People smugglers are distributing a detailed 25-page 'cheat sheet' to migrants, instructing them on how to exploit a specific vulnerability in Britain's asylum process, an investigation has revealed.
The Bidoon Asylum Loophole
Written entirely in Arabic, the booklet coaches individuals on how to falsely present themselves as members of the Bidoon community, a largely stateless Arab minority in Kuwait. The document advises migrants that claiming to be Bidoon is a 'guaranteed way' to gain asylum in the UK.
According to The Telegraph, which obtained the manual, it contains practice answers for official asylum interviews. It instructs applicants to tell officials they 'don't have a birth certificate nor does my family because we are stateless'. The guide also provides specific phrases to memorise and repeat, including 'in Kuwait no passports for Bidoon', 'no school', 'no hospital', 'police beat us' and 'I had to leave'.
Home Office Policy and Rising Numbers
This strategy targets a specific area of UK asylum policy. The Home Office's own 2024 country policy for Kuwait recognises the Bidoon as 'a particular social group under the Refugee Convention'. It states that undocumented Bidoon face 'a real risk of persecution and breach of their human rights' in their home country.
However, the policy also explicitly warns that 'some people may claim to be Bidoon when they are nationals of another country, such as Iraq'. This is precisely the loophole the manual is designed to exploit.
Official figures show a significant rise in asylum claims from Kuwaiti nationals. In the year to June 2025, 2,440 people from Kuwait claimed asylum in Britain. Of these, a notable 845 individuals arrived via small boats before making their claim. The cheat sheet is being circulated on encrypted platforms like Telegram and other messaging apps.
Government Response and Vows to Act
A Home Office spokesman issued a firm response, stating: 'We will not tolerate abuse of our immigration system.' The spokesman emphasised that such manuals will not prevent the removal of individuals with no legitimate claim.
The department outlined its verification methods, which include biometric checks, fingerprinting, official documentation, language analysis, and detailed asylum interviews to confirm nationality and identity.
Concluding, the spokesman said, 'We are spearheading a major reform to the immigration system, both removing the incentives that draw illegal migrants to Britain in the first place and making it easier to deport illegal migrants.'
