Calls for UK Home Office to lift ban on work for asylum seekers

“I was very, very depressed because I couldn’t do anything,” said Clemence Karina Kazeia.

He came to Glasgow just over three years ago seeking asylum from Namibia.

The bus driver and construction worker had a number of skills but was unable to put them to use while he waited for his asylum claim to be processed.

“From Monday to Sunday I would just stay at home,” he told STV News.

The money he received from the state, just £8.86 per week, could not cover his transportation costs to come into the city centre and, under current Home Office rules, he was unable to apply for work to earn more.

Clemence has now received refugee status and studied at college to expand his skillset. However, his story is one of many.

This week, former asylum seekers and campaigners across the UK staged protests calling on the UK Home Office to reform a ban on working for those awaiting their initial asylum assessments.

The ban, which has been in place since 2002, means those in the asylum system can only live off the allowance provided to them by the state.

For those in self-catered accommodation that allowance is £49.18 per week. For those housed in hotels the weekly allowance is £8.86.

Currently, asylum seekers can only apply to the Home Office for permission to work if they have been waiting for a decision on their asylum claim for over 12 months and only for a select list of jobs on the Government’s list – something campaigners says allows vital skills to go to waste.

Towards the end of 2024 there were over 133,000 people waiting for an initial decision on their asylum application. Of those, 60% had been waiting for more than six months and nearly two-thirds were waiting over a year.

“These people are ready to contribute to society and want to work,” said Pinar Asku, the human rights and advocacy coordinator at the Maryhill Integration Network in Glasgow.

Pinar Asku from the Maryhill Integration Network STV News

“We have people who are accountants, teachers, artists, chefs, and unfortunately they are being stuck in this limbo for many years where they have to be dependent on the asylum support given by the government.”

She added: “If people were given the right to work then they would be part of their communities, and we would not have this misconception of asylum seekers both taking our jobs and depending on public funds. The reality is that people are not allowed to work and they don’t have access to public funds [beyond the weekly allowance].

“The UK Government has created this structure since 2002 where people are stuck in the middle.”

Campaigners call to 'Lift the Ban' outside Westminster. — Campaigners call to ‘Lift the Ban’ outside Westminster. STV News

The Lift The Ban campaign consists of a coalition of over 300 refugee organisations, think tanks, businesses, trade unions and faith groups.

They say allowing asylum seekers to right to work after six months would bring the UK more in line with other European countries and potentially contribute hundreds of millions to the UK economy.

However, the Home Officer currently has no plans to reform the policy.

In a statement, a UK government spokesperson said: “There are no plans to change the existing rules on asylum seekers working. Asylum seekers remain eligible to apply for permission to work if their claim has been outstanding for twelve months or more, through no fault of their own.

“Allowing asylum seekers the right to work sooner would undermine our wider economic migration policy, by enabling migrants to bypass established work visa rules.”