Seeking Refuge? - Rights of Women

• If you, or any member of your family, have had
any medical problems, the telephone number
of your doctor.
• The telephone numbers of any friends, or
others who are supporting you.
You should also ensure that you have a file that
contains all your legal documents. If you have
accommodation then you should keep this next to
your front door so that, if Immigration Officers
come to your house, you can take the file with
you into detention. If you are homeless, or moving
between different places, you should keep this file
with you at all times.
The file should contain copies of all the legal
documents that relate to your claim for
protection in the UK. Documents that are given to
you by the Home Office are your property. This
means that you should have copies of all the
documents that relate to your case. You can ask
your legal representative to give you copies of
these. It is a good idea to give another copy of
your file to someone you trust, who is not going
to be taken into detention. This will enable them
to give the file to a legal representative, or others
who are assisting you, such as your MP.
Can I return to the UK after I
have been removed? Re-entry
bans and removal
It is important to get legal advice on the
implications of being returned to your country by
the Home Office, rather than leaving the UK
voluntarily. This is because, under recently
introduced rules people who leave the UK
following a refused asylum claim can, in certain
circumstances, be prevented from returning to the
UK for certain periods of time. This is called a reentry
ban. The amount of time that you can be
prevented from returning depends on how you
left the UK, and on your own personal
circumstances. These Rules will apply to you if you
have ever:
• been an overstayer in the UK;
• been treated as an illegal entrant;
• breached a condition of your stay in the UK;
• used deception to seek entry into the UK; or
• used deception to seek leave to remain in the
UK.
Even if you fall into one of these categories, these
rules do not apply if you are applying to return to
the UK to be with your husband, partner or other
family members, in certain circumstances.
If you are removed, you may be prevented from
coming back to the UK for up to ten years.
However, the number of years that you cannot
return to the UK for will also depend on your
personal circumstances.
Can I be forced to leave the UK?
Treatment on removal
When you are removed, you will be escorted from
the Immigration Removal Centre and throughout
your journey until you arrive in your country. If the
UK Border Agency is removing you, and your
removal is in accordance with the relevant law,
then your escorts are entitled to use force, for
example, by handcuffing you, to enable them to
remove you. However, during the removal they
are not allowed to use force that is either
unnecessary or unreasonable.
Whether or not the force that is used is necessary
or reasonable will depend on all of the
circumstances of the case, including your
behaviour. This means that it will be lawful for the
person removing you to use physical force, for
example, by holding you, if you are violently trying
to stop your removal.
However it would be unlawful to use force against
someone who is not resisting removal, or to use
more force than is necessary, for example kicking
or hitting someone who is in handcuffs. If you
experience violence, either in a detention centre
or on removal, you should seek legal advice, as it
may be possible to report the violence to the
police and / or claim compensation from the UK
Border Agency.
Any force that is used against you during an
unlawful removal (one that is not legally correct,
for example where the court has ordered that you
should not be removed) will be an assault. You
will be able to claim compensation from the UK
Border Agency for the harm you have
experienced.
Tracing family members
If you have lost contact with family members who
you think are still in your country, you may want
to make contact with them. The British Red
Cross runs an International Tracing and Message
Service to help families who have been separated
because of a conflict or natural disaster. For
further information about the International
Tracing and Message Service, visit:
www.redcross.org.uk
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