There are mechanisms by which the Government can decide that certain groups of people overseas are in need of protection and allow them into the UK:
The Gateway Protection Programme (GPP)
The Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 allowed the UK Government to set up a resettlement programme with the UNHCR. Under this scheme, the UNHCR recommends carefully selected individuals and families for permanent resettlement in the UK based on criteria set out by the UK. The aim is to make provision for people who have been trapped in refugee situations for protracted periods. Applications for resettlement under this programme can not be made directly to the UK government, to British diplomatic posts abroad or to other international organisations.
The target for resettlement was set at 500 refugees per annum. The Government provides specific funding for resettled refugees’ support for a period of 12 months from arrival. To date the Home Office has contracted non-governmental organisations to provide this support. Refugees that arrive on GPP are given permanent residence immediately. For information on how the Home Office should deal with applications for resettlement under Gateway, visit the Home Office website.
Temporary refuge
The Government can decide to participate in a large scale humanitarian evacuation programme. In 1999, the UK participated in evacuation programme in response to the crisis in Kosovo. 4,000 were allowed into the UK temporarily until it was safe for them to return. Most of the evacuees have since returned to Kosovo.
The EU Directive on Temporary Protection places certain duties on EU member states, including the UK, to co-ordinate responses to mass influxes of displaced people into Europe due to conflict or endemic violence and to grant temporary permission to stay. Such action has to be triggered by an EU declaration.
Transfer of refugee status
The UK can accept responsibility for refugees who have been given refugee status by a country that is party to the European Agreement on the Transfer of Responsibility for Refugees (EATRR). The Home Office may also accept responsibility for refugees from outside the EATRR area. However, this is at the discretion of the Secretary of State who requires proof that the UK is the most appropriate country of refuge. For more information see the Home Office website.
