Getty Muslims are converting to Christianity to gain asylum in Britain

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Church leaders have seen a spike in new arrivals, mainly from Iran, asking to be baptised after finding a loophole in the immigration system. After they have converted, they tell the Home Office their new faith would open them up to persecution such as torture, or even execution if they are deported back to their home country. Church leaders said being baptised can “significantly enhance” asylum seekers’ odds of being granted refuge in the UK.

The Reverend Pete Wilcox, Dean of Liverpool, said the cathedral has baptised roughly 200 asylum seekers in the last four years. He said: “Mixed motives are not unheard of.” The vicar said it was similar to parents getting their children baptised to ensure they get a place at a church school.

Getty A baptism certificate can prove very useful to gain asylum

He added: “God alone knows the person’s heart and we try to be consistent about that and not to set the bar at one height for middle-class aspiring parents seeking the best for the education of their children and the bar at another height for converts from Islam looking for asylum. “Refuse Jemima baptism and she goes to school somewhere else. “Refuse Mohammed baptism and he gets deported.”

On the other hand, he said there is no comparative rush for British citizens to convert to Christianity from Islam. He added: “I can’t think of a single example of somebody who already had British citizenship converting here with us from Islam to Christianity.” The vicar said having a baptism certificate “significantly enhances” their asylum claim.

Getty In some areas only Muslims have been baptised, no Christians

Getty Converts have to attend five weeks of classes and church services

Reverend Wilcox, said: “Once you are a baptised Christian it is really not conceivable that you would be deported to a Muslim country.” Anybody converting to Christianity at Liverpool Cathedral has to take part in a five-week baptism course and have to attend church services before it starts. Another seven vicars at churches across the UK confirmed they have baptised hundreds of Muslims, mostly from Iran. Over the past four years, Stockton Parish Church in Stockton-on-Tees has baptised 100 Iranians, with vicar Mark Miller, saying he did not think any British adults or children had been baptised there in the past year. At Elim Pentecostal Church in Liverpool about 300 Muslims, also mainly from Iran, have been baptised since 2010, with 100 known to have used it to help them stay in the UK.