‘Let long-stay asylum families remain in UK ‘

Asylum-seeker families who have been in the UK for more than three years should be allowed to stay in the country indefinitely, a campaigner told delegates.

The government was urged to repeat the Home Office’s 2003 amnesty, which granted indefinite leave to remain to families who had lived here for more than three years.

Nancy Kelley, head of international and UK policy at the Refugee Council, said many families who would have qualified for the amnesty at the time did not apply and they should also be allowed to stay.

At the time of the first amnesty campaigners raised concerns over questionnaires sent to families, which were written in English, and the helpline, which was staffed by English speakers.

Kelley said families should be allowed to remain for humanitarian reasons because children had put down roots and their education would be disrupted if they had to leave.