Why do Asylum Seekers come to Britain?

Asylums seekers come from all over the world to Britain. We get many different cultures, races and religions’ coming to our country, but each person has an individually unique case. The most common reasons are that of racial hate, religion and war, but these few examples do not cover all the different situations that Asylum Seekers come to Britain with.

Some Asylum Seekers, when they come to Britain, have their application for asylum rejected. However, in select cases, it is deemed necessary to grant the applicant humanitarian protection as they are in danger. For example, they may be wanted by people back in their won country, and if returned, could face terror and be in great danger. This and more information about applying for Asylum are covered in our page on ‘The Asylum Process’. Sometimes the Asylum Seeker has not got valid reason for asylum, and has to leave the country. This is when their application is rejected. Cases such as these are not out of place, as although many Asylum Seekers have valid reasons for coming to Britain, some do not. It is these few who give innocent asylum seekers a bad name, and create a stereotypical view of them.

But why come to Britain, and not another country? Well, some people say that they come to Britain because we are too soft with them, and give them much more than they had at home while other countries do not. They think we should follow the lead of those other countries and give them less. In reality, the asylum seekers do not have a choice where they go, and will go anywhere they are sent or told to go. Imagine if you were in immediate danger, and you had to escape. Would you stop and think about where the best place you could go is? I don’t think so. Under that much pressure, the most important thing for you would be to survive, and would accept any way given to you that could help you to do just that. You would not so far ahead to be choosing the best place to go to.

Some people come to Britain for reasons harder to generalize, such as fear. This fear can come in many forms. Maybe they are afraid of going to prison for something that they have not done, or maybe they are afraid of an unsafe situation for them and their family. Some people have been known to abandon their families and homes to save their families lives. They knew that if they were found, they would be punished along with their whole family. Others have maybe had their children attacked or kidnapped.

One of the most important things to remember about Asylum Seekers and why they come to Britain is that there is no general reason why. Each and every situation is unique, and when you hear people say that they come for reasons that should not be considered valid, some maybe do, but most do not.