Support pack
The support pack provides advisers with help and tips on dealing with real-life situations arising from the asylum process.
The Refugee Council support pack for advisers will give you the information you need in order to assist your asylum seeking and refugee clients. Each section gives practical steps an adviser can take when a client has trouble accessing services and support they are entitled to. It also provides solutions to the most common and often most challenging problems that arise in the UK asylum system.
The support pack includes sections on the UK asylum process, the asylum support system, educational and employment entitlements, accessing healthcare, and what to do after receiving a decision on an asylum claim. The support pack also provides a comprehensive contact list for advisers in Greater London, East of England, West Midlands and Yorkshire and Humberside.
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Asylum process The UK asylum determination process is a legal process. Most queries and/or difficulties your client may have within the asylum determination process should be taken up by a qualified, and OISC certified, immigration solicitor.
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Asylum support This section provides basic information about support and accommodation for asylum seekers – individuals who have applied for asylum and are waiting for a decision on their claim.
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Education and employment Asylum seekers and those with a positive decision are entitled to some education and training opportunities. All children up to the age of 16, regardless of their immigration status or that of their family, are legally entitled to a free school education in the UK.
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Health Refugees, people with Humanitarian Protection or Discretionary Leave and anyone who is an asylum seeker is fully entitled to register with a GP and to access all NHS services.
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Asylum decision The asylum decision section discusses what happens after an asylum applicant is granted a positive decision: refugee status, humanitarian protection or discretionary leave.
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Contacts The support pack includes lists of useful contacts in your region. The contacts include advice providers, the regional asylum teams, directories of legal advisors and services that specialise in education, employment and health.
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How to use the support pack
The support pack is designed to compliment the material covered in the Refugee Council Information Service. We recommend the two publications are used together.
When using the support pack, you may find that we advise you to read through information provided in other publications. Sometimes, this will be a useful policy document created by a statutory service. Other times it will be information provided in another section of the support pack. You will recognise that we are referring you to another section of the support pack because the text will be green.
