Refugee Resettlement: A Comprehensive Guide

When seeking refuge from a particular country, many refugees claim asylum in a neighbouring country which it is easier for them to access. However, this neighbouring country may not ultimately be well-suited to meet their needs. In particular, refugees may end up residing in overcrowded refugee camps which do not have adequate resources. They may also have health needs which the country of asylum is unable to meet.

However, many refugees remain unable to go home, due to factors such as conflict or war in their home country, or the risk of persecution. In cases such as these, refugee resettlement may be an option.

Refugee resettlement is the process of transferring a refugee from their country of asylum to a safe third country in which they will be able to settle more permanently. In such situations, the third country will have agreed to admit the refugee. Often, the refugee will be granted permanent settlement, although this is not always so.

Refugee resettlement is a vital part of the global response to forced displacement. It helps relieve the pressure on the countries which immediately neighbour the areas from which refugees are fleeing. It also helps to more fairly distribute the global responsibility for providing assistance to refugees. Additionally, it helps to ensure that the refugees themselves have access to a safe and suitable living environment which is able to fully meet their needs.

The UK government has made recent changes to its resettlement schemes. It previously used the Gateway Protection Programme, the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme, and the Vulnerable Children Resettlement Scheme. However, these have now been consolidated under the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS). It also uses a Community Sponsorship Scheme and a Mandate Resettlement Scheme, the latter of which is not specific to the UK. These different schemes will be explored in more detail throughout the article.

Page Contents

• Refugee Resettlement: An Overview
• Refugee Resettlement Eligibility Criteria
• The Refugee Resettlement Process In The UK
• What Are The Rights Of Resettled Refugees In The UK?
• How long does the refugee resettlement process take?
• I am a Resettled Refugee In The UK: How Long Can I Stay?
• What Is The Difference Between Resettlement And Asylum?
• How Newcastle Immigration Lawyers Can Help
• Frequently Asked Questions

There are a number of steps which refugees must go through in order to be resettled in the UK. These are as follows:

• The UNHRC will assess which refugees are in need of resettlement, according to their assessment categories, as were mentioned earlier in this article. Once these candidates have been selected, their cases will be submitted to the UK government, which then decides on which cases it will accept.
• The refugees who are selected then go through both health assessments and cultural orientations. These are completed before they arrive in the UK.
• Their safe arrival in the UK is then handled by the International Organisation for Migration. In the meantime, a coordinated effort takes place in the UK to prepare for their arrival. This effort generally involves the local councils involved in the resettlement and relevant charities such as the Refugee Council. The refugees are flown to the UK, either by scheduled or chartered flight.
• Once the refugees arrive, they are met at the airport, often by a charity organisation. Charities such as the Refugee Council will often perform this service. The refugees are then taken to their new accommodation.

Once the refugees have arrived, they continue to be supported by their local council and refugee charities. They are offered support with areas such as healthcare, education, and securing employment.

All resettled refugees have the legal right to work in the UK. They are also legally entitled to access essential services such as education (including higher education), job-seeking assistance, healthcare, and welfare benefits.

In the case of the UKRS, there is funding available for making adjustments to the homes of resettled refugees with mobility issues, in order to make their homes more accessible. Refugees resettled through the UKRS will also be entitled to local authority support in areas such as English language training. Families will be allocated a caseworker who will assist them in integrating into UK life and accessing local services such as local schools and job centres. Resettled refugees can discuss any concerns or issues which they may have with their caseworker, who will help them to address those issues.

In the case of refugees resettled through the Community Sponsorship Scheme, the community group itself is responsible for providing this integration support. They are expected to meet the level of support which would otherwise be provided under the UKRS.
Regarding travel, resettled refugees should be mindful not to use their national passport for travel purposes once they have received refugee status. Rather, they should apply for a 1951 UN Convention Travel Document, which is also known as a Refugee Travel Document.

This will require them to submit their passport to the Home Office, which the Home Office will then hold whilst the refugee possesses a Refugee Travel Document. This travel document will be valid for all countries except for the country from which the refugee sought refuge and their country of origin, in the event that these are two different countries. If the refugee does choose to travel back to the country from which they received refuge, their refugee status is liable to be revoked on the grounds that it is no longer necessary.

Refugees are not required to repay the cost of their resettlement. However, they will be provided with access to services (such as local job centres and language classes) which will assist them in becoming financially independent.

The process of being resettled in the UK can take many months, from start to finish. It is a process which begins with being granted refugee status by the UNHRC and extends to the refugee’s arrival in the UK, all of which takes considerable time.

Once someone has been selected for resettlement in the UK and has been found accommodation, they can generally expect to travel to the UK within 6-8 weeks of that point.

In the past, refugees resettled through the Gateway Protection Scheme were granted the right to permanent settlement. This was on the grounds that it was highly unlikely that they would ever be able to return to their home country.

Under the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme, refugees were initially granted 5 years of Humanitarian Protection. From 1 July 2017, however, they were offered five years of refugee status.

These two schemes have now been discontinued. The UK now uses the consolidated UK Resettlement Scheme. Under this scheme, refugees are granted permanent settlement upon arrival in the UK.

In understanding the difference between resettlement and asylum, it is first necessary to understand the difference between refugees and those seeking asylum. Somebody who is a refugee has already been granted refugee status, whereas someone seeking asylum has not yet received this status.

To be eligible for refugee resettlement, an individual must already have been granted refugee status in their country of asylum. They are then given authorisation to move to a safe third country, where they can legally live and work.

According to international law, anyone is legally entitled to claim asylum upon reaching the UK. However, it is very difficult to reach the UK without prior authorisation, with many people undergoing highly dangerous journeys in order to do so. The risk to health of attempting such journeys is incredibly high.

Current UK government policy is to not grant refugee status to anybody who enters the UK without authorisation. As such, it is currently very difficult to legally settle in the UK if you are claiming asylum in the UK itself, rather than receiving refugee status in a separate country and then being selected for resettlement in the UK.