Southampton Asylum Seekers Risk Deportation If They Can't Pay Extortionate Train Fares

As part of their asylum claims, most asylum seekers in the UK will, at some point, have to travel to the Home Office's Further Submissions Unit in Liverpool to hand over paperwork related to their claim. This meeting can last as little as 5 minutes and could just as easily be done by post, but most asylum seekers are required to make the journey or risk jeopardising their asylum claim. For asylum seekers living around the Liverpool area, this journey is easy enough, but for those assigned housing in places like Southampton on the south coast, the journey is like a cruel joke.

To travel from Southampton to Liverpool for a meeting at 11:00 on a Monday morning means catching the train from Southampton Central at 5:20, changing trains at Birmingham New Street and arriving at Liverpool Lime Street by 9:40. According to the prices on the trainline, without any concessions like railcards, a same-day return ticket for that journey will cost an asylum seeker over £250.

Asylum seekers in the UK have no control over where they are assigned housing and no ability to earn money beyond the £37.75 they receive as a weekly allowance from the government. A fare as high as £250 is so insurmountably expensive, they have little to no chance of ever affording the cost of a ticket without help.

The Southampton and Winchester Visitors Group is a charity dedicated to helping asylum seekers in the Southampton area, who face fares like these, and has been running a campaign since 2017 to help those struggling to make the trip. The 'Fairness not Fares' campaign raises awareness about the issue, gives asylum seekers the money they need to afford the fares and will even send a companion with them if they need someone to help them find their way.

Having seen the effects of this policy on asylum seekers for several years, the charity made a freedom of information act request to find out if asylum seekers in the South are more likely to be refused leave to remain but have not had a response from the government.

According to Lesley Sheldon-Browning, who helps run the campaign, asylum seekers who are disabled, underage, or otherwise physically unable to make the journey, can send their documents to Liverpool by post, however, those who are physically able to make the trip and just don't have the funds to pay such an extortionate price for a ticket, are still required to travel to Liverpool with their documents.

A small common-sense change to the system, allowing asylum seekers to verify their documents with a lawyer or local immigration officer, could prevent unnecessary deportations and potentially save lives, but as the system stands right now, only those with the money to travel have a chance of making it to Liverpool and completing their asylum claims.