The Borders Bill won’t just harm refugees – it will scrap humanitarian protection too

The government is trying to scrap humanitarian protection through the back door, and there could be no worse time

Ukrainians coming to the UK are not being given refugee status (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

The draconian Nationality and Borders Bill – which returned to the House of Commons this week – is an incredibly wide reaching and dangerous piece of legislation with many flaws.

One area of the bill that has not received the attention it deserves is the government’s decision to scrap “Humanitarian Protection leave” through the back door. This will fundamentally change an important route for those fleeing war to access protection in the UK. Given the worsening crisis in Ukraine, there could not be a worse time for this.

Humanitarian protection leave is a status that can be granted to those who are not eligible for “refugee” status under the criteria set out by the Refugee Convention. It is not enough for someone to face war in their home country to be considered a refugee; the violence they face must relate to persecution because of – for example – their race, religion, or political views. It’s common for people to apply for humanitarian protection when conflicts or a civil war first breaks out, when they might not yet be eligible for refugee status.

Humanitarian protection and refugee status provide the applicant with similar rights: they are granted initial leave to remain for five years, after which they can apply for permanent settlement. During these five years they also have the right to study and work, can access health care, and have the same rights to family reunion as a refugee.

It sounds counterintuitive that those fleeing war zones must resort to humanitarian protection instead of being given rights as a refugee. But we are seeing this play out right now in eastern Europe.

Ukrainians coming to the UK are currently not given refugee status – instead the home secretary has created new Family Reunion and Community Sponsorship schemes. We clearly cannot rely on the Home Office to develop bespoke schemes for each and every war across the world. By removing humanitarian protection leave, the government is further limiting the ways in which people fleeing conflict can seek sanctuary in the UK. We must ensure that universal routes are still available for all those in danger of violence.

The government is going in the opposite direction. It is using the Nationality and Borders Bill to scrap humanitarian protection without any plans to replace it. Instead it  will create two “groups” of refugees with different rights and protections. The immigration minister told me that those claiming under humanitarian grounds will in the future be treated like the new “group 2” refugees.

“Group 2” refugees will be all those who have arrived in the UK through so-called “irregular means” - in practice this includes everyone who will enter the UK without a valid visa. But there is no such thing as “irregular entry” in international refugee law, because going to another country to seek asylum is not illegal. Putting refugees into different groups on this basis flies in the face of the international Refugee Convention. Moreover, Group 2 refugees will only get temporary stay. They will face frequent reviews of their status, won’t be able to study or work, and cannot reunite with family members.

To keep up to speed with all the latest opinions and comment sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter by clicking here

Despite many calls to stop this legislation from those on the front lines – people working with refugees, those with lived experience, NGOs and many more – the government has stubbornly pursued it.

What’s more, this bill is clearly out of tune with the many people across the country who have come forward to offer a home to Ukrainians fleeing war. The government is limiting the ways in which people fleeing conflict can seek sanctuary. Instead, we should ensure that universal routes are still available for all those in danger of violence.

The government must reconsider this dangerous and discriminatory bill, drop the Group 2 refugee differentiation, and clarify that any new scheme will guarantee the same rights as the current humanitarian protection route.

The past few weeks have shown us that the public wants to help those fleeing war, not add to their suffering. This bill will do nothing but the latter. Any MP who claims to care about refugees must vote it down.

Olivia Blake is Member of Parliament for Sheffield Hallam

The Independent has a proud history of campaigning for the rights of the most vulnerable, and we first ran our Refugees Welcome campaign during the war in Syria in 2015. Now, as we renew our campaign and launch this petition in the wake of the unfolding Ukrainian crisis, we are calling on the government to go further and faster to ensure help is delivered. To find out more about our Refugees Welcome campaign, click here. To sign the petition click here. If you would like to donate then please click here for our GoFundMe page.