A refugee is not to be taken to have come to the United Kingdom directly from a country where their life or freedom was threatened if, in coming from that country, they stopped in another country outside the United Kingdom, unless they can show that they could not reasonably be expected to have sought protection under the Refugee Convention in that country.
A refugee is not to be taken to have presented themselves without delay to the authorities unless—
For the purposes of subsection (2)(b), a person’s presence in the United Kingdom is unlawful if they require leave to enter or remain and do not have it.
A penalty is not to be taken as having been imposed on account of a refugee’s illegal entry or presence in the United Kingdom where the penalty relates to anything done by the refugee in the course of an attempt to leave the United Kingdom.
In section 31 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (defences based on Art.31(1) of the Refugee Convention)—
(4A)But this section does not apply to an offence committed by a refugee in the course of an attempt to leave the United Kingdom.
In this section—
“claim for asylum” means a claim that it would be contrary to the United Kingdom’s obligations under the Refugee Convention for the claimant to be removed from, or required to leave, the United Kingdom;
“country” includes any territory;
“refugee” has the same meaning as in the Refugee Convention.