Syrian refugees in UK threaten legal action over Home Office pause on settlement decisions
LONDON: Five Syrian refugees in the UK are threatening legal action against the British Home Office after their applications for permanent settlement were left in limbo after a government decision to halt all decisions on Syrian asylum and settlement cases.
The Home Office paused interviews and decisions on Syrian asylum claims on Dec. 9 last year, citing the need to 'assess the current situation' in the wake of the collapse of Bashar Assad's regime.
The freeze also applies to Syrians who have already been granted refugee status and are now seeking indefinite leave to remain, The Independent reported on Sunday.
According to government figures cited by the newspaper, at least 7,000 people have been affected by the wider pause on asylum decisions as of the end of March.
However, the number of Syrians awaiting a decision on permanent settlement is not known.
The five people mounting the challenge are being represented by law firm Duncan Lewis, which has issued pre-action letters to the Home Office arguing that the pause is unjustifiable.
Lawyers contend that if the government cannot assess whether Syria is safe to return to, it must uphold its obligations under UK immigration rules and international law.
'Our clients have all fled violence and persecution in Syria, and sought refuge in the United Kingdom,' said Manini Menon of Duncan Lewis, in comments published by The Independent.
'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,' Menon added.
Refugees are eligible to apply for indefinite leave to remain five years after being granted asylum. But with the Home Office yet to provide a timeline for when decisions will resume, concerns are growing about the uncertainty faced by Syrians living in the UK.
The pause follows the toppling of Assad in December by a rebel offensive led by Islamist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham.
Ahmad Al-Sharaa, the group's leader, is now interim president, although HTS remains a proscribed terrorist organisation under UK law.
Al-Sharaa, who previously had a $10 million US bounty on his head, met with US President Donald Trump in May.
'I think he has got the potential,' Trump said after the meeting.
In January, Home Office minister Lord Hanson told parliament that decisions had been paused because 'we do not yet understand what has happened in Syria on a permanent basis or know how stable Syria is as a whole.'
Labour MP Dame Angela Eagle echoed the stance in February, saying: 'As soon as there is a sufficiently clear basis upon which to make determinations, asylum decision making will recommence.'
A Home Office spokesperson told The Independent: '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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