition, we are reviewing asylum screening arrangements. This will deliver a more streamlined, effective and strategic process while maintaining the fundamental principles of robustness and assertiveness in the screening process. This review will have a significant impact on those who seek to abuse the asylum process by claiming to hold a false nationality. Furthermore, in order to ensure that asylum applicants posing falsely as nationals from countries other than that of their origin are dealt with appropriately, we are using language analysis testing in disputed nationality asylum cases. Other initiatives, such as the Visa Immigration and Asylum Fingerprinting project, designed to identify asylum seekers who have obtained visas at UK missions abroad, and the National Automated Fingerprint Identification System, have led to the identification of individuals who have attempted to apply for asylum using false information about their nationality.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

195472; 426 c1603W;426 c1606W

Session

2003-04

Subjects

Asylum Fraud Immigration controls Personation Refugees

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk