RENEWED calls to lift the ban on asylum seekers working in Scotland have been made by charities, as research highlights the majority have a high level of skills and education that could help them contribute to the economy.

The research by Refugee Survival Trust, carried out in Glasgow with 50 asylum seekers from 13 different countries, shows over 70% are educated to high school diploma equivalent or higher, with almost a third having a degree.

All the participants to the survey said they wanted to work, with 90% identifying skills they thought were useful to the job market. Interviewees said they had a range of specialist expertise they were unable to use as a result of the ban on working.

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The Scottish research is being released tomorrow as over 150 organisations – including Scottish Refugee Council and Maryhill Integration Network – take part in a UK-wide day of action to highlight the call to lift the ban, allowing asylum seekers to work after six months.

Currently, a few asylum seekers are allowed to work if they have been waiting for a decision on their claim for more than a year and can fill a role on a narrowly defined shortage occupation list.

But most must rely on Home Office support of £5.39 a day – just over half Job Seeker’s Allowance (JSA) – while their asylum claim is processed, which can take years. Charities claim that the policy impacts on their mental health and means they lose skills and confidence.

Azita Jabbari, policy officer at Refugee Survival Trust, who carried out the research, said: “Asylum seekers who are not allowed to work have an increased chance of suffering from depression, anxiety and even suicidal thoughts.

“Long periods of waiting in uncertainty without being able to use their knowledge and expertise to contribute to the UK economy can affect not just their mental health but also their ability to find work in the future. Subjecting this group to such treatment when they are only exercising their right to seek refuge from violence and persecution in their home countries under the 1951 refugee convention, is not only a waste of their skills but is also unjust.”

The Lift the Ban campaign was launched last August, with a report claiming the policy change would result in a net gain of £42.4 million to the UK economy.

Last December, Home Secretary Sajid Javid said he would review the ban – the Scottish Government, which supports the campaign, raised the issue with the UK Government again in late April.

Tomorrow Maryhill Integration Network will host an event at Glasgow City Chambers to highlight charities’ calls. One of the event speakers – Michael Matovu, originally from Uganda – set up support organisation Radiant and Brighter in 2012 with his wife Pheona after being refused permission to work for five years due to immigration problems.

The couple and their two children found themselves destitute after being refused leave to remain, leaving them reliant on local charities. After being finally given leave, they struggled to find employment due to a lack of recent work history, and set-up the social enterprise to help refugee and migrant communities access training and education.

Matovu said: “When I couldn’t work I was in a very difficult place. You feel useless, your confidence chips away – you feel tortured. Now we work with asylum seekers, refugees and migrants and the issues that people face are still the same. In the asylum process you don’t know if it will take a month or five years. If the ban was lifted it would be great for migrants, but also for the Scottish economy. It’s a two-way thing.”

Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Local Government Aileen Campbell said: “We have long believed that asylum seekers should have the right to work. Access to employment is an important factor in supporting integration.”