There are 144 states that are signatories to the 1951 Refugee
Convention and 145 to the 1967 Protocol, which extended the scope of the
Convention.
So how does Australia's asylum policies compare to other countries? Here is a brief rundown of the policies in some countries:
United States
Number of applications in 2011: 74,020
Application:
The US has been the top receiving country for asylum seekers in the
past five years. Applicants have to apply for asylum within one year of
arriving in the United States under the "Affirmative Asylum Process".
They can also apply for "Defensive Asylum Processing" against being
removed from the US. Once the application form is received by the US
Citizenship and migration Services (USCIS), asylum seekers will
receive and receipt and be asked to visit their nearest Application
Service Centre for fingerprinting.
Waiting period: An
interview notice is then sent to the asylum seeker within 21 days after
the application is received by the USCIS. Interviews for applications
are required to take place within 45 days from the date they are filed. A
decision on the case has to be made within 180 days of the application
being filed. An asylum officer reviews the applicant's case and their
decision is further reviewed by a supervisor. Added reviews may be
undertaken by other senior staff. Most applicants should expect to
receive a decision on their case within 60 days of submitting their
form. According to the USCIS, applicants are "rarely detained" by the
immigration service, but are mostly not allowed to work.
If
the application is rejected: If the application is not approved by the
USCIS, the asylum seeker starts undergoing removal proceedings as the
case is referred to an immigration judge for review. If the application
is rejected after the review, the asylum seeker is sent a "Notice of
Intent to Deny" and is given 16 days to respond to the court. A final
denial is then issued if no new evidence is submitted and the applicant
is removed from the US.
United Kingdom
Number of applications in 2011: 25,420
Application:
Asylum seekers who submit an application are assigned a "case owner".
Their application is expected to be completed within six months, by
which time the asylum seeker will be allowed to stay in the UK or
returned home voluntarily or forcibly.
Waiting period:
The UK hosts an asylum seeking unit in Croydon. Asylum seekers who make
their claim there will be "screened". The asylum seeker's biometrics are
recorded, a series of question have to be answered and the case owner
retains identity papers until the application is accepted or rejected.
While asylum seekers wait for their applications to be processed, they
have supply their residential addresses and could be eligible for
housing and living support.
If the application is
rejected: Asylum seekers who are denied refugee status may be detained
at centres prior to their removal. Failed asylum seekers can appeal to
the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal. Children have not been detained at
these centres since May 2011 following a change in government policy.
But the UK's Refugee Council said child asylum seekers continue to be
detained as they are wrongly classified as adults, The Observer
newspaper reported in May.
Canada
Number of applications in 2011: 25,350
Application:
Asylum seeker applications are made via an immigration officer at a
port of entry or at an immigration centre. Claims that are deemed to be
eligible are then referred to the Refugee Protection Division under the
Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) of Canada.
Waiting
period: Asylum seekers' cases are heard before the IRB. Priority is
given to unaccompanied minors, people who have been detained, those who
are a danger to public health or safety, and others. According to the
board, some cases are decided within six months, while more complex
cases have a longer processing period. Some asylum seekers are detained.
The decision is made by the Canada Border Services Agency and is made
if the asylum seeker is deemed to be unlikely to appear for a hearing or
for deportation, is considered a danger to the public, is unable to
identify him or herself sufficiently to authorities. The detained person
is brought within 48 hours to the Immigration Division for review. If
the detention is extended, there is another review within seven days.
Reviews are then conducted every 30 days after that.
If the application is rejected: If a "removal order" is issued, the
asylum seeker has to apply for a certificate of departure and leave
Canada within 30 days. Some asylum seekers are also banned from
returning to Canada for one or two years. Others are deported and not
allowed to set foot in Canada again without written permission. Appeals
against the "removal order" can be made to the Immigration Appeal
Division under the IRB.
Denmark
Number of applications in 2011: 3810
Application:
In the Scandinavian country, people who enter Denmark and apply for
asylum are called "spontaneous asylum seekers". They are required to
contact the police's National Aliens Division, who will fingerprint and
photograph them.
Waiting period: The asylum seekers are
assigned to an accommodation centre, most of which are run by the Danish
Red Cross. Some asylum seekers are also allowed to reside in private
accommodation.
If the application is rejected: Cases that
are found to be "manifestly unfounded" by the Immigration Service are
referred to the Danish Refugee Council for assessment. If the council
disagrees with the Immigration Service's ruling, the applicant's case is
referred to the Refugee Appeals Board for a final ruling. Asylum
seekers who are rejected are given seven days to leave Denmark
voluntarily or forcibly. They can be banned from entering Denmark for
two years if they do not leave voluntarily.
Signatories to
the Refugee Convention and/or the Protocol are expected to adhere to
the principle of non-refoulement, where a person is not allowed to be
returned to a country if their safety or security is threatened, even if
their asylum seeker application is rejected.
(Information
was collated from websites of the UK Border Agency, the US Citizenship
and Immigration Services, the Danish Immigration Service and the
Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada.)
Further reading:
Reader on international asylum and refugee law The 1951 Refugee
Convention The 1967 Protocol List of signatories to the 1951 Convention
and 1967 Protocol UNHCR - data on asylum levels and trends for 2011
Australia's asylum policy via the Department of Immigration
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