Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 8 June 2020 to Question 49637, if she will make it her policy to allow people who are making in-country claims for asylum to complete their applications virtually during the covid-19 pandemic; and what support her Department will provide to asylum seekers to complete those applications digitally.

The Home Office does not intend to change the current policy that asylum claims must be made in person. The Home Office has temporarily introduced additional locations to register asylum claims, with social distancing measures in place at these locations for the safety of claimants and Home Office staff. These are temporary arrangements which will be kept under review to align with HMG guidance. These changes do not represent a new operating model, they are contingency measures put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to ensure that asylum seekers are able to safely register their claims.