Freedom of Information
Central Correspondence Team
Central Operations
PO Box 3468
Sheffield
S3 8WA
Edward Williams
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
Email:
xxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
www.gov.uk/ukvi
FOI Reference: 74079
14 February 2023
Dear Mr Williams
Thank you for your enquiry of 19 January, in which you requested information
regarding applications from asylum seekers for a UK work permit. Your enquiries
have been handled as a request for information under the Freedom of Information
Act 2000.
Information Requested
FOI 73520
In the last 12 months how many applications from asylum seekers for a work permit
did you receive?
How many were granted in that period?
Of those granted, provide a breakdown by nationality of the applicant?
How many were given a work permit to work outside the Shortage Occupation List
(SOL) in that period?
Provide the guidance etc. of how these decisions are made as regards discretion,
not formalities.
FOI 74079 – further to clarification of the above enquiries.
UK Visas and Immigration is an operational command of the Home Office
To clarify my request -
"When you refer to asylum seeker, please can you advise whether you mean the
initial asylum claim or further submissions too."
I mean those that include further submissions too.
I want information on permission to work.
My requests only concern asylum seekers whose claims for asylum were
outstanding.
"Background
Those who claim asylum in the UK are not normally allowed to work whilst their claim
is being considered. They are instead provided with accommodation and support to
meet their essential living needs if they would otherwise be destitute. The policy
outlining when permission to work will be granted to those who claim asylum is set
out in the Immigration Rules. This makes clear that the Home Office may grant
permission to work to asylum seekers whose claim has been outstanding for more
than 12 months through no fault of their own. Under this policy, those who are
allowed to work are restricted to jobs on the shortage occupation list published by
the Home Office. Any permission to work granted will come to an end if their claim is
refused and any appeals rights are exhausted because at that point, they are
expected to leave the UK. Those who are granted leave have unrestricted access to
the labour market."
Response
1 – The Home Office received 19,231 applications for Permission to Work between
January 2022-December 2022.
2 - 15,706 Asylum claimants were granted Permission to Work during this period.
3 - We cannot provide this information as UKVI do not keep data of the nationality of
each application.
Please note: the statistics provided above are manually collated and stored on an
internal database. They are not a result of any automated reports. UKVI are not
aware of any published data on the matter. Therefore, the above data cannot be
regarded as reliable.
These statistics are for asylum customers whose first asylum decision is
outstanding. They do not include applications for customers who have already had a
negative decision on their asylum claim.
If you are dissatisfied with this response, you may request an independent internal
review of our handling of your request by submitting a complaint within two months
to
xxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx, quoting reference
74079. If you ask for an
internal review, it would be helpful if you could say why you are dissatisfied with the
response.
As part of any internal review the Department’s handling of your information request
would be reassessed by staff who were not involved in providing you with this
response. If you were to remain dissatisfied after an internal review, you would have
a right of complaint to the Information Commissioner as established by section 50 of
the FOI Act.
Yours sincerely
C. Walls
Customer Services
We value your feedback, please use the link below to access a brief anonymous
survey to help us improve our service to you:
http://www.homeofficesurveys.homeoffice.gov.uk/s/108105TAZNG
