Am I hard-hearted to feel this way?

[Gertrude1234]

(NC to avoid identification)
My Dh has been helping an asylum seekers for a couple of years, through a voluntary organisation. This guy has been allowed to stay and has been housed by the council. He has recently gone back to a country next to his home country, where his mother is having medical treatment, and taken part in a marriage to a complete stranger. Who is now living with him in the UK. How is this possible - he's living on benefits for a start? I feel really angry that this is allowed, but my Dh thinks i'm hard hearted. Any thoughts?

Probably. A refugee helping another refugee to get somewhere safe.

A refugee helping another refugee to get somewhere safe

This was my first thought too.

I think asylum seekers are allowed to claim benefits, once their claim for asylum is verified. I can't remember exactly - I had to study (very basic) immigration law recently, and I think asylum seekers are able to claim benefits.

This link gives details about what asylum seekers can claim - a cash allowance and housing www.gov.uk/asylum-support/what-youll-get.

Someone was telling me how angry they felt about non UK born tax payers residents getting LA housing first. I asked them why it upset them and I ask you too OP?

I then explained how someone else I know is housed next to a non tax paying non UK born LA resident and explained they were housed as they put their life at risk for UK troops in Afghanistan by interpreting.

I tend to think people don't marry strangers for happy reasons

I think they mostly marry strangers because the world is a shit inequitable place where if you've been born in Britain you're basically one of the luckiest cunts every to have been born anywhere

So then I end up cutting them some slack so I don't end up being an arsehole

If he's been housed by the council and is getting benefits, he must now be a refugee, not an asylum seeker. Asylum seekers aren't entitled to either of those things. They have to remain in asylum seeker accommodation (hostels).

As a refugee, he will be entitled to indefinite leave to remain in the UK and pretty much the same rights as any UK citizen. Refugee status is notoriously hard to get and requires the applicant to provide compelling evidence that they would be at risk if they returned to their home country.

I have a friend who is a Turkish dissident and despite having been arrested, imprisoned for a month without charge and tortured, she couldn't get refugee status. She had excellent evidence too (medical evidence of injuries sustained during torture, PTSD, her boss and other former colleagues having been sentenced to 250 years for criticising the government etc).

It is massively massively difficult to get a spousal visa as a UK resident so I can't imagine it would be that easy to get one as a refugee?!

My British born and raised pal, married a man from Africa (in being non specific on purpose) after met and fallen in love with him there. They married, had children and still had to jump through hoops to get him a visa, so unless there are different rules for refugees spouses (which there may well be) I just can't believe it would have been as easy as to pop off and marry a stranger and "Bobs your uncle" a free pass for all.

Sorry - I should have put that better. Fwiw i'm fine with him getting benefits and accommodation. He is no longer an asylum seek as he's beenot given permission to stay. All fine
But I don't think it's fine that he should be able to marry a stranger and bring them across to live here. She's not a refugee or an asylum seeker.