Every year hundreds of thousands of people come to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland seeking a refuge or asylum having sincere hopes that in the new country they will find a better and more prosperous life with a more reliable social system, more stable economy, and nice and friendly immigration system with benefits to newcomers as Britain has been welcoming new immigrants and asylums for years. Great Britain is among well-developed countries that host immigrant from all over the world, but the immigration policy has been changing over the years and it seems that it got stricter as it turned out that many people just use the benefits the government provides and ignore the law and requirements.

In 2000, the UK received the largest number of asylum applications of any EU country, with 97,860 asylum applications; in 1999 UK recognised asylum to 72% of the applications, with 102,870 cases which still pending.

Today in Britain asylum-seekers receive a benefit of £ 36.54 a week in voucher and cash. In addition they can apply for the right to work after six months they arrive. Once they find an employment they lose their benefits. They have access to free health service and if they prove that they cannot afford an accommodation they are provided shelter for free by the State.

Statistics prove that other EU countries are much more strict when it comes to immigrations matters. France for instance; number of asylum applications in 2000 was 38,590, with only 19.3% recognized and with none pending application.

Just comparing the above-mentioned statistic it seems that we have to agree with France’s statement “that it is the UK’s generous treatment of asylum seekers which is prompting refugees to mass around the entrance to the Channel Tunnel. On the other hand only 5% of the world’s refugees try to come to Western Europe. Britain is the ninth in the list of EU countries when it comes to asylum seekers. Actually, there are more emigrates than immigrants in this country each year. Asylum seekers receive only 70% of income support, which make them the poorest people in the country. The largest part of their benefit it is given in vouchers, which can only be used in certain shops, Britain’s £ 30 compares very poorly to the rest of Europe. Netherlands is a far smaller country than ours but receives about the same number of asylum seekers and offers £46 per week

Even considering the situation in Netherlands concerning asylum seekers, it is my opinion that, if we consider the full picture, Britain is a soft touch in this issue, because refugees might not receive big cash handouts, but they are entitled to accommodation and can make use of our schools and hospitals. Another reason is that the huge backlog of asylum claims (cases are dealt with in chronological order) encourage refugees to come in this country, because they realize that it will take two or three years to judge their applications, by which time they’ve disappeared into the general population.

In conclusion I think that Britain should put much more effort on trying to speed up the process to judge the asylum applications, and maintain its “soft touch” policy, because at the end, asylum it is not about numbers but it is about people who have fled atrocities.

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