As part of huge changes to the asylum system (which we explain in more detail here), there have been changes to asylum support. Asylum support is the housing and financial help given to people seeking asylum who can show they have nowhere to live, no money for their basic needs, or both.
Two of these changes have now become law. The first is about illegal working. On 2 June 2026, the Home Office published its Illegal working as a breach of asylum support conditions policy. This sets out new rules under which working illegally can now lead to a person’s support being stopped.
The second is about the government’s legal duty to provide support. Before, the Home Office had to give support to people who qualified. Now, the Home Office can give support, but does not have to. We are still waiting for the detailed guidance on how this second change will work in practice.
In this blog, we explain what we know so far about these changes, and what you can do if you receive a letter saying your asylum support may be stopped.
What is the new policy on illegal working?
As a general rule, people seeking asylum are not allowed to work. Some people can apply for Permission to Work if they have been waiting 12 months or more for an initial decision from the Home Office (or for a decision on further submissions) and the delay is not their fault, but they must only work in jobs from specific government lists.
Before the new policy, illegal working was not, by itself, a reason to stop asylum support. If the Home Office believed someone was working, it had to show that they had enough money coming in to no longer be destitute, or that they had broken other support rules. Working illegally on its own was not enough to stop their accommodation or money. “Illegal working” isn’t only working with no permission at all, it also means working in a way that breaks the conditions of your Permission to Work.
The new policy changes this. Illegal working can now be a reason on its own to stop asylum support.
The rules for this are set out in two new regulations:
- For people with an active asylum claim receiving Section 95 or Section 98 support – the Asylum Support (Amendment) Regulations 2026, in force from 27 March 2026
- For people with refused asylum claims receiving Section 4 support – the Immigration and Asylum (Provision of Accommodation to Failed Asylum-Seekers) (Amendment) Regulations 2026, in force from 2 June 2026.
An accusation does not stop your support straight away. The published guidance says that when someone is suspected of working illegally, the Home Office must investigate first. The investigation includes an interview (in person or by phone) and a check on whether you would be left destitute, before any decision is made.
If someone was forced, tricked or exploited into working, they may be a victim of modern slavery. They should be referred for protection through the National Referral Mechanism (the system that identifies and protects victims of modern slavery).
If the Home Office decides to stop your support, you can appeal to the Asylum Support Tribunal. The deadline is short: 3 working days from getting the decision, or 5 working days if it came by post. Your support continues while you appeal.
I’m seeking asylum and have permission to work. What jobs can I do?
If you are granted Permission to Work, you cannot simply take any job, and you cannot be self-employed or set up a business. The list of jobs you are allowed to do depends on when your permission was granted.
If you were granted permission to work BEFORE 26 March 2026, you can only work a job on the Immigration Salary List.
If you were granted permission to work ON or AFTER 26 March 2026, then you are only allowed to work a job that is on Appendix Skilled Occupations and assessed as RQF Level 6 or above (graduate-level roles) on the Skilled Worker route.
IMPORTANT: Working in a job that is not on your own allowed list can count as illegal working. Make sure you check the date you were granted Permission to Work to see which list applies to you.
What you can do if you get a letter saying your asylum support may be stopped
- Do not ignore the letter, and write down the date you received it. The deadlines that follow are short so the date matters.
- Reply to anything they ask you. As part of the investigation you may be asked to attend an interview (in person or by phone) or to send information. You should be given at least 5 working days. If you do not reply without a good reason, your support can be suspended and then stopped. So always respond, even if it is only to ask for more time.
- Keep evidence about your situation. Hold on to anything that shows you would be left with nowhere to live or no money, that you have children or others who depend on you, that you are pregnant, unwell or disabled, or that you were forced, tricked or exploited into working. You may need this during the investigation or an appeal.
- Remember the destitution protection. Even if the Home Office decides you were working illegally, they are not supposed to stop your support if that would leave you destitute. Support should only be stopped if they decide you have enough money to support yourself and anyone who depends on you.
- If you have children, the Home Office keeps a separate duty to support families with children, and must involve the local authority before stopping support.
