A Sudanese asylum seeker is planning a legal challenge to a new Home Office questionnaire that is being circulated to 12,000 asylum seekers to speed up their claims.
The questionnaire, leaked to the Guardian, was announced last week and asks more than 50 complex questions. It is available only in English and is for asylum seekers from five countries – Eritrea, Syria, Afghanistan, Libya and Yemen – which the Home Office says have very high asylum grant rates.
The questionnaire says failure to return the document within 20 working days “may result in an individual’s asylum claim being withdrawn”.
The asylum seeker bringing the legal challenge arrived in the UK two years ago. He is arguing that the policy is discriminatory because it excludes other countries with a high asylum grant rate, including Sudan, which has a high initial asylum grant rate of 84%.
His lawyer, Martin Bridger, joint head of public law and community care at Instalaw, told the Guardian the legal challenge was being launched because of the multiple concerns about the questionnaire.
“We believe that the policy is discriminatory because it excludes asylum seekers from certain countries and is only available in English,” Bridger said. “We are also concerned that the timeframe of 20 days prevents access to legal advice. This is not sufficient time.”
There are also concerns that many will not be able to access legal advice at all. Almost half of asylum seekers are unable to access legal aid, according to recent analysis carried out by the Free Movement website.
Concerns have also been raised about the complexity of the questions and the unwillingness of many who have been sexually abused, tortured or trafficked, either in the home countries they fled from or on their journeys, to disclose this sensitive, personal information in a written questionnaire. Many from the five countries are likely to have passed through Libya, where this kind of abuse is endemic.
Ruth Miller, who was previously part of a team of writers and graphic designers at what is now the Department for Work and Pensions, simplifying official government documents such as application forms for benefits, said she believed many asylum seekers would struggle to answer the complex questions in the questionnaire, where several questions are wrapped into one.
Miller, who now works with asylum seekers in Lesbos teaching English, said she believed many of the asylum seekers she works with would be reluctant to disclose information about sexual abuse or exploitation in a questionnaire.
“I’m not opposed in principle to a questionnaire that might help speed up outstanding applications and clear the backlog, though a 20-day turnaround is crazy, as is the suggestion to use Google Translate to read the questions and complete the questionnaire in English.
“The proposed questionnaire would be very difficult for a native speaker to complete unaided, let alone an asylum seeker. It should be withdrawn and completely rewritten from scratch.”
Home Office sources acknowledged to the Guardian that the reluctance of some asylum seekers to disclose abuse in the questionnaire might be an issue and said: “The Home Office will consider, on a case-by-case basis, if the questionnaire is not suitable for the individual. For example, if the individual requests an interview if they are a victim of sexual abuse.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “It is standard practice for Home Office immigration documents to be in English. The majority of asylum seekers who will be receiving the questionnaire already have legal representatives who can help them with translation, if required. Friends, family and non-government organisations can also assist the person and the Home Office will consider extensions to the deadline on a case-by-case basis.”
