The Times explains that the Immigration and Asylum Bill,  voted on by MPs for the first time in July , will “introduce restrictions on how judges can interpret Article 8 of the ECHR to stop migrants using it to avoid deportation on the basis it would breach their right to a family life. The legislation will allow Article 8 claims relating only to a tightened definition of a “core family unit” to include spouses, parents and children”.

The bill will also change the Modern Slavery Act. Modern slavery claims will have to be lodged within a certain time after arriving in the UK and each individual will be restricted to one claim.

Asylum seekers will only get one chance to appeal against their rejected claims under a new Independent Immigration Appeals Authority (IIAA), which will replace the present two-tiered immigration tribunal system. The authority will start hearing appeals by the end of next year, the Home Office said.

Ordinary members of the public will replace judges in deciding asylum appeals under magistrate-style reforms to speed up the deportation of illegal migrants. There is currently a record backlog of 87,000 appeal cases waiting to be heard.

The Home Office said it wanted adjudicators with a broad range of skills and backgrounds, but there would be safeguards to ensure high standards. It said they would be professionally trained and independently appointed, much like magistrates, who do not need a legal background and come from all walks of life.

The Guardian reports that

“a new means-tested scheme, which will see asylum seekers ordered to pay about £10,000 each for their state-funded living costs or be denied settled status in the UK, has been condemned by refugee charities for placing a tax on refugees fleeing war, torture and famine.”

The UNHCR strongly opposes the new changes:

“UNHCR notes with concern the government’s plans to reduce the duration of leave granted to individual in need of international protection to 30 months. Such a change would place additional administrative and costly burdens on the asylum system, create greater uncertainty for refugees, and negatively affect integration and social cohesion. 

 

A person who remains on the “core protection” route will have their refugee status reassessed eight times in 20 years before they can be eligible for settlement. 

 

The right to family life is enshrined in international and regional human rights instruments such as the UN Convention and the ECHR. UNHCR notes with concern that it is not clear that individuals on the  “core protection” route will have access to family reunion at all. 

 

Family reunion was one of the few pathways that remained accessible to refugees and primarily benefitted women and children and was not nationality-specific. Denying the possibility of family reunification would have profound and harmful effects. UNHCR wishes to draw attention to the right to family life for children, as specifically protected under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. 

 

Cessation of refugee status as a result of changed circumstances in the country of origin under Article 1c(5) of the Refugee Convention is only permissible where the changes are fundamental and durable, and where effective protection is available in the country of origin.”