More or Less: Behind the Stats Does the UK take in more refugees than other European countries?
Mar 13, 2022
Peter William Walsh, a researcher at the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, dives into the UK's refugee resettlement efforts amid the ongoing Ukrainian crisis. He contrasts the UK's visa issuance with substantial numbers taken in by Poland and others. Walsh scrutinizes claims from the government about the UK's superiority in resettlement since 2015, revealing a stark reality of lower asylum grants. He also discusses the hurdles faced by Ukrainian refugees, emphasizing the complexities of the UK's asylum processes compared to its European neighbors.
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Misleading Refugee Claim
- The UK government claims to have resettled the most vulnerable people since 2015.
- This claim is misleading, focusing on "resettled" refugees while ignoring asylum seekers.
Definition of Resettled Refugees
- The term "resettled" refers to a specific UN program, not all refugees.
- The UK has taken in more resettled refugees than any other EU state.
Asylum Seeking vs. Resettlement
- Resettlement is a small part of overall refugee intake; asylum seeking is more common.
- Reaching the UK without resettlement is difficult and often dangerous due to the lack of an asylum visa.