(Home Office) Immigration and asylum statistics released

A series of immigration statistics covering migration from Eastern Europe, asylum applications, removals and voluntary departures were published by the Home Office today.

Work applications from the eight accession countries have fallen to their lowest level since they joined the European Union (EU) in 2004, according to the latest Accession Monitoring Report.

In the first three months of 2009 there were 23,000 applications from workers in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia and the Czech Republic - down from 48,755 in the same period in 2008. The decrease is mainly explained by a drop in Polish applicants, which fell to 12,000 in the first quarter of 2009 from 32,000 in the same period in 2008.

The statistics also show that the majority of workers coming from the A8 countries in the twelve months to March 2009 are young - 78 per cent were aged between 18 and 34 - and only eight per cent stated they had dependants living with them in the UK when they registered. In the same year 84 per cent of those registered were working for more than 35 hours per week.

Although applications for jobseekers allowance from A8 nationals rose in Q1 2009, of the 5,561 individuals who made applications, only 1,671 were put forward for further consideration.

The Bulgarian and Romanian Accession Statistics show that applications from these two countries have also fallen to the lowest level since they joined the EU in 2007. There were 610 applications for accession worker cards and 6,205 applications for registration certificates in the first quarter of 2009.

Border and Immigration Minister Phil Woolas said:

"Today's figures show that immigration levels are balancing as more Eastern Europeans are now leaving the UK to return home. This suggests that increasing prosperity in post Soviet Eastern Europe in the long term can only be beneficial for the UK.

"In addition there are now, according to independent research, around 1.5 million British people working in other countries in the European Union. Nevertheless, the Government will continue to do everything it can to ensure that migration works for everyone."

The Control of Immigration Statistics show that between January and March this year 15,840 people who had no right to be here were removed from the country or departed voluntarily. In the same period in 2008 16,760 people were removed or departed voluntarily.

These statistics also show that the UK continues to receive fewer asylum applications per head of the population than many of its European counterparts. Applications for asylum have increased from 6,595 in the first quarter of 2008 to 8,380 in the same period this year, mainly driven by Zimbabwean applications.

The number of initial decisions made on asylum applications was up 16 per cent from 4,435 in the first three months of 2008 to 5,145 in the same period this year.

Mr Woolas said:

"Our border has never been stronger. Last year we prevented over 28,000 individual attempts to cross the Channel illegally and the number of illegals found in Kent fell by nearly 90 per cent.

"We are making the UK a more hostile place for illegal immigrants through our tough civil penalties regime which has seen fines worth a potential £18 million issued to businesses that have employed people with no right to work.

"Our ability to return those who have no right to be here depends on detaining them and successfully repatriating them. That is why we continue to work closely with the police, build new removal detention centres and secure further agreements with key countries to take their nationals back."

Asylum intake has remained broadly at the same level over the past four years and it is less than a third of the level when it peaked in 2002. At the end of December the Home Office met its target to conclude 60 per cent of new asylum cases within six months.

The Shame of South Africa

Every time I hear about terrible things that happen in Africa I probably naively think to myself that at least South Africa is sorted out now. At least Apartheid is over and the power has shifted back to the blacks where it belongs without too much bloodshed or economical disruption like in Zimbabwe. In fact things in South Africa have started to look very positive lately. I presume they are dealing with the AIDS epidemic or have managed at least to sweep it under the carpet whilst the world concentrates on other things.

The last time I saw South Africa on the TV was in fact when the South African Airways Open was played at a stunning location on the coast. Fabulous! Then I saw the news yesterday and I started to get angry. I am just old enough to remember the news coverage of riots during apartheid and when apartheid was ended I think I was hoping that I would never see riots in South Africa again. Mandela was released and became the countries leader and it looked like a nation of hope. It was a nation with a future and still is.

The problem with South Africa is that its leaders since Mandela have been conspicuous by their lack of willingness to criticise some of the regimes surrounding them. These regimes have displaced nations which has resulted millions or refugees in the region. South Africa swallowed most of these refugees and has allowed itself over time to develop a massive immigration problem with some estimates of up to 5 million illegal immigrants. Whilst this constant trickle of immigration seems to have suited everyone up until recently, the tides of opinion have changed recently though and as unemployment and rising food prices have hit South Africa as they have the rest of the world, its peoples' frustrations have been turned to severe violence against the immigrants.

It seems that rising food prices are something no government has planned for or taken into consideration in the formation of their general policies, least of all the UK, least of all South Africa. What I find difficult is that South Africa has a recent history of unspeakable violence and hardship. But it was a violence and hardship that it overcame to become what it is today. For the people of South Africa now to be committing violence against the weakest members of its society is an absolutely hypocritical thing for them to be doing. It is not that long ago that they themselves were being tortured and killed just for trying to make a better life for themselves, for trying to free themselves of tyranny and oppression.

These immigrants who are being persecuted are the people of South Africa 20 years ago. They are vulnerable and weak and all they want to do is get on with their lives. South Africa needs to remember where it comes from. It is the same nation that persevered against and eventually broke free from oppression. It is the same nation that flourished when everyone around the world predicted that it would collapse into chaos. Its leaders need find their voices and lead their people and set an example to the rest of Africa as it has done since Apartheid ended. It needs to do it because at the moment it is one of only a handful of countries in Africa which can say that it does represent the potential that the whole continent has to offer.