Your asylum support was refused or stopped? You have 3 working days to file an FTT appeal — and you are not alone.

The 3-working-day clock — IAA 1999 s.103 + SI 2008/2685

The single most important fact on this page: under Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 s.103, you have a right of appeal to the FTT-AS against any Home Office decision to refuse, stop, or discontinue your Section 95 or Section 4 support. The procedure rules (SI 2008/2685, rule 22(2)(d)) fix the time limit at three working days — and the clock runs from when you received the decision letter, not from the date printed on it.

• What counts as "received". Date of receipt is the day the letter arrived at your address (or was handed to you in the hotel), not the date on the letterhead and not the day the Home Office posted it. Keep the envelope, screenshot the email, and photograph the receipt slip if the letter was hand-delivered.
• What counts as a "working day". Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays in England and Wales. Weekends do not count. If the letter arrives on a Thursday, the deadline is the end of Tuesday the following week (Thu = day of receipt; Fri / Mon / Tue = three working days).
• How to file. Complete the Notice of Appeal form for the First-tier Tribunal (Asylum Support). Send it to the FTT-AS at Anchorage 2, Anchorage Quay, Salford M50 3XE — tribunal switchboard 0300 123 1711. Send by tracked post (Royal Mail Signed For 1st Class or Special Delivery) and keep the tracking receipt. Email lodgement is also accepted at the FTT-AS Salford office.
• If you are out of time. Lodge anyway and ask for an extension. The Tribunal can extend the time limit where there is a good reason (illness, no English, late receipt) under SI 2008/2685, rule 5(3)(a). The decision to extend or not is the Tribunal's, not the Home Office's.
• Section 98 emergency support pending the decision. If you applied for Section 95 and the decision is delayed, IAA 1999 s.98 requires the Home Office to provide emergency support (usually initial accommodation and a smaller subsistence rate) while it makes up its mind. Migrant Help can chase this on the 24/7 line.

The destitution test — IAA 1999 s.95(3)

IAA 1999 s.95(3) defines who counts as "destitute" for the purposes of asylum support. You are destitute if either:

• You do not have adequate accommodation (or any means of obtaining it), whether or not your other essential living needs are met, OR
• You have adequate accommodation but cannot meet your other essential living needs (food, clothing, basic toiletries, fares for asylum-related travel, telephone for appointments, etc.).

The test is applied to you and your dependents together — partner, children under 18, certain other family members. The destitution test is a snapshot of your means at the moment you apply (or when the Home Office decides). The Home Office must look at any cash, bank balances, friends' or family support, and other resources reasonably available to you. The current rates (May 2026) for those found destitute are:

• £49.18 per person per week — self-catered accommodation (you cook for yourself); paid via the ASPEN / sortcode card.
• £9.95 per person per week — catered accommodation (full-board, including hotel and contingency accommodation); paid via the ASPEN / sortcode card.

Evidence at the FTT-AS hearing. Bring bank statements (showing zero or near-zero balance), accommodation status documents (your hotel placement letter, tenancy agreement, or eviction notice), a list of your dependents, and any letters from friends or family confirming they are NOT supporting you financially. Receipts for the last week's food spend or transport fares are useful to show essential living needs cannot be met.

The five Section 4 conditions — SI 2005/930 reg.3(2)

If you are a failed asylum seeker (your claim has been refused and appeal rights exhausted), Section 95 is no longer available, but you may still qualify for Section 4 support under IAA 1999 s.4. The conditions are set out in the Asylum Support Regulations 2005 (SI 2005/930) reg.3(2) — you must meet ONE of the five limbs below AND be destitute.

New from 27 March 2026 — SI 2026/209. The Asylum Support (Amendment) Regulations 2026 introduce a work-disqualification discontinuance ground: where an asylum seeker who had been granted permission to work (because the claim had been pending 12+ months) loses or refuses that permission, that can now be relied on by the Home Office to discontinue support. The discontinuance is itself appealable under IAA 1999 s.103 — the 3-working-day clock applies. If your discontinuance letter cites SI 2026/209, tell ASAP on the call: this is exactly the policy area JCWI has been litigating.

The 42-day move-on period — for newly recognised refugees

If you have just been granted refugee status (Convention status, Humanitarian Protection, or limited leave to remain), your Section 95 support does NOT end immediately. You are entitled to a 42-day move-on period from the date on your grant letter (extended from 28 days from March 2026). During those 42 days you should:

• Apply for your Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) or e-visa — without it you cannot open a bank account or rent privately.
• Apply for a National Insurance number — you can do this online at gov.uk now that you have status.
• Apply for Universal Credit (UC) on day 1 of the move-on. UC has a 5-week wait before the first payment; ask the Jobcentre for an Advance Payment to bridge the gap. Your asylum support tapers off as UC starts.
• Apply to your local council for housing as homeless / threatened with homelessness. As a recognised refugee you are eligible for council housing assistance — the council has a duty to help.
• Open a bank account — your BRP is sufficient ID. Some banks (Monzo, Starling, basic accounts at Barclays / Lloyds / HSBC) accept refugees specifically.

