Definitions of terms - contingency accommodation for asylum seekers
The following terms are used in the information about contingency accommodation for asylum seekers, and the related FAQs.
Migrant
Migrant is a general umbrella term for someone who changes his or her country of usual residence, irrespective of the reason for migration or legal status.
Asylum seeker
An asylum seeker is a person who has left their country and is seeking protection from persecution and serious human rights violations in another country, but who hasn’t yet been legally recognised as a refugee and is waiting to receive a decision on their asylum claim. In this sense, asylum seekers are generally counted as a subset of migrants. Seeking asylum is a human right. Until they receive a decision as to whether or not they are a refugee, they are known as an asylum seeker. In the UK, this means they do not have the same rights as a refugee or a British citizen would. For example, people seeking asylum are not allowed to work.
Refugee
Refugee has a specific definition in law and is defined by the 1951 Geneva Convention, as someone who is forced to leave their country due to persecution based on their "race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion." Governments undertake a legal process to determine if someone should be given refugee status. Gaining this status is a requirement to the grant of asylum in the UK. If an asylum seeker did not come directly to the UK from the country where their life was threatened and their application is successful, they will be granted ‘temporary refugee permission to stay’ for a minimum of 30 months. The exact amount of time depends on how their application is assessed.