London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Oct 07, 2025

12,000 UK asylum seekers could get refugee status without face-to-face interviews

12,000 UK asylum seekers could get refugee status without face-to-face interviews

Around 12,000 asylum seekers to the UK will be considered for refugee status without the need for face-to-face interviews, the BBC reported on Thursday.
Nationals from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Libya, Syria, and Yemen who applied before July must fill out a 10-page questionnaire, which will be used by the Home Office to decide on their cases.

The 40 questions must be completed in English and returned within 20 working days, or the Home Office may consider the asylum application has been withdrawn. The form suggests using “online translation tools” if necessary.

UK government officials told the BBC that the usual security and criminal checks would still stand.

The new scheme aims to reduce the asylum backlog, which Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has promised to end in 2023.

The Home Office told the BBC the move was not an asylum amnesty but would simplify the process for five nationalities which have already had 95 percent of claims accepted.

However, the British Red Cross has warned that the 20-day limit could have “devastating” consequences for asylum seekers.

Christina Marriott, executive director of strategy and communications at the British Red Cross, told The Guardian: “These men, women, and children may not speak English and are likely traumatized from fleeing persecution and war.

“They need our support and compassion, not rushed and complicated bureaucracy that will only increase suffering.

“We know from experience that government communications with people seeking asylum often falls short – translations are rarely provided, and forms are lost in transit. This time limit could have devastating impacts on people who need protection,” she added.

Sile Reynolds, head of asylum advocacy at Freedom from Torture, told The Guardian: “Plans for an asylum claim questionnaire – requiring people to complete a complex form, often without any legal advice, in a language they don’t understand and to a 20-day deadline – could see many asylum claims wrongly withdrawn, leaving those individuals at risk of return to torture or persecution.”

Marriott also expressed “deep concern” about the suggestion that applications be withdrawn if refugees did not complete the document on time.

However, Home Office officials told the BBC that if no response was received, a follow-up notification would be sent, and each application would be considered on its own merits.

The number of asylum seekers in the UK awaiting a decision on their case has reached a new high of approximately 166,000 people.

In 2022, the number of asylum claims in the UK was almost 75,000, the highest in nearly two decades. More than three-quarters of decisions made were in favor of granting asylum, the highest number in three decades.

According to a recent Migration Observatory analysis, the recent increase in applications was only one factor contributing to the current backlog, claiming that slow decision-making had allowed the backlog to accumulate over several years.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees welcomed the new scheme and said the agency would work with the Home Office to facilitate its implementation, The Guardian reported.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×