Asylum Seeker

Who is a refugee?

Refugees are people forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as a result of who they are, what they believe in or say, or because of armed conflict, violence or serious public disorder.

Read more: Refugees | UNHCR

What is Asylum?

Asylum is the protection that a country grants to refugees in its territory. An Asylum seeker is an individual who meets the criteria of refugee status and has made an application to the relevant authority. The Home Office is responsible for considering asylum claims in the United Kingdom (UK). In the United Kingdom, Refugee status gives a person five years of permission to stay in the UK, with permission to work and study, and access to the NHS and benefits.

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply for asylum in the UK, you must prove that you are:

• not from an EU country
• did not pass through a ‘safe third country’ before arriving in the UK, and;
• have no connections to a safe third country.

A ‘safe third country’ is one in which the applicant is not a citizen of but would not be harmed in and would not send the applicant to another country where the applicant would be harmed.

If any of the above apply, your asylum claim may not be admitted to the UK asylum process.

Additionally, you must be unable to live safely in any part of your own country due to fear of persecution base on race, religion, nationality, political opinion or anything else that puts you at risk because of the social, cultural, religious or political situation in your country, for example, your gender, gender identity or sexual orientation.  

You must have failed to get protection form authorities in your own country.

Family Members

You can include your partner and your children under 18 as ‘dependants’ in your application if they’re with you in the UK. Dependants can be added to your claim at a registration event, but not once a decision has been made on your asylum claim.

See more: Information booklet about your asylum application – GOV.UK

How to claim asylum

You are expected to claim asylum at the earliest possible opportunity. Failure to do so may be taken into account and affect the credibility of your claim. For most people you’ll have your asylum screening at the UK boarder if you claim as soon as you arrive.  

• All unaccompanied children should/ will be advised to use the walk-in service.
  • Where to find us:
    Croydon Intake Unit (CIU) 
    Lunar House 
    40 Wellesley Road 
    Croydon
    CR9 2BY
• If you are an adult who is not detained, you should contact the Asylum Intake Unit Appointment Line.
  • For bookings and queries, call the Asylum Intake Unit Appointment Line 0300 123 4193. Opening hours: Monday to Thursday 9am to 4.45pm, Friday 9am to 4:30pm
  • They’ll ask simple questions about you and your family. You’ll also be asked if you need help with housing. you will not be asked why you’re claiming asylum during this call.
    • Tell the asylum registration appointment line if:
      • You need to bring any dependants to your screening
      • You’re a child and need to be accompanied
      • You need an interpreter at your screening.

Once you’ve booked an appointment with the Intake Unit Appointment Line, you’ll get a text message, email or letter regarding the details of your appointment.

You cannot get financial help for travel to or from the asylum registration location.

Application Process

1. The Asylum screening appointment

You register your asylum claim at a ‘screening’ this is a meeting with an immigration officer. This is a meeting with an immigration officer where you tell them about your case.

At your screening you’ll:

• Be photographed
• Have your fingerprints taken
• Have an interview to check who you are and where you’re from

You’ll be asked why you want asylum. You can bring written evidence to support your claim.

Documents you must provide (if you have them)

• Passport and travel documents
• Identification documents, for example identity cards, birth and marriage certificates or school records.
• Anything you think will help your application

Evidence of your accommodation

• If you are living in the UK, provide documentary evidence of your accommodation such as a tenancy agreement or recent utility bill showing your full name and UK address.
• If you are living in someone else’s house, bring a letter (no older than 3 months) from the householder which says you can stay in their house and documentary evidence such as a utility bill showing the householder’s full name and address.

The asylum screening can take up to 4 hours. You should bring anything you need, for example medication, food and anything you need for any children you have with you.

You can bring a legal representative and an interpreter to your appointment if you need them. You must bring any dependants who are claiming asylum with you.

2. After your screening interview

After your screening, the Home Office will review your case and decide whether it can be considered in the UK.

You’ll be sent an asylum registration card (ARC) to your UK address, unless you’ve been detained.

• Generally, the ARC will be delivered within a few working days. The ARC is not an identity card, but it will contain your personal details including your name, date of birth and nationality in addition to your photograph.
• See more information: Application registration card (ARC) – GOV.UK

You might also be sent an asylum claim questionnaire (ACQ). If you get one, fill it in and return it by the deadline. If you fail to complete an asylum questionnaire as specifically requested by the Home Office, without a reasonable explanation, you asylum claim may be withdrawn.

The Home Office will contract you about your asylum claim. If your contact details change, you must update them using the online form.

Separately, you can complete a ‘Preliminary Information Questionnaire’ which is also known as a ‘PIQ’. The PIQ is designed to help you provide information about the reasons why you need protection in the UK and will assist you in setting out your claim. It may also help you to prepare for you substantive asylum interview.

3. Attending your Substantive Asylum interview

You will be sent a letter about the when and where to attend your asylum interview.  Your interview will be conducted in your first language or a language that you are reasonably able to understand.

Most asylum interviews happen over video calls. The audio will be recorded, and you’ll receive a copy of the recording after the interview.

You can bring a legal representative to this interview.

The Substantive asylum interview is your opportunity to explain to your caseworker how you were persecuted in your country and why you’re afraid to go back to your country. It is very important that you provide as much details as possible.

You will also need to email any evidence you have of your persecution, and any other evidence you think will help your application, to the Home Office: asylumcentralcommunicationshub@homeoffice.gov.uk

4. Asylum Decision

How long will it take to decide my asylum claim?

The vast majority of asylum applications takes around six months to be decided. It may take longer if it’s complicated.

Possible outcomes

• Grant of refugee status
  • If you are granted refugee status, you will also be granted permission to stay for a minimum of five years.
  • Individuals granted refuges status can apply for settlement after five years on the protection route.
  • Applications for settlement can be made one month before your grant of permission to stay expires.
• Grant of Humanitarian Protection
  • You may get humanitarian protection if you do not qualify for refugee status but cannot return to your own country.
  • If you are granted humanitarian protection, you will be granted permission to stay for a minimum of 5 years.
  • Individuals granted humanitarian protection can apply for settlement after for settlement after five years on the protection route.
  • Application for settlement can be made one month before your grant of permission to stay expires.
• Grant of other leave
  • If you are not accepted as needing international protection but it is considered that there are reasons for allowing you to stay on a temporary basis, you will be granted Limited permission to stay.
• Refusal of an asylum claim
  • If you are refused asylum, the Home Office will give you a letter explaining why. The letter will explain whether you have a right of appeal against this decision. If you disagree with the decision and are entitled to appeal, you will also receive information on how to appeal.

Other considerations

An asylum application will be treated as implicitly withdrawn if you:

• Failed to maintain contact with the Home Office or provide up to date contact details.
• Leaves the United Kingdon (without authorisation) at any time before the conclusion of your application for asylum
• Failed to complete the asylum questionnaire as requested by the Home Office
• Failed to attend any reporting relevant event, unless you can demonstrate within a reasonable time that your failure to attend was due to circumstances beyond your control; or
• failed to attend a personal interview, unless you can demonstrate within a reasonable time that your failure to attend was due to circumstances beyond your control;