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ARTICLE · 05 JULY 2023

Asylum: What Are ‘Safe And Legal' Routes?

Richmond Chambers Immigration Barristers
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The government is seeking to reduce ‘unlawful migration to the UK', by introducing sanctions against those migrating to the UK for humanitarian protection, other than through ‘safe and legal' routes.

GlobalImmigration
Maud Foxley
Maud Foxley

The government is seeking to reduce 'unlawful migration to the UK', by introducing sanctions against those migrating to the UK for humanitarian protection, other than through 'safe and legal' routes. This article will provide an overview of the different 'safe and legal' routes currently in place in the UK and their limitations.

'Safe and Legal' Routes

The government has introduced the Illegal Migration Bill, the Rwanda policy and the Nationality and Borders Act 2022, to deter 'unlawful migration' by 'irregular' or 'unsafe and illegal routes'. Pursuant to these, people seeking asylum would only be able to come to the UK through 'safe and legal' routes.

The government's measures are currently being challenged, with the Illegal Migration Bill recently suffering defeats in the House of Lords and the Rwanda policy being found unlawful by the Court of Appeal.

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