Hundreds of asylum seekers have to travel to London to submit claims during pandemic or face destitution

Campaigners call on Home Office to urgently modify asylum policy so that people aren’t forced to choose between travelling miles or surviving without asylum support

Many asylum seekers who would have been granted support are likely not to have received it, or will have had to travel to Croydon for an interview (Getty)

Hundreds of asylum seekers are having to travel to London to submit their claims or else survive without the support that they are entitled to, prompting calls for the Home Office to urgently modify its asylum policy during the coronavirus lockdown.

Charities have warned that vulnerable people who have fled danger in their home countries and who are eligible for protection in the UK are falling into destitution because the department is cancelling scheduled screening interviews – a step in the process of being granted financial support and access to healthcare as an asylum seeker — as a result of the pandemic.

Immigration lawyers said that because the screening interviews, which take place at the asylum-intake unit in Croydon, are no longer being scheduled, the only way for people who have nowhere to live and who are at immediate risk of destitution to access asylum support was by presenting themselves to the Home Office at the Croydon unit.

Campaigners have now called on the department to urgently establish a system of carrying out screening interviews remotely or at a regional level, in order that vulnerable people are not forced to choose between travelling to London during the lockdown or surviving without financial support and without access to the NHS and other public services.

The Home Office told The Independent that it was working to establish “regional processes” for people wishing to seek asylum who are outside of London and the southeast, but those advocating for asylum seekers said this was taking too long.

Tony Paterson, an asylum solicitor, said he was representing a family who had arrived in Britain after fleeing persecution but who had been informed by the Home Office that they could not attend a screening interview, and therefore are not able to access asylum support or NHS treatment.

He told The Independent that the family, whose identity he wished to protect, were “very stressed” about the situation, particularly because they cannot access free healthcare.

Mr Paterson said he had asked a civil servant at the Home Office whether there was a “plan B” for ensuring access to medical treatment for people who cannot claim asylum at the moment because of the pandemic, and was told they would need to provide a medical report to the NHS in order to access healthcare – which he described as “immensely unsatisfactory”.

Describing the family’s current state, he said: “They’re too scared to access the NHS. They’ve got no money to pay for treatment. If they can’t get themselves into the system, how are they supposed to get a medical report? They’re having to wallow around, nervously keeping out of sight. It’s an absolutely grim situation for them.”

The most recent immigration statistics indicate that approximately 2,500 people claim asylum in the space of three weeks. About 45 per cent of applicants go on to receive asylum support, suggesting that since the announcement of the lockdown in the UK on 23 March, hundreds of asylum seekers who would ordinarily have been granted support will not have received it, or will have had to be present at Croydon.

Jon Featonby, policy and advocacy manager at the British Red Cross, told The Independent that while there had initially been “some positive developments” by the Home Office to protect asylum seekers – notably, the end of evictions from asylum accommodation – ministers were dragging their feet on modifying the system for claiming asylum.

He said the charity still had service users who were having to travel to Croydon in order to access the support system because they had no other option or means of supporting themselves.

“If you are destitute, you haven’t got anywhere to live, you haven’t got a way of financially supporting yourself – you have to turn up at Croydon and do a drop-in screening interview. That can’t be done remotely,” said Mr Featonby.

“We would like to see alternatives to the screening interview process to be introduced as quickly as possible, whether that’s a combination of being able to physically do screening interviews but regionally, to make sure you’re cutting down that travel – or, ideally, having some way of being able to do it remotely, through digital means, which would mean people are still able to access the protection system.

“It’s still vital at this time that people who are in need of international protection are able to access the asylum system, not least to enable people who would otherwise be destitute to get the accommodation and the financial support they need.”

Judith Dennis, policy manager at the Refugee Council, echoed his concerns, saying: “It’s very concerning that people seeking asylum are still being asked to travel to the asylum-intake unit in Croydon to begin their asylum claim. This directly contradicts the public health advice on social distancing that the government has issued.

“The Home Office has made some positive changes to the asylum process in view of the Covid-19 pandemic, but this issue remains unresolved and should be addressed without delay.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “We take the wellbeing of asylum seekers extremely seriously and have already put in place a range of measures to support asylum seekers affected by the coronavirus outbreak, including registering asylum claims in a safe way that adheres to social-distancing guidance.

“These are unprecedented times and we are adjusting processes and procedures where necessary and appropriate to adapt to these changes.”