Site guide

The first weeks are the most confusing: unfamiliar words, letters, queues — and nobody explains anything. Start with Claiming asylum — the whole process step by step: screening (the first short interview), the substantive interview, the decision. Each interview has its own page: what they ask at screening and how to prepare for the substantive interview — it takes the longest to come, and it decides the most.

If you are still choosing where to seek protection, read the honest comparison: USA, Germany, Spain or the UK — where the chances are higher and what life is like. The "What are your chances?" test shows Home Office figures for your country in 10 seconds. To write to the Home Office — change of address, a question about your case — use the official route: how to contact the Home Office.

Waiting is the longest part of the journey: months, sometimes years. How long people with your profile actually wait — honest numbers on Waiting times. While you wait, you have documents and duties: the ARC card (plastic, with a photo — your main document for now), eVisa, and reporting to the Home Office — how it works and what to do if you missed one.

If you have nothing to live on, the Home Office must provide housing and money — how to get it is on Asylum support. Working is not allowed in most cases while you wait — details and exceptions on Can I work?. But a doctor is free and needs no documents: how to register with a GP. And free English classes: where to learn the language.

In 2026 the asylum rules are changing in a big way. What exactly changes and who it affects — we track every stage of the law: Reform 2026. If you or someone close to you is detained — Detention: your rights and first steps.

A refusal is hard — but it is not the end of the road. Half of refusals are overturned in court: how the appeal works, deadlines and statistics, on its own page. If the appeal deadlines have passed but you have new evidence, there is a second route — a fresh claim: who to call, how to book, and what to bring.

For an appeal you may get a free lawyer — that is called legal aid, and we keep a database of asylum lawyers, including Russian-speaking ones. Housing and support after a refusal also exist — the Section 4 part of Asylum support. And if you decide to go home, read the honest breakdown of voluntary return — money for the ticket, but also a re-entry ban.

Congratulations! But don't relax yet: the letter starts a countdown — in 42 days the Home Office housing and money stop, and there is a lot to get done before that. What to do and in what order — step by step on After you get status. Your status now lives in your eVisa — that is where the share code comes from, which proves your right to work and rent.

Then comes ordinary life, and we have a page for every piece of it: benefits and Universal Credit, a bank account, Jobcentre and work, housing and what to do if you risk homelessness — 42 days go fast, better to read ahead.

You can travel with a Refugee Travel Document — which countries let you in without a visa is in the travel section and the document guide. And further ahead — settlement and citizenship: the path to a passport and citizenship with a timeline calculator.

Health: how the system works — the NHS for newcomers, seeing a doctor, when to go to A&E (emergency care), and separately — mental health: where to turn when things get heavy, free of charge.

Children and study: school and child benefits, education for adults, English classes. Work as a career, not just a job — professions and careers: how to get your qualifications recognised and restart in your field. For loved ones — the family page.

And real contacts live in the directory: lawyers, doctors, free English courses, interpreters, support organisations. All with addresses and phone numbers.