Rainbow Migration
About Rainbow Migration
Rainbow Migration supports
LGBTQI+ people through the asylum system in the UK.
We also offer advice
We have four goals:
- An asylum and immigration system
that treats LGBTQI+ people fairly and with dignity
- LGBTQI+ people who need protection
are granted leave to remain
- Optimum wellbeing and no isolation
among LGBTQI+ people who are seeking asylum or have refugee status
- The experiences and needs of
LGBTQI+ people migrating to the UK are better understood inside and
outside Rainbow Migration
We work in three ways:
Service
delivery: We provide
practical and social support to improve self-esteem and confidence, reduce
isolation, and help access health services and housing. We also give specialist
legal information and advice to LGBTQI+ people who are seeking asylum or making
partnership applications to live in the UK with their partners. We have
partnerships with several law firms to whom we can refer our service users for
quality legal representation.
Influencing: We carry out campaigning, policy work and
strategic litigation to improve the asylum and immigration system. We also
engage directly with civil servants, parliamentarians, the government and the
judiciary to create change.
Training and
supporting other organisations: We work with lawyers, charities, the Home Office and others to improve
the asylum and immigration system and services for LGBTQI+ people seeking
asylum
We aim to achieve the
following by the end of 2025:
Changes to lives
- LGBTQI+ people seeking asylum will:
- Have improved ability and
resilience to cope with the challenges they face
- Feel less isolated
- Have support networks
- Be in safe and appropriate housing
- Access health services
- Present better asylum claims
- Overcome time-critical challenges
to their asylum claims
- Receive quality legal advice and
representation
- Be more likely to be granted leave
to remain
- LGBTQI+ people who have sought
asylum will:
- Inform our work strategically and
operationally
- LGBTQI+ people subject to
immigration control will:
- Spend less time in detention
- LGBTQI+ people making partnership
applications will:
- Receive quality legal advice and
information
Changes to systems and
structures
We will make the following
changes to the systems and structures that impact the lives of LGBTQI+ people
who migrate (whether by choice or by force):
- Increased lawyer capacity in
LGBTQI+ asylum claims
- Increased geographic diversity of
lawyers with knowledge of LGBTQI+ asylum claims
- Increased capacity and quality of
services from voluntary sector and statutory services
- Increased pressure from LGBTQI+
audiences for reform of the asylum and immigration system
- Improved government practice for
determining LGBTQI+ asylum claims
- Updated guidelines and materials
from inter-governmental bodies on LGBTQI+ asylum claims
- Improved practice by judges in
immigration tribunals
- Better treatment of LGBTQI+ people
in tribunals
- Inclusion of LGBTQI+ refugees in
resettlement programmes