Work with asylum seekers
The Refugee Council is one of the leading charities in the UK offering support and advice to people who are seeking asylum.
The UK asylum process is complex and frequent changes to legislation can make it a difficult system to understand. Asylum seekers are some of the most vulnerable people in society and they are often misrepresented in the media. Our job is to help them to navigate the process and support them along the way.
We do this in a number of ways
Practical support
- Own language advice pages with downloadable practical information on the asylum process, support entitlements, access to education for children and destitution
- Signposting to the relevant telephone advice service, depending on location, including Refugee Council's Own Language Telephone Advice Service (OLTAS)
- Counselling and support from our Therapeutic Casework Team - including groups for women and children
- Signposting to helpful services for asylum seekers by phone, in person or through our online resources directory
- Destitution services on a drop in basis, providing advice, pastoral care and emergency provisions
- Classes to help with learning English
Policy, research, parliamentary work and campaigning
We work behind the scenes lobbying for changes to the asylum system. We campaign for a fairer, more humane system and we carrying out research into specific areas, in order to bring these matters to the attention of politicians and decision makers.
Read about our latest campaigns