Ellis 2 Service Portal WP - Resources/View - Self Service Portal

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<p>If you are refused asylum, with no dependants under 18, and become appeal rights exhausted or you choose to withdraw your asylum application, you will lose your entitlement to support 21 days after your claim has been fully determined.</p>

<p>You will receive a letter from the Home Office and will be given minimum of seven days’ notice to leave your property if you are in Home Office accommodation.</p>

<p>If you have dependants in your household who are currently under 18, your Home Office support will continue until you and your family either return voluntarily, or are removed, or until your dependants turn 18.</p>

<p><span style="font-weight: bold">Section 4 support</span></p>

<p>If your asylum support is terminated, you may be eligible for short term support while you are preparing to return to your country. This is known as ‘Section 4 support’ because it is given under the terms of Section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. Section 4 support is for failed asylum seekers and is different from the support you may have been receiving during your asylum claim (Section 95 support).</p>

<p>There is no cash entitlement with Section 4 support. Support will be given via an Aspen card. You will not be able to withdraw money from cash point machines, only check your balance. Your card can be used at most retail outlets where Visa cards are accepted.</p>

<p>You must meet strict requirements in order to qualify for Section 4 support. You must be destitute and satisfy one of the following requirements:</p>

<ul>
<li>• You are taking all reasonable steps to leave the UK, or you are placing yourself in a position where you can do so</li>
<li>• You or a family member cannot leave the UK because of a physical impediment to travel or for some other medical reason</li>
<li>• You cannot leave the UK because, in the Secretary of State’s opinion, no viable route of return is currently available</li>
<li>• You have applied for a judicial review of your asylum application and have been given permission to proceed with it</li>
<li>• Accommodation is necessary to prevent a breach of your rights within the meaning of the Human Rights Act 1998</li>
</ul>

<h3>1. All reasonable steps</h3>

<p>To qualify for Section 4 support under this requirement, you must show that you are taking all reasonable steps to leave the UK. The Home Office can refuse support if it believes that you are not following all options available to you.</p>

<p>Whether or not a particular step is ‘reasonable’ will depend on your circumstances. Usually, you will be expected to apply for voluntary return with the Home Office programme, make contact with your country’s embassy to arrange emergency
passports (if needed).</p>

<p>Important note: If you believe that you may have grounds to submit a fresh claim, it is important that you seek legal advice. Any application for voluntary return, even if withdrawn, may affect your fresh claim.</p>

<h3>2. Physical impediment to travel</h3>

<p>To qualify under this condition, you must be unable to travel due to a medical condition. You will need to prove to the Home Office that you or a family member are unable to travel due to a physical or mental health problem.</p>

<p>It is not enough to show that you are receiving medical treatment in the UK or that it is your doctor’s opinion that it would be preferable that you did not travel. You must have a medical condition that makes you or your family unable to travel.</p>

<p>Evidence required to prove ‘physical impediment to travel’:</p><p>
</p><ul>
<li>• Written documentation should be obtained from a medical practitioner specifically stating that you are unable to travel, the reasons for this and the length of time that you are likely to be unfit to travel.</li>
<li>• You will need to get your medical practitioner to complete a ‘Section 4 Medical Declaration’ form. This form is available in appendix B of the file available <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/asylum-support-section-42-policy" target="_blank">here</a>.</li>
</ul> 

<p>Alternatively, you can contact Migrant Help on 0808 8010 503 and we can send you a copy of the form.</p>

<p>Pregnancy and physical impediment to travel - the Home Office policy is that women in the late stages of pregnancy (around six weeks before their expected due date, or earlier if there have been complications), or those with a baby under six weeks old, are automatically accepted as being unable to travel. You will need to submit proof of pregnancy in the form of a maternity certificate, birth certificate and a medical declaration if you are applying prior to six weeks before your expected due date.</p>

<h3>3. No viable route of return</h3>

<p>This requirement applies to people who are unable to leave the UK because, in the opinion of the Secretary of State, there is currently no viable route of return available.</p>

<h3>4. Application for judicial review</h3>

<p>If your legal representative has submitted a judicial review regarding a decision on your asylum claim, they must first apply to the High Court for permission to proceed. Once the High Court has granted you permission, you will be eligible for Section 4 support under this requirement. If you live in Scotland and have submitted the application to the Court of Sessions, then you can apply under this section.</p>

