Exposed: The myth of Ireland's liberal asylum policy

Ken Foxe

Just 0.01% of Nigerians granted asylum in the past two years

NIGERIAN people arriving in Ireland have practically no chance of being granted asylum, according to figures obtained by the Sunday Tribune.

The figures, which also indicate that asylum applications from Chinese people are almost always refused, demolish claims by anti-immigrant groups that Ireland has an open-door immigration policy. Fewer than 20 Nigerian nationals have been recognised as refugees in the past two years, despite more than 1,500 applications, the figures show.

For an individual to be granted asylum in Ireland, they must meet very strict criteria, and their best chance of success appears to come if their country is at war.

Around 44% of Iraqis have been granted asylum over the past two years, making them the most successful nationality in terms of applications.

Sudanese nationals also have a high chance of success, with around 40% of applications accepted by immigration authorities.

Of 215 asylum applications received from would-be refugees from Sudan, 84 were granted, many of them from people fleeing civil war in the Darfur region.

By comparison, Nigerians have a less than 0.01% chance of being granted refugee status in Ireland, no matter what their personal circumstances.

In many cases, African nationals have told authorities how they could face execution, imprisonment or genital mutilation, but they simply are not being believed. Of 1,513 applications from Nigeria in the past 18 months, fewer than 18 have been successful.

The Nigerian embassy in Dublin said the figures were unsurprising, as the vast majority of asylum seekers from their country were in fact "economic migrants".

A spokesman said: "This low success rate is to be expected precisely because our country is not on any UN danger list. It is not a conflict zone; there are no disturbances within the country. We are running a democratic country".

However, Nigeria is sharply criticised in Amnesty International's latest report for human rights violations.

Chinese nationals also face a near blanket refusal for claims. More than 330 people from China, which has one of the worst human rights records in the world, have sought refugee status since the beginning of 2007 but no more than 18 have been successful.

The Irish Refugee Council said that Ireland had consistently one of the highest rates of refusal in the European Union for asylum seekers.

Caoimhe Sheridan, the Council's Legal Officer, said: "On any comparison, our rates are extremely low. If you look at the UK, between 18% and 21% of people are successful, in Germany, it's 25%, in Sweden, 48%. Our acceptance rate is between 9% and 10%".

Aine Ní Chónaill of the Immigration Control Platform said: "Nigeria may not be a particularly nice country to live in; unfortunately that does not translate into an entitlement to refugee status. Almost all cases involve economic migrants, mostly people of significant means who have managed to leave Africa in the first place."

A statement from the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner said: "Each application is considered on its own merits. Applicants are advised of their entitlement to consult with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and to seek legal assistance in connection with their application."

August 10, 2008

Comments

#1 Brian O'Donnell commented, on August 10, 2008 at 1:51 a.m.:

But very few are actually deported from this country - in that sense we do have a very liberal asylum-system.

#2 David commented, on August 10, 2008 at 9:57 a.m.:

It will be best to automatically translate those who have been here for over a year to economic migrants, so that they can contribute to the economy as well.

#3 Andrew commented, on August 10, 2008 at 11:40 a.m.:

Why are there so many Nigerians here then? A lot appear to be working away legally. Were they not granted asylum? I agree with Brian O'Donnell's comment above. This article comes to the conclusions it wants to come to. When the evidence before people's own eyes would suggest the contrary view. This article is disingenuous at best. Plenty of Nigerian taxi drivers out there for some reason. Or was this what is meant by the highly 'skilled' immigrants we need?

#4 Dara O Briain commented, on August 10, 2008 at 6:03 p.m.:

Does Andrew ask every taxi driver he meets where they are from? Or is it just he's black so he's Nigerian?

#5 Philip commented, on August 10, 2008 at 9:07 p.m.:

If the Geneva Convention and our asylum system are being subverted and used for purposes for which they were never intended, surely to heavens any responsible Govt. should put a stop to such casual abuse ASAP.After all it costs the Irish Taxpayers in excess of 300 million annually.
According to the UNHCR Ireland has for around 10 years or so been elevated to the No.1 global destination for Nigerian Asylum seekers. Yet both countries are separated by distance of 5,000 klms, with no direct transport links. Nigerians arriving here therefore need to transit via alternative EU safe countries before landing here, and where their claim for refugee status could be handled earlier.
According to our own authorities more than 80% of Nigerian asylum claimants state they have no travel documents at the time of submitting their asylum applications here.
Should we still feel morally bound to maintain and financially support such levels of deception and fraud?.

#6 Muiris commented, on August 11, 2008 at 9:31 a.m.:

With no direct air or ferry links between Ireland and Nigeria, are not 100% of all Nigerian asylum claims here therefore void ab initio?

A 0.01% approval rate is therefore on the high side?

We are the destination of choice for a significant volume of Nigerian economic migrants. Unless and until we collectively admit this fact, we are wasting our time in trying to construct any sort of meaningful immigration systems where genuine refugees can expect fair and effective treatment. Bogus claimants are poisoning the well for the genuine needy.

The key statistic (and the most worrying one) is that hardly any failed Nigerian asylum seekers are actually deported. The Tribune (as with all sections of the Irish media) is mangling data to suit its liberal agenda.

#7 E commented, on August 11, 2008 at 1:14 p.m.:

The vast majority of Nigerians (many thousands) here have been granted permission to remain for being the parent of an Irish citizen child born in the State pre 2005. The Consitutional amendment altered that and meant that parents of IBC's no longer had an automatic entitlement to stay, hence the fall off in numbers.

#8 ray commented, on August 11, 2008 at 11:57 p.m.:

Good to hear this. The country is not at war so let them go back and work in there own country. I would say 99% of the claims are bogus.

#9 Kenny commented, on August 12, 2008 at 4:32 p.m.:

It's nice as always to see both officials and people in general denounce migration for economic reasons, and to exclude people who emigrate just to have a better life. I mean it's not as if Irish people ever did such a thing and as such I believe that we have a valid right to collectively hold such opinions. (or not as the case may be)

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