Denied asylum and deported, then what?

October 13, 2008 4:19 AM

What happens when an asylum application is denied and the applicant is deported?

Do they get arrested and imprisoned in their home country when they arrive? If so, how long are they incarcerated? Any other repercussions?

I am curious about Nigerians applying for asylum in the EU.

posted by hariya to law & government (4 comments total)

I should think that entirely depends on the political/cultural situation in the country from which they are fleeing. It could range from shot-on-sight to held-for-questioning, among other options.
posted by Thorzdad at 4:33 AM on October 13, 2008

wikipedia on human rights in nigeria: "poor". the article doesn't mention specific threads to gay/lesbian folks but I'd bet that's a huge problem. I base that suspicion on a recent article on this recent nyt article on Pape Mbaye. Mbaye came from Senegal but the headline indicates to me that this is an african problem.

I'd also suggest the amnesty international site for a quick reference on nigeria. the SSS makes a few appearances and Corruption and Prebendalism are apparently huge problems this person is likely to encounter. chances are also that if the person resides in the niger delta that he/she will have to live with significant unrest.

it doesn't seem to me that nigeria is a state of systematic prosecution of denied asylum-seekers but a rather lawless, booming republic that has only fairly recently been established after a long history of military dictatorships and is still finding its way.

you might want to indicate why this person was trying to be accepted into asylum in the first place. the nature of the conflict might spill more light on the individual situation.
posted by krautland at 5:43 AM on October 13, 2008

Thanks krautland for that reply.

I believe that this person is just trying to escape from Nigeria to a better life in the EU. I don't think there is any priort political activity involved. Apparently, there are many Nigerians in this situation in the EU, and almost all get denied. I was just curious about what happens when they get sent back.
posted by hariya at 2:08 AM on October 14, 2008

yeah, economically-motivated migration is pretty common.
it's possible for someone to get accepted but not as an asylum seeker. highly-skilled visa are a good example for how to get into a better place. that this person tried to get by using this program strongly suggest that some false claims were made at least initially in order to get processed as an asylum seeker. if that's the case, they're probably banned for some period of time from reentering the EU but obviously I'm not a lawyer, so take this with a grain of salt.
posted by krautland at 3:10 AM on October 14, 2008