In letters sent to the Tamils on Friday from the Home Office, they were told they had been granted temporary permission to enter the UK “outside the immigration rules” to allow them to consider their “longer-term options”.
It stressed that the offer “does not involve permanent settlement in the UK or recognition of refugee status by the UK government” and said the group would not be allowed to operate.
The government says the Chagos Islands, known as the British Indian Ocean Territory (Biot), are “constitutionally distinct” from the UK, and the unusual status is leading to a long legal dispute.
Most Tamils are waiting for a final decision on their requests for international protection – which the United Nations says is akin to refugee status – or appealing rejections.
A total of eight have been granted international protection, meaning they cannot be returned to Sri Lanka, the BBC reports.
In the past, successive governments have said that bringing Tamils to the UK threatens to create a “backdoor migration route”.
But the government said on Monday that steps had been taken to ensure that did not happen, citing a deal to send future arrivals to St Helena – another UK territory some 5,000 miles away.
“Once the sovereignty agreement with Mauritius is fully concluded, they will take responsibility for any future migrants,” the spokesman said.
