Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to reduce the waiting period before an asylum seeker with an outstanding asylum claim can access jobs on the Shortage Occupation List or the Immigration Salary List to six months.

The Home Office’s priority remains to ensure that employers and employees who play by the rules are not undercut by people working illegally, or by unscrupulous employers exploiting their labour.

We have repeatedly resisted calls to relax our policy position on asylum seeker permission to work. Allowing asylum seekers the right to work sooner than under the current rules could enable migrants to bypass established work visa routes, and may act as an incentive for people to travel here illegally via dangerous routes. Asylum seekers do not need to make dangerous journeys to seek employment in the UK. There are various legal routes for those seeking to work in the UK under the Points Based System.