Although immigrants can be distinguished from asylum seekers and refugees in terms of their official status, they appear together in this section to reflect both the wording of relevant legislation, and the focus of existing research findings.  Three working definitions follow:

According to the Home Office report Migrants in the UK, migrants are defined as all those who were born outside the UK.

According to the Refugee Council website, an asylum seeker is someone who is waiting for their application to be recognised as a refugee to be considered by the Government.  Under international law, the word 'refugee' has a very precise meaning, as set out in the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (the 'Refugee Convention').  In the Refugee Convention, a refugee is defined as someone who: has a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion; is outside the country they belong to or normally reside in, and is unable or unwilling to return home for fear of persecution.

What are the challenges?

Background and context relating to asylum seekers, immigration and refugees.

What is the legislation/policy?

Legislation and policy relevant to asylum seekers immigrants and refugees.

Implications for practice.

Here you will find materials and resources designed for increasing multicultural competence.

Resources

From here you can find some web-based resources relating to this topic