Albanian asylum seekers will not be fast tracked for deportation
The Home Office has been forced to admit that Albanian asylum seekers will not be fast tracked for deportation.
It has also said that migrants crossing the Channel in small boats who are intercepted will no longer be deemed “illegal entrants” but “arriving passengers”.
The comments came in a response by the government’s legal department to a pre-action letter by the charity Care4Calais on behalf of Albanian migrants.
It follows the pledge by Priti Patel, as then home secretary, to fast track deportation of Albanians under new deal with the Balkan state, amid concerns that they now account for up to 60 per cent of the record number of migrants crossing the Channel.
The Home Office said the “historic” deal with Albania would mean “spurious” claimants from the country would be fast tracked back.
Only applies to those not claiming asylum
However, it has now emerged that, following legal rulings, the Home Office cannot fast track the deportation of asylum seekers. Instead, it only applies to those who arrive in the UK and do not claim asylum.
The government’s legal letter explained: “Where they claim asylum, they will enter the asylum system in the usual way but where they do not, they will be examined to establish the basis on which they are seeking entry to the UK.”
If it was for work or other reasons where they have no leave to enter the UK, “removal directions will be set for the next available flight”.
The letter continued that since July 2022, following court of appeal judgements, “migrants who cross the Channel in small boats who are either rescued or directed to land at designated locations by the authorities are no longer deemed to be illegal entrants but arriving passengers”.
Legal experts said the judgements meant that migrants could not be called illegal until it was proved that they had no right to stay in the UK, in the same way as a defendant was innocent until proven guilty.
Clare Moseley, founder of the refugee charity Care4Calais, said the latest Home Office data showed 53 per cent of Albanian asylum claims were accepted by the Home Office.
She added: “The Government has performed a major climbdown. In doing so, they are accepting that people from Albania have the right to make an asylum claim and have it fairly heard. This is a victory for human decency.”
‘A fair opportunity’
Jamie Bell, from Duncan Lewis Solicitors, who wrote the pre-action letter, said: “We are pleased that the Home Office have confirmed that the proposed Albanian fast-track scheme will not apply to Albanian asylum-seekers who will instead have a fair opportunity to have their protection cases heard in the UK.”
A Home Office spokesman said: “The Albania fast-track process focuses on removing the growing number of individuals from Albania who have no right to be in the UK. This includes failed asylum seekers, foreign national offenders, and individuals overstaying in the UK or seeking to game the system by not claiming asylum.
“Those who claim asylum may have their claim considered through the detained asylum casework process, have their asylum claim treated as inadmissible, or be considered for return as quickly as possible.”
