Refugee FAQs
Back to Topic
Click to Print
Useful Websites
Glossary Term Selection
On asylum seekers and refugees in the UK
1. What are the main reasons that people become refugees, and what other reasons drive people from their homes and across borders?
There are many reasons. But a refugee is always someone facing persecution in his or her country of origin/nationality for one of five reasons – these include political opinion, religion and race. Normally, those forced to move by natural disaster are not refugees, though in the popular media, this term is often used to describe such people. Those fleeing from a civil war may also not be refugees if none of the specific reasons applies to the undoubtedly very serious harms that they are at risk of in their country of origin/nationality.
2. Is seeking asylum legal?
While it is lawful to seek asylum, an asylum seeker may need to break immigration laws to get to another country to make an asylum claim. The UK, will not normally accept asylum claims from outside the UK. Its immigration laws require most migrants to ob...
Want to see the rest of this article?
Would you like to see the rest of this article and all the other benefits that Issues Online can provide with?
- Useful related articles
- Video and multimedia references
- Statistical information and reference material
- Glossary of terms
- Key Facts and figures
- Related assignments
- Resource material and websites
