dependant of failed asylum seeker work permit

[zazoo]

I am a dependant of a failed asylum seeker. I entered the country in May 2001 as a visitor and applied for a student visa. The Home Office lost my application and I never heard anything from them until I started enquiring in 2002. Apparently my passport had been sent to me without a valid visa. The reason for not having been given a valid visa was not known by all the Home Office staff that I spoke to. I never received my passport back and tried to track it with the help of the Royal Mail and Home office to no avail. I was given a reference number and I went to my home embassy to apply for a new passport then resubmitted my application as my husband's accompanying spouse. He was a student at the time. This application was pending when my husband applied for an ancestry visa in 2004 which was refused on grounds of forged birth certificates his and his father's. In consultation with my home country my husband's birth certificate was found to be genuine but his father's was not in any records in Zimbabwe. The judge ruled that since the issuing office did not know anything about it there wasn't enough evidence to prove the ancestry claim. Because of my husband's political involvements as a teacher in Zimbabwe it was not safe for us to go back so he had to claim political asylum. During this time I was studying as a nurse and have recently qualified. The asylum claim was rejected and is now on appeal with the AIT. I contacted the Home Office about permission to work as a nurse in this country and was advised to go back to my country for entry clearance. It is not safe for us to go back to Zimbabwe because of my husband's political involvement. Do I have a chance of being allowed to switch from dependant of failed asylum seeker to a work permit whilst I am still in-country? We are a family of four with two minors and the children will be completing their seventh year in the country in December of this year. I have applied for permission to work and have not yet received any response from the Home Office. Do you think this is a legacy case? What do you advise I should do at this time? Your advice would be most appreciated and thanking you in advance.

[Mr Rusty]

If you have an ongoing asylum appeal I would very much doubt that this will fall under the legacy provisions; more likely that if you win the appeal (and the Home Office doesn't seek to overturn that at the Tribunal) you will be granted asylum. If you lose, then you have no right to remain and if the Home Office decides to enforce removals to Zimbabwe, you could be removed.
Asylum applicants aren't normally allowed to work. Your question about switching from asylum applicant to a work permit assumes that you have an employer lined up who can secure a work permit for you (as it is the employer who must obtain the WP, not you). If a WP was granted it would be worth applying for LTR, but I think that's a big "If".

Sorry, none of that can be of much comfort to you. You could try speaking to the HR department at your local hospital to see a) whether they have any vacancies b) whether they think they would get a WP to employ you.

[jimquk]

Worth remembering though that once the children have completed seven years here, if they are still under the age of 18, they could apply for ILR under the seven years concession for children. It's a drawn out process, but if granted the parents would be granted leave in line.

[zazoo]

Worth remembering though that once the children have completed seven years here, if they are still under the age of 18, they could apply for ILR under the seven years concession for children. It's a drawn out process, but if granted the parents would be granted leave in line.

Thank you for responding to my query. God bless you! I managed to attend an interview with a hospital and was offered a job. The only problem that I am facing now is that they are insisting that I produce a passport which I don't have as it is still with the home office. I did explain to them at the interview that I am a dependant of an asylum seeker still waiting for a response from the home office and that I need a work permit in order to apply for leave to remain. What should I do now?

[jimquk]

I'm really sorry, but I don't see any obvious way that you could get permission to work until there is a positive asylum decision or you apply from abroad. However, you should take advice from an experienced asylum solicitor.

I saw somewhere that in Scotland they had a scheme where asylum-seekers with nursing qualifications were doing unpaid work in hospitals. They had to get special permission to do this as even unpaid work is not allowed if it is work that would normally be paid (ie voluntary charity type work is OK), and the idea was that it was better than sitting around doing nothing, would make it easier to get a job once they got papers, and would counter some of the anti-asylum prejudice out there.

What you have to do to be welcome in this country!