Asylum seekers and the right to work in the United Kingdom

We reproduce the following article (04/11/2011) by Melanie Gower, from the UK parliament website detailing the conditions to beneficiate for the right to work in the UK, its current limitations, and the impact of the Reception Condition Directive on UK domestic law.

Are asylum seekers allowed to work in the UK?

• Asylum seekers can apply for permission to work if they have waited for over 12 months for an initial decision on their asylum claim (from the date it was recorded), and are not considered responsible for the delay in decision-making    • Permission to work expires once the asylum claim has been finally determined (i.e. when all appeal rights are exhausted)

• Refused asylum seekers cannot apply for permission to work, unless they have submitted further submissions for asylum and have waited for over 12 months for a decision
• These provisions derive from the European directive on reception conditions for asylum seekers
• Asylum seekers granted permission to work since 9 September 2010 are restricted to jobs on the shortage occupation list
There have been regular calls to extend asylum seekers’ rights to work over the past ten years, but these efforts have been resisted by successive governments, on the grounds that it could encourage unfounded asylum applications. Governments have instead argued that it is preferable to improve the speed of asylum decision-making.
The European Commission has recently published proposals for a recast reception conditions directive, which include allowing asylum seekers to work after six months of waiting for a decision on their application. The Government has cited these more generous provisions as the reason why it has decided not to opt in to the amended reception conditions directive.