The government is being urged to test a “refugee visa”, allowing people fleeing war and persecution to travel to the UK and apply for asylum.
The Refugee Council has put forward a range of alternative solutions to curb Channel crossings.
In what the charity calls its National Refugee Strategy, the comprehensive plan finds “safe ways” for refugees to reach the UK and upholds the “right for people to apply for asylum on UK soil regardless of how they arrive”.
It also suggests what deals could be struck with the EU and France.
Channel crossings resumed on Tuesday after poor conditions at sea eased, having stalled arrivals for several days.
More than 14,500 migrants have arrived in the UK so far this year after making the journey, provisional Home Office figures show.
The Refugee Council’s recommendations to the government include:
– A pilot of a refugee visa that allows people to travel to the UK to apply for asylum.
– Giving children a chance to join relatives in the UK and dealing with “financial constraints and other barriers that hinder family reunion”.
– Allowing people with relatives already in the UK to travel from EU member states.
– Giving the right to work to asylum seekers who have been waiting longer than six months for a decision on their claim.
Migrant arrivals in UK - in pictures
“The human cost and chaos of the current system have reached shocking levels and we urgently need a new approach," said the charity’s chief executive, Enver Solomon.
“The proposals we set out would go some way towards making the smugglers redundant.
"When there are safer alternatives for people to travel to the UK to begin their refugee application, the number of people arriving in boats will drop significantly.
“By putting in place safe routes, achieving agreements with our French and European neighbours, and treating people fairly and with compassion when they reach our shores, we can establish a very different approach from the inhumanity and disorder the government is overseeing.”
The charity called on the government to launch a year-long pilot of a refugee visa – similar to schemes used for Ukrainians fleeing conflict – at an estimated cost of £50.2 million ($64.7 million).
The visa would allow people from Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Eritrea and Sudan to apply for permission to travel to the UK and claim asylum, with officials to issue 10,000 while the trial is carried out.
The plan focuses on some of the most common nationalities to cross the Channel, which also have high grant rates of asylum in the UK.
Applicants would need to have left their home country before requesting a visa and they would be allowed to submit applications online or at centres set up in countries near the one they are fleeing.
Basic security and nationality checks would be carried out, with other forms of documents accepted if the applicant did not have a passport, according to the charity.
It called for decisions to take no more than three days and for travel to be arranged once a visa is issued, like in similar resettlement schemes.
If someone is refused asylum they could be returned to their home country.
“Our priority is to stop the boats," a Home Office spokeswoman said.
"Those in need of protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach rather than risking their lives or paying people smugglers to arrive illegally in the UK.
“The UK has a strong track record of providing protection to those who genuinely need it and we are committed to exploring new safe and legal routes, but we must first grip the rise in illegal migration.
"Our Illegal Migration Act is a key part of our work to deter people from making unnecessary journeys to the UK.
“We are also taking action to ensure all asylum claims are considered without unnecessary delay and remain on track to clear the ‘legacy’ asylum backlog by the end of the year.”
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
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Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
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Launched: 2017
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Based: Dubai and Muscat
Sector: Automobile retail
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