A first application for asylum in the UK can be made either on arrival at the border, or at the Irregular Migration Intake Unit (IMIU) in Croydon (South of London), or, where a person is already detained it may be made from the detention centre. The IMIU was previously named the Asylum Screening Unit and the Asylum Intake Unit and these names are still used and still appear in some guidance. In certain circumstances,[1] usually due to inability to travel, arrangements can be made to register a claim at a regional centre. Claims made at the port of Dover result in screening at a short-term holding facility at former military site Manston unless the person is identified as an unaccompanied minor, in which case the process takes place within the port.
First instance procedure
In most cases the application is first screened, which involves an interview in which biometric data is taken, health and family information, details of the route of travel, and the broad outline of the reasons for claiming asylum. Children making a claim in their own right are not screened; if they are already in the care of the local authority their claim is registered with the Home Office at a scheduled interview. If the Home Office encounters them first, the child will be subject to a ‘welfare interview’.
On the basis of the screening interview the Asylum Intake Unit (AIU) of the Home Office decides which route the application will follow. The alternatives are:
- unaccompanied children – referred to a specially trained decision maker;
- safe third country procedure (inadmissibility);
- the regular procedure.
In all cases the procedure deals with both refugee status and subsidiary protection.
Potential safe third country cases are referred to the third country unit of the Home Office, which decides whether to refuse to consider the claim on the basis that the person can be removed to another country, including EU Member states[2] (this policy does not apply to claims made from EEA nationals; separate guidance applies to such claims).[3]
The decisions to declare an asylum claim as inadmissible or to certify the substantive claim as clearly unfounded may be challenged in the UK only through judicial review. An application made to the Upper Tribunal can only be made with permission of that tribunal.[4] Judicial review proceedings do not consider the merits of a decision, but only whether the decision maker approached the matter in the correct way.
The guidance for applications considered while the applicant is detained was revised in December 2024.[5] Casework on the asylum claim is separated from the management of the decision to continue detention; decisions in each are handled by different sections of the Home Office.
In the regular procedure, decisions are made by a regional office of the Home Office. There is no time limit for making a first decision and a previous policy to apply service standards in terms of specific lengths of time was abandoned in 2019.[6] Reasoned decisions are normally sent by post, although they may be delivered to the asylum applicant in person when they attend the Home Office reporting centre. Removal notices are not usually issued at the same time as refusals.
On 2 March 2026 the Home Secretary announced that people making initial claims for asylum or further submissions in support of a fresh claim for asylum on or after 2 March 2026 would be granted 30 months leave instead of five years.[7] The change was implemented via a statement of changes to the immigration rules.[8] It is also expected that this group will be subject to a much longer period to wait before being eligible for settlement, with further details expected later this year.[9]
Appeal
Appeal is to the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber), an independent judicial body which is part of the unified tribunal structure in the Ministry of Justice. The appeal is suspensive unless certified otherwise and must be lodged within 14 days of the date of the asylum refusal letter.[10] The tribunal proceedings are broadly adversarial, with the Home Office represented by a presenting officer or a barrister.
A further appeal on a point of law may be made to the Upper Tribunal with permission of the First Tier Tribunal, or, if refused, of the Upper Tribunal. An application for permission to appeal must be made within 14 days of deemed receipt of the First Tier Tribunal decision. Asylum appeals before the First Tier and Upper Tribunals are heard by a judge within the specialist Immigration and Asylum Chamber.
Appeal from the Upper Tribunal to the Court of Appeal may only be made on a point of law and requires the permission of the Upper Tribunal or the Court of Appeal. Where permission to appeal is refused by the Upper Tribunal, it is possible to apply for judicial review of that decision.[11] This has since been heavily restricted through the introduction of the Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022.[12] A legal challenge to this restriction was unsuccessful.[13]
A final appeal to the Supreme Court may only be made on a point of law of public importance, certified by the Court of Appeal or Supreme Court. The Court of Appeal and Supreme Court are superior courts with a general jurisdiction.
Rules and guidance
Immigration Rules[14] and guidance govern the day-to-day operation of immigration and asylum decision-making. Immigration Rules are made by the Home Secretary and are laid before Parliament in a procedure that does not routinely involve scrutiny. In relation to asylum most of the rules are concerned with the process rather than the substance of the decision, but they do include, for instance, factors relevant to credibility. Interpretation of the Refugee Convention is defined in primary legislation through the Nationality and Borders Act 2022[15].
The Home Office also issues detailed practical guidance[16] for asylum decision-making. Guidance deals with a wide range of issues including how to conduct interviews, how to apply some legal rules, country of origin information, and detailed procedural and administrative matters. Guidance is not directly binding, but should be followed, and failure to do so can be grounds for an application for judicial review.
[1] Home Office, ‘Asylum Screening and routing – Version 12.0’, 24 July 2024, available here.
[2] Home Office, ‘Inadmissibility -; third country cases: caseworker guidance’, last updated 27 February 2026, available here.
[3] Home Office, ‘EEA and EU asylum claims: caseworker guidance’, last updated 25 July 2024, available here.
[4] Section 16 Tribunals Courts and Enforcement Act 2007.
[5] Home Office, ‘Detained Asylum Casework- asylum casework version 6.0’, 20 December 2024, available here.
[6] UK Parliament, ‘Written question UIN 220308 Asylum: Applications’, 18 February 2019, available here.
[7] Home Office, ‘Refugee protection to be reviewed every 30 months’, 2 March 2026, available here.
[8] Home Office, Statement of changes to the Immigration Rules: HC 1691, 6 March 2026, available here.
[9] Home Office, ‘Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy’, 21 November 2025, available here.
[10] UK government, ‘Appeal a decision by the immigration and asylum tribunal’, accessed 27 March 2026, available here.
[11] Supreme Court, R (on the application of Cart) (Appellant) v The Upper Tribunal (Respondent) [2011] UKSC 28, available here.
[12] Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022, s 2, available here.
[13] High Court, Mary Jane Baluden Oceana, R (on the application of) v Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) [2023] EWHC 791 (Admin), available here.
[14] Immigration Rules, available here.
[15] Sections 30 to 39.
[16] Home Office, ‘Asylum decision making guidance (asylum instructions)’, 8 April 2025, available here.