Thousands of Syrians in limbo as UK Home Office freezes asylum claims Two months after the fall of Assad’s regime, Whitehall’s decision to pause asylum applications from Syrians has left more than 6,600 cases stuck on hold in the UK.
In the House of Lords last month, the Home Office minister, Lord Hanson, said there was a “strong case” that the majority of Syrians who arrived before the fall of Assad “were fleeing the Assad regime”.
The Home Office announced a “pause” on Syrian asylum seekers’ claims on 9 December, the day after rebels swept into Damascus, saying that it needed to “assess the current situation”.
Hassan arrived in Britain on a small boat about two years ago and was granted asylum last year before the decision was withdrawn by the Home Office because of a spelling mistake.
At least 6,600 Syrian asylum applications, each of which can include more than one person, are frozen in the UK system pending an initial decision and more claims are expected from those arriving on small boats, according to analysis by the Observer of official figures.
