FAQs

 The Lift the Ban coalition is calling for the right to work for people seeking asylum, and their adult dependants, after six months of having lodged an asylum claim or further submission, unconstrained by the Immigration Salary List. In short, full working rights after six months.

You can find the powerful case for lifting the ban summarised in our latest report here. In short, we believe that allowing people seeking asylum to work would pull people out of poverty, help support integration, and save the Government money.

No. There is no evidence that introducing the right to work would create a ‘pull factor’. In fact, a recent review of 29 academic papers found that there was no correlation between right to work and where people seeking asylum chose to seek protection. Instead, research shows that people are more like to flee to countries where they have family or friends, speak the same language and believe the country respects human rights.

No. Granting the right to work must not mean an obligation to work for people seeking asylum. For many, looking for employment will not be a realistic option while they are also pursuing their asylum claim and work may not be appropriate for those who have suffered significant trauma from their experiences prior to coming to the UK.

No. People seeking asylum who had been waiting for more than six months used to be allowed to work in the UK under both Conservative and Labour governments. Since 2002 policy has become increasingly restrictive with the introduction of a longer waiting period and the Shortage Occupation List (now Immigration Salary List). 

The UK is an outlier on this issue and has a policy that is considerably more restrictive than most nations within the EU and other wealthy countries such as the USA, Australia and Canada. Reducing the waiting period to six months and scrapping the Shortage Occupation List would bring us back into the mainstream.