This book addresses the ‘three moments’ in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) asylum seekers’ and refugees’ efforts to secure protection: The reasons for their flight, the Refugee Status Determination process, and their integration into the host community once they are recognized refugee status.The first part discusses one of the most under-researched areas within the literature devoted to asylum claims based on sexual orientation and gender identity, namely the reasons behind LGBTI persons’ flight. It investigates the motives that drive LGBTI persons to leave their countries of origin and seek sanctuary elsewhere, the actors of persecution, and the status quo of LGBTI rights. Accordingly, an intersectional approach is employed so as to offer a comprehensive picture of how a host of factors beyond sexual orientation/gender identity impact this crucial first stage of LGBTI asylum seekers’ journey.In turn, the second part explores the challenges that LGBTI asylum seekers face during the RSD process in countries of asylum. It first examines these countries’ interpretations and applications of the process in relation to the relevant UNHCR guidelines and questions the challenges including the dominance of Western conceptions and narratives of sexual identity in the asylum procedure, heterogeneous treatment concerning the definition of a particular social group, and the difficulties related to assessing one’s sexual orientation within the asylum procedure. It subsequently addresses the reasons for and potential solutions to these challenges.The last part of the book focuses on the integration of LGBTI refugees into the countries of asylum. It first seeks to identify and describe the protection gaps that LGBTI refugees are currently experiencing, before turning to the reasons and potential remedies for them.

The National Asylum Support Service provides accommodation for asylum seekers who are destitute, or likely to become destitute. There work is demand led and the increase in asylum applications between 2001 and 2003 caused considerable problems. Although the system coped with the pressure, a subsequent ministerial review concluded that the system needed to be improved. This report looks at the Service to see if lessons have been learnt and its approach has been modified to provide a better quality service at a more economical cost.

ChorSwang Ngin radically shifts the asylum-seeking narrative by focusing on rarely heard stories of persecution and escape from China and southeast Asia. Identities on Trial in the United States weaves together the cases of a tortured student from a Myanmar prison, an apostate of Islam, several victims of ethnic and sexual violence from Indonesia, and the escape of men and women from China’s draconian one-child policy, among others. Joann Yeh, an immigration attorney and contributor to this work, examines asylum seeking in a Mandarin-speaking Californian community and discuss the failure of the United States' quasi-judicial immigration system, highlighting "asylum lawfare" in courtroom dramas and arguing for an anthropological advantage in asylum preparation. This book is an essential text for policy makers, students, lawyers, activists, and those engaged with migration studies seeking a more just asylum outcome.

'A vital book for our times' ROBERT MACFARLANE 'Unflinching, complex, provocative' NIKESH SHUKLA 'A work of astonishing, insistent importance' Observer Aged eight, Dina Nayeri fled Iran along with her mother and brother, and lived in the crumbling shell of an Italian hotel-turned-refugee camp. Eventually she was granted asylum in America. Now, Nayeri weaves together her own vivid story with those of other asylum seekers in recent years. In these pages, women gather to prepare the noodles that remind them of home, a closeted queer man tries to make his case truthfully as he seeks asylum and a translator attempts to help new arrivals present their stories to officials. Surprising and provocative, The Ungrateful Refugee recalibrates the conversation around the refugee experience. Here are the real human stories of what it is like to be forced to flee your home, and to journey across borders in the hope of starting afresh.

The Committee's report considers human rights issues raised by the treatment of asylum seekers, from the time when they first claim asylum in the UK, through to either the granting of asylum, or, for asylum seekers whose claims are refused, their departure from the UK. The numbers claiming asylum in the UK increased rapidly during the late 1990s, and even though the numbers have reduced significantly every year since 2002, the issue of asylum remains high on the political and public agenda. The Government is required to "secure to everyone within their jurisdiction" the rights contained within the European Convention on Human Rights, including asylum seekers and refused asylum seekers. Issues discussed include: the relevant principal human rights standards and obligations which apply to the UK under the European Convention of Human Rights and other international instruments to which the UK is a party; the system and quality of support available; the provision of healthcare to asylum seekers and refused asylum seekers, in particular the impact of the overseas visitors' charging regulations for secondary healthcare which were introduced in 2004, and proposals to extend this charging scheme to primary care; the Government's reservation to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC); the use of detention of asylum seekers and the need for training in refugee and human rights; and the treatment of asylum seekers by the media.

Includes statistical tables.

A Country of Refuge is a poignant, thought-provoking and timely anthology of writing on asylum seekers from some of Britain and Ireland’s most influential voices. Compiled and edited by human rights activist and writer Lucy Popescu, this powerful collection of short fiction, memoir, poetry and essays explores what it really means to be a refugee: to flee from conflict, poverty and terror; to have to leave your home and family behind; and to undertake a perilous journey, only to arrive on less than welcoming shores. These writings are a testament to the strength of the human spirit. The contributors articulate simple truths about migration that will challenge the way we think about and act towards the dispossessed and those forced to seek a safe place to call home.

This book establishes asylum seekers as a socially excluded group, investigating the policy of dispersing asylum seekers across the UK and providing an overview of historic and contemporary dispersal systems. It is the first book to seek to understand how asylum seekers experience the dispersal system and the impact this has on their lives. The author argues that deterrent asylum policies increase the sense of liminality experienced by individuals, challenges assumptions that asylum seekers should be socially excluded until receipt of refugee status and illustrates how they create their own sense of 'belonging' in the absence of official recognition. Academics, students, policy-makers and practitioners would all benefit from reading this book.

An assessment of the impact of asylum on the integrity of the rule of law in five common law jurisdictions.

'This is a very detailed case study of 50 Kosovan asylum seeker families living in the East End of London. The living conditions and experiences of these families are discussed in the context of the United Kingdom's policy on asylum seekers. It is a useful study in documenting the problems and dilemmas faced by asylum seekers. While this is a case study of Kosovan asylum seekers in the UK, many of the problems and dilemmas discussed in this book are likely to be relevant to asylum seekers elsewhere. The issue of asylum seekers is a very important one for many European countries as well as Britain because of the large number of asylum applications received by these countries in the last fifteen years, as shown in Chapter Two of this study. Many countries are trying to address the issue of asylum seekers and this case study of Kosovan families in London provides information that will be helpful in this regard' Review - Siew-Ean Khoo, Australian Centre for Population Research HR ALIGN=LEFT