United Refugee Organization

August 2007

Questionnaires sent to 6,000 families

In July 2006 the Home Secretary announced that all asylum cases outside the New Asylum Model1 will be resolved by June 20112. These cases, formerly known as legacy cases and now called case

resolution, are being dealt with by the Case Resolution Directorate at the Border and Immigration

Agency (BIA). It is estimated that there could be as many as 450,000 such cases at all stages of the

asylum determination process, hence the need for a planned approach to their resolution.

The Home Secretary has outlined the priorities that will determine how BIA will deal with these cases:

“We will also deal with the legacy of older cases that have yet to be fully resolved. We plan to do

this within five years or less. We will prioritise those who may pose a risk to the public, and then focus

on those who can more easily be removed, those receiving support, and those who may be granted

leave. All cases will be dealt with on their individual merits”3.

All these cases will eventually receive a letter and a questionnaire, the purpose of which is to update

information held by the Home Office in order to decide what action is appropriate. If you fail to return

the questionnaire a decision will be made on your case using any information you have previously

provided and any other written evidence you have submitted in support of your case.

In the week commencing 2nd July 2007 the Home Office sent out a total of 6,000 letters and

questionnaires to families with children in accordance with its priority to address cases in receipt of

support.

There is now a Q&A on Case Resolution on the BIA website:

http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/applying/asylum/caseresolutionprogamme

Please note in particular that this is not an amnesty – receiving a questionnaire does mean that your

case will now be taken to early resolution but this does not mean it will necessarily be resolved in your

favour. It could equally lead to your removal so we would strongly urge you to seek advice.

Also note that there is no point in completing a photocopied version of the form in order to have your

case considered. The BIA knows to whom it has sent forms and will be acting on these according to its

own priorities.

What to do if you get a case resolution questionnaire

1. Get advice – if you are unsure about your current position in relation to your asylum claim then you

should seek legal advice before completing the questionnaire. Even though you may have had legal help

before, and provided you are financially eligible, you can still get free legal advice about your position

and help to complete the form.

2. Make sure you complete and return the form in time. If you fail to return the questionnaire a decision

will be made on your case using any information you have previously provided and any other written

evidence you have submitted in support of your case.

3. If you are unable to get legal advice about your circumstances in time to complete and return the

questionnaire by the deadline, return the questionnaire but make it clear in your reply that you will be

seeking legal advice about your circumstances and may be submitting further evidence.

4. Note that this is not an amnesty – it is a case resolution exercise. The Home Office’s priorities in

dealing with these cases are as much about ease of removal as about an early grant of asylum. Another

Home Office priority is to resolve cases with high support costs – hence the priority on resolving family

cases.

5. If you applied for asylum before April 2003, and there was a delay in dealing with your case which

meant you did not benefit from a favourable Home Office policy, you may be affected by a recent Court

of Appeal judgment. See the briefing on our website:

http://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/policy/briefings/2007/delays.htm