If you are claiming Asylum you should make your application at your port of entry to the UK, or after entry, to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) of the Home Office. Your application should be made as soon as possible.

To be granted asylum under the 1951 United Nations' Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, you have to show a well-founded fear of persecution in a particular country for the following reasons:

• Race
• Religion
• Nationality
• Political opinion
• Membership of a particular social group

If you do not qualify for asylum but IND caseworkers consider that there are other humanitarian or discretionary reasons for you to remain in the UK, temporary leave may be granted in accordance with policies on Humanitarian Protection (HP) and Discretionary Leave (DL) .

Your responsibility as an asylum applicant

As an asylum claimant you have the responsibility to:

• Co-operate and tell us the truth;
• Obey the law; it is a crime to make a claim involving deception, and conviction can mean two years' imprisonment;
• Keep in regular contact with the Home Office;
• Leave the UK if claim is rejected and appeal fails.
• Making an asylum application

Screening
Applicants are screened to establish their identity and nationality with interpreters present if necessary. Fingerprints are taken to guard against fraud and multiple applications.

Induction
Increasingly, claimants go through an induction process where they learn about their rights and responsibilities. Induction can take place in a designated Induction Centre, Oakington Reception Centre, or in a Removal Centre.

During the induction process you will receive an Application Registration Card(ARC), containing your personal details. You need to present your ARC to access the services you are entitled to.  Induction also includes details of the Voluntary Assisted Return Programme.

Asylum support
If you are an asylum seeker and are not able to support yourself, you may be eligible to apply for help. Support is provided in the form of subsistence payments and accommodation on a no choice basis in parts of the UK where there is less pressure on accommodation than in London and the South East. If you are eligible for accommodation you are obliged to remain at the address you are allocated unless you are moved.

Assessing the claim
Asylum claims are based on the details given at interview, and also sometimes in writing via a Statement of Evidence Form (SEF) which must be completed in English. Applicants may bring a legal representative to the interview if they wish, but it is not considered necessary. A caseworker or an immigration officer trained to act under the 1951 Convention decides the claim, and each claim is assessed on its own merits, taking country information into account. Decisions are provided in writing.

What we can decide - Refugee Status
If you are recognised as a refugee, you are granted five years limited leave to enter or remain in the UKin the first instance. You can also apply for a Convention travel document and for family reunion.

What we can decide - Humanitarian Protection and Discretionary Leave
In April 2003, exceptional leave to remain in the UK was replaced by Humanitarian Protection and Discretionary Leave . These categories of leave will be used more sparingly than exceptional leave was.  Humanitarian Protection is a grant of limited leave made to someone who hasn't been granted asylum but who, subject to certain exclusion provisions, has been able to demonstrate a need for protection in the United Kingdom.  A person who is not able to demonstrate a need for protection under either the asylum or Humanitarian Protection provisions may qualify for a grant of Discretionary Leave. Discretionary Leave will only be granted for one of a defined number of reasons.

Removals
If you are refused refugee status and have no other basis to stay you are expected to leave the UK. If you do not do so, we may detain you will be removed.

Integration
If you are a recognised refugee you are entitled to the same social and economic rights as UK citizens. You have full access to medical treatment, housing, education, and employment. You are obliged to conform to the laws of the UK. Refugee integrationprojects may be funded by the Home Office Challenge fund.

Cash support

The value of subsistence support provided to asylum seekers is similar to the Income support payments provided to British citizens.  Subsistence support is set at 100% of Income support levels for dependant children under the age of 18 and at 70% of Income support levels for adults.  The levels of asylum support for adults are intended to reflect the fact that asylum seekers do not pay utility bills.

Changes to the Asylum Support System

New rates of support for Asylum Seekers came into force on 10 April 2006, following Statutory Instrument (No.733) being laid before Parliament on 17 March 2006.

Qualifying Couple	£63.07
Lone parent aged 18 or over	£40.22
Single person aged 25 or over	£40.22
Single person aged at least 18 but under 25	£31.85
Person aged at least 16 but under 18 (except a member of a qualifying couple)	£34.60
Person aged under 16	£45.58

Additional Payment for Mothers and Children

Pregnant women and children under the age of 3 are entitled to addition payments to enable them to purchase healthy foods.  Babies under the age of one receive an additional £5, pregnant women and children between the ages of one and three receive an additional £3.  The payments are made in cash so that it is possible to choose which healthy foods are purchased.

Health

All asylum seekers who are supported by IND, as well as their dependants, are entitled to NHS treatment without charge while awaiting a final decision on their application.

If you are supported by IND you also qualify for an HC2 certificate to obtain free NHS prescriptions, NHS dental treatment, NHS wigs and fabric support, necessary travel costs to and from hospital for NHS treatment, NHS sight tests and the full value of an NHS optical voucher towards the cost of glasses or contact lenses.

Initial Accommodation

The Initial Accommodation Network(formerly Induction Centre Network) provides initial accommodation and Induction services at the start of the UKasylum process.

Dispersal Accommodation

Asylum seekers eligible for section 95 (NASS) accommodation are those who appear to become destitute or are likely to become destitute.

Asylum seekers requiring section 95 accommodation will normally spend a period of time in an initial accommodation facility.

Section 95 accommodation is provided in areas where there is a ready supply of suitable accommodation.  In effect this means, whenever possible, dispersing away from London and the south east.