Seeking Refuge? - Rights of Women
Seeking Refuge? - Rights of Women
Seeking Refuge? - Rights of Women
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Case-owners have a number <strong>of</strong> responsibilities<br />
including:<br />
- Meeting you at the first reporting event (see<br />
above).<br />
- Being responsible for any reporting<br />
conditions that are imposed on you.<br />
- Conducting your asylum interview.<br />
- Working with your legal representative to<br />
clarify the issues in the case.<br />
- Controlling the progression <strong>of</strong> your case by<br />
altering the times that certain things are<br />
done (for example, the date <strong>of</strong> the<br />
interview), if flexibility is required.<br />
- Making an initial decision on whether you<br />
should be granted protection in the UK, or<br />
whether your claim should be refused.<br />
- Ending your case by either assisting you with<br />
your integration in the UK, or arranging for<br />
your re-documentation and removal.<br />
Your legal representative (or you, if you don’t<br />
have a legal representative) should be in close<br />
contact with your case-owner(s) throughout<br />
the process.<br />
The asylum interview<br />
The asylum interview is a very important part <strong>of</strong><br />
the process in deciding your application for asylum.<br />
For information about the interview, and the<br />
evidence that may be provided to a case-owner to<br />
help them make a decision, see Chapter 5.<br />
Decision<br />
After the interview, the case-owner will examine<br />
all the information and evidence which you and<br />
your legal representative have put forward, and<br />
decide whether or not you should be given<br />
protection in the UK.<br />
Things to remember<br />
• It is important to claim asylum as soon as<br />
reasonably practicable. If you have delayed in<br />
claiming asylum, it is important that you<br />
explain the reasons for this.<br />
• When you are screened to check your identity,<br />
you will be asked questions about why you<br />
cannot return home. It is important to answer<br />
these questions clearly, as your answers may be<br />
used to decide whether or not you should be<br />
given protection in the UK.<br />
• If you are not detained, you may be given<br />
temporary admission or be released subject to<br />
certain reporting restrictions.<br />
• You can ask for a female case-owner, so that<br />
you are interviewed by another woman. You<br />
can also ask for a female interpreter. You may<br />
have the same case-owner throughout the<br />
asylum process, or you may have different caseowners<br />
at different stages <strong>of</strong> the process.<br />
Support organisations<br />
For legal information and advice on immigration<br />
and asylum law, see:<br />
• Anti-Trafficking Legal Project (ATLeP)<br />
• Asylum Aid (includes the <strong>Refuge</strong>e <strong>Women</strong>’s<br />
Resource Project)<br />
• Community Legal Advice<br />
• Immigration Advisory Service<br />
• Immigration Lawyers Practitioners Association<br />
• <strong>Refuge</strong>e and Migrant Justice (formerly the<br />
<strong>Refuge</strong>e Legal Centre)<br />
• <strong>Rights</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Women</strong><br />
To discuss any other problem, contact your local<br />
One Stop Service:<br />
• <strong>Refuge</strong>e Action<br />
• <strong>Refuge</strong>e Council<br />
• Migrant Helpline<br />
• North <strong>of</strong> England <strong>Refuge</strong>e Service<br />
• Welsh <strong>Refuge</strong>e Council<br />
See Chapter 12 at the end <strong>of</strong> this book for the<br />
contact details <strong>of</strong> these, and other useful<br />
organisations.<br />
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