Detention Watch from Zimbabwe Association

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Tel/Fax: 02380 879675
General: 07714736382
P O Box 248, Hythe, SO45 4WX, United Kingdom

Amnesty. A word that gets everyone stirred up. Since the new Minister for Immigration, Liam Byrne, said at a Commons Home Affairs Select Committee that the option of an amnesty for illegal immigrants had not been ruled out, a wave of media reports have suggested that such an amnesty might be imminent. Don’t get caught up in the hype about things that may never happen. All he said was that the possibility of an amnesty in the future could not be ruled out, which is quite different from saying that it’s going to happen.
The Family Amnesty exercise review has just been completed. The main change is that a Conviction for non-recordable offences will not exclude applicants from the amnesty. (Non-recordable offences include speeding, not wearing a seat belt, parking offences etc.) However, applicants still must have applied for asylum before 2 October 2000 which excludes most Zimbabweans. Any applicant must also have had a dependant aged under 18 living with them in the UK before 24 October 2003.

For those who have been granted refugee status but are still having trouble getting work it might be an idea to look at a new website (http://www.refugeesintobusiness.org.uk/) which is aimed at helping refugees develop their own businesses.

A plea to all Zimbabweans who entered the UK on Malawi or South African passports and claimed asylum: Get your nationality issues sorted out before you end up being removed. We are getting more reports of such cases, and in some, removals haven’t followed conventional removal procedures. Take legal advice while you are in a position to do so. Don’t wait until it is too late.

This week there was a review of the Advice Line that the ZA has been hosting over the past few months. The lawyers who have been manning it felt so positive about the number of calls received, that it was decided to extend the Advice Line for another three months. It would be helpful to get some feedback from people who have made use of it. Did they find it useful? Can they suggest any improvements? Has the advice they have received helped improve their situation? Any comments or suggestions can be sent to the ZA office, by post or email, or left on the answer machine.

One member found herself in the unusual position of enjoying her appeal hearing recently. She witnessed an interesting display of confusion and incompetence from the HOPO dealing with her case. In contrast, the Immigration Judge found her, the appellant, totally credible. As she said later, if only she had known in advance how it was going to go she could have saved herself months of anxiety and sleepless nights. People need to understand that careful preparation through hard work plus a decent asylum claim and solicitor add up to a strong chance of success.
We can be contacted at the office on 020 7549 0355 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, messages may be left on the answer machine at other times, or by fax 020 7549 0356 or email: zimbabweassociation@yahoo.co.uk.

ADVICE LINE: Wednesday 2 – 5 pm (probably from 5 July)Dates of forthcoming sessions will be confirmed in our next column.