UK’s immigration Bill to hit Indians, other asylum-seekers

Ajay Banerjee

New Delhi, April 23

Thousands of Indians seeking asylum in the UK or living there after having entered there illegally, face deportation, loss of jobs and livelihood.

5 die while crossing English Channel

Paris: Five persons, including a child, died while trying to cross the English Channel from France to the UK, French authorities said Tuesday, just hours after the British government approved a migrant Bill to deport some of those who entered the country illegally to Rwanda. PTI

The UK’s House of Lords, the Upper House of Parliament, passed a Bill on Monday allowing the government to deport undocumented immigrants to East African nation of Rwanda. The Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill says “Rwanda is a safe third country for the purposes of shifting asylum-seekers and illegal residents”.

The UK Home Office says in total, 84,500 people, including 5,253 Indians, applied for asylum in the UK in 2023. The largest number of asylum-seekers — 9,300 — were from Afghanistan followed by Iran (7,397) and Pakistan (5,273).

There could be thousands more who are living illegally in the UK after expiration of their visa duration.

The new law means people arriving in Britain as undocumented stowaways in trucks or in boats illegally from the mainland Europe would be taken to Rwanda till their asylum cases are decided.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has long been pledging to “stop the boats” — a reference to the recent surge in illegal migrants crossing the English Channel. This is the third decision since January this year that has impacted migrants, including a large number of Indians.

In a series of steps to cut migration, the UK, earlier this month, implemented new visa and income regulation. The minimum income required to sponsor a family member has been raised. Those earning less than 38,700 pounds annually will not be able to sponsor a family member’s visa in the country.

The previous income threshold was 18,600 pounds.