How do I Apply for Asylum?

You can apply for asylum at any time, but you would normally apply either:

• To the immigration officer on duty at an airport or seaport when you first arrive.
• At the Home Office, if you are already in the UK.

There are advantages and disadvantages with both options. If you apply to the Home Office after you arrive, you'll be able to meet up with friends and family, or to find a legal representative. You may not be able to find legal help if you apply at the airport or seaport. However, if you don't apply when you enter the UK, the authorities may use the delay as a reason to refuse your application. This should not apply if you are already here lawfully (as a student, for example) when your reasons for fearing persecution in your country first arise. Either way, the Immigration and Nationality Directorate of the Home Office is the government department which deals with applications. Applications made at other places are sent there for decision.

.: What happens when I apply?

There are several stages that you go through, and several things that will happen to you, while they look at your application.

.: The first interview.

The first stage involves a short interview, called a screening interview. Your asylum claim will begin from the time of this interview. The purpose of this interview is to get a record of your personal details and how you arrived in the U K. This is partly to check whether you can be returned quickly to a safe third country' instead of the UK dealing with your application. This screening interview will usually happen as soon as you apply for asylum, but it might happen later if the authorities need to find an interpreter for you. They will also have to delay the interview if you are unwell.

If you have people to contact in the UK, you should insist that you are allowed to make a phone call before the interview. Whether this is to a relative, a friend, an advice service, lawyer, or an organization such as Amnesty International, the authorities should not stop you without a good reason. If they won't let you make a call, make sure they tell you why. Ask them to put their reasons in writing.

.: Asylum interviews.

The screening interview may be immediately followed by a longer, more detailed interview, unless you can show that you already have a legal representative (a lawyer or solicitor) to help with your application. If you do have a representative, their costs can usually be covered by Community Legal Service funds. But this won't generally allow your adviser to come to your screening interview, unless you are particularly vulnerable for some reason, or you are at risk of being sent to a detention centre or prison. Children on their own will also have a representative. If you don't have a legal representative, and you are given a full asylum interview straight away, the information you give the officer will form the basis of your application. It will be difficult to add or change anything later. Make sure you are given a copy of the interview notes.

.: Identity documents.

You will be fingerprinted, although children (especially those under 12) may not be. A photograph of everyone applying for asylum, including children, is attached to the identity document you will be given. This document, known as a Standard Acknowledgment Letter (SAL), is important, as it will usually be your only proof of identity. It has built-in security features, making it hard to copy. Any other documents you have brought with you will be held by the immigration authorities.

.: The Standard Acknowledgment.

Letter will normally say you are not allowed to work. Check it straight away to make sure the details on it are correct.

.: Where you came from.

As an asylum seeker, you can't be sent back to any country where you might face a risk of persecution. Your application must be considered and refused before you can be returned to the country you came from. However, if you passed through another country, even for a very short time, the immigration authorities may try to return you there if it is a 'safe third country'. They will not look at your asylum claim if they do this. If the 'safe third country' is one of the 14 European Union countries, the Home Office must send your details to that government. You can't be sent back until that country agrees to accept you. If you are to be returned to one of these countries, or to Switzerland, Norway, Canada or the USA, you can't appeal against the decision to send you there until after you've left the UK. Your only option to appeal in the UK is on the ground that making you leave would break your human rights, If the Immigration Service wants to return you to any country apart from these, you have the right to stay in the UK while your appeal is heard. But you can appeal only about whether the other country is 'safe', not whether you are a refugee.

.: Statement of evidence forms(SEFs).

If you are not detained, you will usually be given a form to fill in. This is called a 'statement of evidence' form (SEF), and you need to put your reasons for claiming asylum on it. What you say on this form will be taken as the reason for your claim, and it is important that it covers everything the Home Office will need to look at. You should always get advice if you can before filling in this form.

You must fill in the form and return it within 10 working days. It is difficult to get extra time to do this. You can also expect to be called for a full interview about your claim with the immigration authorities later, but not if you haven't returned your SEF from. You can have a legal representative at the interview with you, if you have one, and an interpreter. If you don't return the SEF form in time, or you don't turn up for an interview, you will normally be refused asylum for `noncompliance`. The Home Office may not look at your case in detail, and will not interview you. So you must tell the authorities as soon as you can if you can't complete a form, provide documents you've been asked for, or turn up for an interview.

.: What can I live on while I am waiting?

If you have no money you can claim support while your case is considered. This scheme is run by the National Asylum Support Service (NASS). Children who are applying on their own are dealt with differently (they get support from local councils). You, and anyone else living with you as a member of your household, can claim support:

• From the date you lodge your asylum application (or any application under Article 3 of the European Convention.
• Until it has been approved or an appeal has ended.