<p>You will need to provide a letter from the High Court confirming permission to proceed/confirmation that the application has been submitted (Scotland).</p>

<h3>5. Human rights breach</h3>

<p>The Home Office cannot withhold support from you if, by doing so, it would cause a breach of your human rights.</p>

<p>Although destitution has, in some circumstances, been deemed as a breach to a person’s human rights, a failed asylum seeker who is deemed not to be making every effort to leave the UK is not entitled to support. This is because the courts have ruled that they are destitute by choice and therefore have no entitlement to support.</p>

<p>The Home Office must provide support if your rights under the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) would be breached if it withheld support. For example, if you have submitted a fresh claim for asylum which remains outstanding, you could apply under this section. This would also be the case if a judicial review had been submitted, but permission to proceed has not yet been granted. You may also be able to apply under this section if your family would become separated&nbsp;by denying some members support.</p>

<p>A legal representative should be able to assist if you have new evidence available as to why you cannot return home.</p>

<p>If you have a non-protection-based application outstanding with the Home Office, you will not have an entitlement to support. This will not be deemed as a barrier to leave the UK to avoid the effects of destitution.</p>

<p>Evidence required to prove ‘human rights breach’ includes:</p>
<ul>
<li>• Confirmation that a fresh claim has been submitted</li>
<li>• Birth certificates, proof of family life</li>
<li>• Copy of submissions to the High Court</li>
</ul>

<p><span style="font-weight: bold">What do I need to do to prove I am destitute?</span></p>

<p>The Home Office will consider you to be destitute if you do not have either access to ‘adequate accommodation’ or have no way of meeting your ‘essential living needs’ (such as access to food, light and warmth) now or within the next 14 days.
You need to show that you are currently, or are at risk of becoming, ‘street homeless’. It is enough to provide evidence that you will not have adequate accommodation or that you will not be able to meet your basic living needs within the next 14 days.</p>

<p>Destitution checks will still be made which may result in further information requests.</p>

<p>Evidence required to prove destitution:</p>
<ul>
<li>• You will need to provide a list of addresses at which you have been staying since support ended, plus details of how long you stayed at each address, and why this support can no longer continue</li>
<li>• Evidence about your most recent accommodation, where this was and why this accommodation is no longer available to you (letter from a friend/relative) - this needs to cover the last six months</li>
<li>• Eviction notice</li>
<li>• Evidence of any charitable support you have received or attempts to seek charitable support</li>
<li>• Copy of any bank statements (if any) for the last 6 months</li>
<li>• If you are a lone parent, you may be asked for evidence of attempts to seek maintenance from the other parent of the child</li>
<li>• If you have previously had permission to work or have worked illegally, you may be asked for your latest P60 and/or wage slips, plus evidence that you are no longer working or entitled to work</li>
<li>• If you are living in private rented accommodation, the rental agreement and any requests to leave the property</li>
<li>• If you have previously claimed mainstream benefits, evidence that you are no&nbsp;longer entitled (e.g. letter from the DWP)</li>
<li>• It may also be useful to prepare a personal statement about how you have been surviving since your previous support stopped. These can be important for people who are having difficulties obtaining the required information.</li>
</ul>

<p><span style="font-weight: bold">How do I apply for Section 4 support?</span></p>

<p>If you need further information and advice on Section 4 support (including eligibility), require assistance with finding a legal representative, or need help completing the application form, please contact Migrant Help on 0808 8010 503 or visit
<a href="http://www.migranthelpuk.org" target="_blank">our website</a>.</p>

<p><span style="text-decoration: underline">Important note</span>: you will not be entitled to support until the Home Office has processed your application. Migrant Help can assist with your support application, but you will need to provide evidence and confirmation of how you meet the above criteria.</p>

<p>Migrant Help will go through your individual circumstances and confirm the evidence that the Home Office will require to assess your eligibility for support. Once received, we can assist with your application for support. If the Home Office does not feel you have shown that you are destitute, or you do not meet the criteria, they will either refuse your application or request further documentation.</p>

<p>If you fail to provide evidence as requested by the Home Office, your application may be closed with no further action taken.</p>

<p>Migrant Help can provide you with details of Section 4 support, including what it is and how to apply. We can complete the application form with you and submit this to the Home Office for their assessment.</p>

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