Resettling to the UK: The Gateway Protection Programme

What is the Gateway Protection Programme?

The Gateway Protection Programme is the name of the UK’s new resettlement programme.

The first refugees on this resettlement programme arrived in the UK March 2004. The UK

hopes to receive a quota of up to 500 refugees every year through the Programme.What is resettlement?

Resettlement is one of three durable solutions advocated by the Office of the United Nations

High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and a means of addressing the special needs of

refugees. It involves an assessment by the resettlement state against specific criteria, leading

to permanent resettlement if accepted. It can be a long and difficult process for the

refugees, ultimately leading to full integration into a new community. Some countries have

long-established resettlement programmes. Those with the largest quotas in 2001 were the

United States (80,000 refugees), Canada (11,000), and Australia (10,000). The other durable

solutions advocated by UNHCR are voluntary repatriation and local integration (see

www.unhcr.ch).

Is thisthe UK’s first resettlement programme?

No. The UK already operates two informal resettlement programmes: the Mandate Refugee

Scheme and the Ten or More Plan. The UK has also received refugees through specific

programmes in response to emergency situations, including 42,000 Ugandan Asians expelled

from Uganda from 1972-74, 22,500 Vietnamese displaced persons from 1979-92, over 2,500

Bosnians in the early 1990s, and over 4,000 Kosovars in 1999.

Who is involved?

The Gateway Protection Programme is funded by the Home Office and involves international

organisations such as UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), other

government departments, local authorities, eight non-governmental organisations (NGOs),

and various community organisations. The eight NGOs deliver services on the Programme.

They are the British Red Cross, the International Rescue Committee (IRC), Migrant Helpline,

Refugee Action, Refugee Arrivals Project (RAP), the Refugee Council, Refugee Housing

Association, and the Scottish Refugee Council. In the early stages of the Programme, these

organisations came together to form the Resettlement Inter-Agency Partnership (RIAP), as a

cost-effective way of pooling resources, maintaining a national overview, and representing

the best interests of refugees.

How areHow are refugees selected?

UNHCR refers applications for resettlement to the Home Office. The Home Office interviews

all principal applicants and their dependants. Cases are assessed and decisions made by the

Home Office individually on their merits. Individuals referred to the UK for resettlement are

considered by UNHCR to be eligible for recognition as refugees according to the 1951

Refugee Convention. Their life, liberty, safety, health, or other fundamental human rights

must also be at risk in the country where they have sought refuge; or, they must be facing

no possibility of long-term security in that country. The UK conducts further checks including

health and security checks.What support do resettled refugees receive?

Refugees on the Gateway Protection Programme receive information, advice and support

from the NGOs involved, through a pre-arrival cultural orientation programme, on-arrival

information sessions, regular home visits, individual case-plans and drop-in sessions. The

support and advice provided by RIAP organisations is designed to help resettled refugees

access mainstream services and benefits for which they are eligible – an important aspect of

minimising dependence and easing integration. Housing is provided, although the refugees

themselves are responsible for paying rent.

Within two weeks of arriving in the UK, resettled refugees are often receiving benefit

payments, looking for work, taking English language courses, and looking at other education

and training opportunities; they have their children enrolled in school, are registered with a

doctor and are regularly using public transport. Support is funded for 12 months.

What shouldWhere can I get further information?

For further information about the Gateway Protection Programme, visit the following

websites:

The Home Office at: www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk

The Refugee Council at: www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/refugeecouncil/what/resettlement.htm

UNHCR at: www.unhcr.org.uk/resettlement/index.html

For further information contact the Resettlement Inter-Agency Team at the Refugee Council

on 020 7840 4458.

From Wikipaedia:

The Gateway Protection Programme is a scheme operated by the UK Border Agency in partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), offering a legal route for a quota of UNHCR-identified refugees to settle in the United Kingdom. The programme was established in March 2004 with a quota of 500 refugees per year, later increased to 750, but the actual number of refugees resettled in each year has been fewer than the quota permitted. Liberian, Congolese, Sudanese, Burmese, Ethiopian, Mauritanian and Iraqi refugees have been resettled under the programme. The programme enjoys cross-party political support in the British parliament. Evaluations of the programme have praised it as having a positive impact on the reception from local communities received by refugees, but have also noted the difficulties those refugees have faced in securing employment.


UNHCR:



UNHCR is able to field enquiries relating to applicants in the UK who may hold Mandate Refugee status or who claim to have been registered in UNHCR camps. Such enquiries can be referred directly to UNHCR’s Branch office in London (see address below) or through its staff currently based in Lunar House, Croydon as part of the ongoing Quality Initiative (QI) Project.
The QI Project is a joint UK Border Agency/UNHCR initiative which monitors the quality of asylum decisions at first instance. UNHCR staff members have been based in Lunar House since August 2004 and are involved in the assessment of asylum decisions and interviews.