- If you were forced or exploited into working, you may be a victim of modern slavery, and should be referred for protection through the National Referral Mechanism.
- If you have vulnerabilities. People recognised as vulnerable including survivors of torture or serious violence, pregnant women, elderly people, disabled people, and lone parents with a child should have their situation looked at case by case. You will need to provide evidence of this. You can read more about evidence here.
- Check which list applied to you. Look at your Permission to Work decision letter. The list of jobs you were allowed to do depends on when your permission was granted – the Immigration Salary List if before 26 March 2026, or Appendix Skilled Occupations at RQF Level 6 or above if on or after that date. Because the Home Office’s guidance only mentions the older list, it is worth checking that the right one was used in your case. This can be an important point in an appeal.
- You can appeal and you do not need a lawyer to do it. If the Home Office decides to stop your support, you can appeal to the Asylum Support Tribunal. It is free, separate from the Home Office, and used to people representing themselves. The deadline is 3 working days from getting the decision, or 5 working days if it came by post, and your support continues while you appeal. Do not miss this deadline.
The organisation ASAP (Asylum Support Appeals Project) has created an online helper for people who want to appeal a decision to refuse or stop Section 95 or Section 4 asylum support. The online helper tool guides you through the questions on the asylum support appeal form and puts your answers into the correct sections of the form. At the end, you need to download the form and email your completed appeal form and supporting documents to the Asylum Support Tribunal.
The reality of living on asylum support
It is important to remember that people seeking asylum also cannot claim public funds. “Public funds” means most state benefits and housing help, including Universal Credit, Housing Benefit, Child Benefit, Pension Credit, most disability and carer’s benefits, help with council tax, and council housing or homelessness help. People seeking asylum are not allowed to claim any of these.
You can apply for asylum support if you have an active asylum claim, you are over 18, and you can show you are destitute (nowhere to live, no money for your basic needs, or both). As of June 2026, asylum support is £49.18 per person on a payment card for food, clothing and toiletries (or £9.95 per person if your accommodation provides your meals). For reference, Universal Credit is about £98 a week for a single adult. Like asylum support, this does not include rent – so it is a fair comparison of the money people have for everyday essentials. On Universal Credit you can also work, and you keep part of what you earn on top of your payment. Asylum support does not work like this – there is no system that lets you work and keep part of your pay. If you earn more than £49.18 a week, you can lose your support.
Learn more about the reality of living on asylum support here.
How the legal obligation to provide asylum support is changing
On 2 June 2026 the law changed about the way the Home Office provides asylum support The law previously said that the Government had a legal duty to provide asylum support but from 2 June this is no longer a duty but has been weakened to a power. This may sound like a small technical distinction but it is a significant change that is important to understand.
In simple terms, a duty is a must. This means that before the law changed, if someone seeking asylum can show they are destitute (no accommodation, no money to meet your basic needs) then the Home Office had to provide you with asylum support. If you are wrongly refused then, that refusal was unlawful, so you had firm grounds to challenge it.
A power is a may. From 2 June 2026 that duty became a discretionary power. The Home Office can provide support to a destitute asylum seeker, but it is no longer legally required to. Being destitute no longer automatically entitles you to support — it makes you someone the Home Office may choose to support. The decision sits with them, and if they refuse, you can usually only question how they made that decision, not point to a clear legal right they’ve breached.
In short – before, the Home Office had to give support. Now, the Home Office can give support, but does not have to.
Another important thing to note is that when asylum support is a legal duty, the rules about who qualifies for it are set in law and cannot be easily changed. When support is a legal power, the rules are mostly from Home Office guidance which are the internal rules that can be more easily changed. This means that the Home Office can change who is allowed to qualify for asylum support without having to go through the process of changing the law. You can read more about how announcements become law here.
There is a lot we don’t know yet as the detailed rules for how the Home Office will use this new power haven’t been published. The government says that for now asylum support applications are being assessed in the same way as before.
As always, we will continue to share information as we understand more. We will be hosting events in the near future on asylum support so sign up to our newsletter to keep updated.
–Ally Swadling, Lead Legal Education Officer
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