Permission to work
Applying for permission to work while claiming asylum [August 2009]
This short briefing provides information on the circumstances by which some asylum seekers can apply to work based on a 2003 European Reception Directive. It has been updated in the light of a recent Court of Appeal decision that fresh claims for asylum applications are covered by the Reception Directive.
Asylum seekers can apply for permission to work if they have waited more than 12 months for an initial decision by the Home Office, the delay in the Home Office’s decision was not their fault and their claim for asylum is ongoing, even if it is now at the appeal stage.
Published in August 2009, updated from September 2008
