Proof Britain IS a soft touch for migrants: We let 63 per cent of asylum seekers from Iran IN...while France keeps 69 per cent OUT

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Britain was last night branded a 'soft touch' for accepting far more Iranian asylum-seekers than France does.

Figures obtained by The Mail on Sunday show the UK grants refugee status to almost two-thirds of those who arrive from Iran. By contrast France takes in only one in three.

And even those refused asylum in Britain are highly unlikely to be kicked out, analysis of official data shows.

Experts last night claimed that the stark disparity in treatment explains why so many Iranians are prepared to risk their lives making the perilous trip across the Channel in flimsy dinghies.

Figures obtained by The Mail on Sunday show the UK grants refugee status to almost two-thirds of those who arrive from Iran (pictured, a Border Force team bring migrants ashore at Dover Harbour)

Lord Green of Deddington, chairman of Migration Watch UK, said: 'The British asylum system is less stringent than the one in France and this is partly why people are trying to come through Calais into Britain and not apply in France.'

An analysis of Home Office data by Migration Watch found that about 2,500 Iranians applied for asylum in the UK each year between 2008 and 2017, more than from any other country except Germany.

In the past year, 63 per cent of the cases ended with claimants being granted asylum, discretionary leave or humanitarian protection. Only 37 per cent were rejected.

Tribunal judges often accept the claims of those who say they are from minority ethnic groups, political dissidents, Christians, gay or deemed at risk of torture or detention if they are returned to their Sharia-ruled homeland. 

For the past five years, an average of only about 100 failed applicants have been forcibly removed or chosen to leave per annum – less than four per cent of the total.

Refugee groups say that once an Iranian loses a bid to remain on appeal, they often abscond and work in the black economy or their lawyers submit a fresh asylum application which could take years to process. 

The asylum rejection rate for Iranians is much higher in France – the country where all of the Calais migrants could have applied for asylum.

Latest figures from Eurostat, the EU statistical body, show that in 2017, France rejected 63 per cent of Iranian asylum seekers at first decision and ordered them to leave the country. In the first three quarters of 2018, that rose to 69 per cent.

A French government source said the rejection rate for Iranians is similar to the overall rate for all asylum seekers in France, which stands at around 70 per cent. 

'This rejection figure is very likely to rise following the passing of a new asylum bill last summer,' the source said.

Even those refused asylum in Britain are highly unlikely to be kicked out, analysis of official data shows

'Procedures are becoming far more streamlined, more forensic and fast. Those who have not been able to build a credible asylum case are rejected very quickly.'

Some of the Iranians at Calais have told The Mail on Sunday that they want to come to Britain because there is a lower chance of being denied permission to stay. The Home Office says 543 Iranians crossed the Channel on dinghies and small fishing boats in 2018. Of those, 438 made the crossing between October and December.

Earlier this month, Home Secretary Sajid Javid was criticised after expressing scepticism about most of the Iranian migrants being genuine asylum seekers.

He said: 'If you are a genuine asylum seeker, why have you not sought asylum in the first safe country you arrived in?

'Because France is not a country where anyone would argue it is not safe in any way whatsoever, and if you are genuine, then why not seek asylum in your first safe country?'

A Home Office spokesman said: 'The UK has a proud history of providing protection to those who need it, however, we are clear that those with no right to be in the UK should return home.

'Since the beginning of 2010 there have been more than 345,000 voluntary or enforced returns and we will always seek to return people with no right to be in the UK.'