The Refugee Council casework service on 0808 196 7272 is set up for exactly this 42-day sprint. They can help with all five tasks above and intervene if UC, the council, or the Home Office delays.

SOS hotlines — call before you do anything else

The lines below are free and run by the people who deal with UK asylum support refusals every working day. Save the numbers to your phone before you close this page. Verified 14 May 2026.

Wallet card — screenshot this

The text below fits on one phone screen. Screenshot it now and save it where you can find it without unlocking the app — a printout in your pocket works too. If the hotel notice or discontinuance letter arrives later, you will have the steps and the numbers in front of you without needing to search.

If your UK asylum support was refused or stopped:
1. You have 3 working days from when you RECEIVED the Home Office letter
   to file an FTT appeal (IAA 1999 s.103; SI 2008/2685).
2. Call Migrant Help 0808 8010 503 (24/7).
3. Call ASAP 020 3716 0283 Mon/Wed/Fri 2-4pm.
4. File the Notice of Appeal at the FTT-AS
   (Anchorage 2, Anchorage Quay, Salford M50 3XE; 0300 123 1711).
5. Send by tracked post. Keep the receipt.
6. Bring evidence to the hearing: bank statements (showing destitution),
   accommodation status, dependents.

The FTT-AS Salford office holds in-person and remote hearings. You can attend by phone or video link — tell the Tribunal on the Notice of Appeal which you prefer. Interpreting is provided free at the hearing.

Right now — what to do this week

1. Photograph the Home Office letter front and back, AND the envelope it arrived in (the postmark date is evidence of receipt). Save copies to email or cloud storage outside your hotel room.
2. Count the 3 working days from the day you received it (not the date on the letter). Mark the deadline on a calendar. Working day = Mon-Fri excluding bank holidays.
3. Call Migrant Help on 0808 8010 503 — they are 24/7, free, with interpreting. Tell them you have had a negative decision and you want to appeal. Ask them to log the call and to escalate any emergency support gap under IAA 1999 s.98.
4. Call ASAP on 020 3716 0283 on the next Monday, Wednesday, or Friday between 2pm and 4pm. ASAP will assess whether you have a viable appeal, help draft the Notice of Appeal, and (where capacity allows) represent you at the hearing.
5. Lodge the Notice of Appeal at the FTT-AS, Anchorage 2, Anchorage Quay, Salford M50 3XE (0300 123 1711). Tracked post; keep the receipt.
6. Gather your evidence for the hearing: bank statements (showing destitution), accommodation status letters, your screening interview / asylum claim reference, and a list of dependents. If you are arguing one of the five Section 4 limbs, gather the supporting documents (medical letter, embassy email, judicial-review permission order, etc.).
7. If you have nowhere to sleep tonight: British Red Cross provides emergency cash, food, and clothing — search "British Red Cross refugee support" plus your nearest city. Migrant Help also coordinates emergency placements.
8. If life-threatening or detention: dial 999 or 112.

After the helpline call — the paid products

Migrant Help, ASAP, Refugee Council, British Red Cross, JCWI, and Refugee Action are all free and should always come first. Once you have a Notice of Appeal lodged and an ASAP referral number, Commoner Law has three products specifically designed to plug into the FTT-AS and Section 4 procedures:

• UK Asylum Support — FTT-AS Notice of Appeal Letter ($5) — formal grounds-of-appeal letter citing the relevant limbs of IAA 1999 s.95 / s.95(3) (or s.4 / SI 2005/930 reg.3(2)), addressed to the FTT-AS Salford and copied to the Asylum Support Resourcing Team. Plugs into the standard Notice of Appeal form.
• UK Section 4 Application Letter ($5) — formal Section 4 application letter for failed asylum seekers, mapping your circumstances onto the five SI 2005/930 reg.3(2) limbs and the destitution test under IAA 1999 s.95(3). Submitted to the Home Office Asylum Support Resourcing Team via Migrant Help.
• UK Asylum Support 95+4 Sequence Pack ($12) — bundles the FTT-AS Notice of Appeal letter, the Section 4 Application letter, an IAA 1999 s.98 emergency-support escalation template (for delayed s.95 decisions), an SI 2026/209 discontinuance rebuttal template, and a 42-day move-on checklist for newly recognised refugees.
• Contact Commoner Law — if a hotline number above no longer works, tell us so we can update this page.