Challenging the prejudice and discretionary power of the UK asylum system vis-a-vis Albanian migrants

There has been a significant increase in the number of Albanian asylum-seekers coming to the UK recently. Despite this, Albanian asylum claims face significant delays and, compared to other nationalities, Albanian applications are more likely to be refused by the Home Office as being 'undeserving'. By drawing on qualitative interviews with Albanian asylum-seekers, Albanian country experts, immigration lawyers and key stakeholders in the UK asylum system, along with official policy and legal documentary analysis, this paper explores the institutionalised prejudice and discretionary power exerted by Home Office case workers vis-a-vis Albanian asylum-seekers and how this discretionary hostility is challenged via the pockets of resistance evidenced by civil society actors and immigration lawyers. Politically, the UK Government considers Albania a 'safe and stable country' due to its status as an EU candidate country, and therefore, it supports the return of Albanian migrants. Institutionally, the Home Office is prejudiced and exerts discretionary power towards Albanian asylum-seekers by considering them to be 'economic migrants' or participating in illegal activities, and therefore their claims are deemed to be 'undeserving'. This bureaucratic discretion is underpinned by the outdated country documents used to assess Albanian asylum claims, the hostile nature of the asylum interview and the need to comply with the UK Government's anti-immigration political agenda. Moreover, the complexity of the Albanian claims - linked to trafficking, organised crime, blood feuds and the socio-economic situation in Albania - is deployed by the Home Office workers to show that Albanians fail to fit the typical ‘asylum seeker’ profile. We argue that this discretionary approach towards Albanian asylum cases is challenged by the partnership between civil society organisations (e.g. refugee charities) and immigration lawyers, who appeal the Albanian asylum refusal decisions and successfully reverse them via tribunal appeals and judicial reviews.