You have the right to access your personal information which is held by a government body, such as the Home Office, under the Data Protection Act 2018. The process of doing this is called a ‘Subject Access Request’ or commonly just a SAR. Anyone can make a SAR, you do not need a lawyer, and SARs are free.

It can be useful to submit a SAR in many different situations, including: 

• To find out your full immigration history, including entry clearance records and any visas issued to you (particularly useful if you are making a long residence application)
  
• To check if any letters were sent to you regarding your immigration status which you did not receive
  
• To receive transcripts of interviews and other documents to challenge a Home Office decision (possibly to support a fresh claim) 
  
• If you have received a Notice of Intent letter regarding your asylum claim being inadmissible, and 6 months have passed. In this case a SAR can be done to see if the Home Office has done anything to progress your case.

You can submit a SAR in many different ways, but you can use this form to submit a request to the Home Office specifically. Read the government website for more information about Subject Access Requests here.

For step-by-step information on how to make a SAR, see this guide from the3million.

Want to learn more about SARs?

An organisation called Open Rights Group is launching a training programme on SARs for migrants, their communities and supporting organisations.

If you would like to schedule and book SAR training with Open Rights Group, please fill in this form, and they will be in touch!