Once your permission to work is granted, the Home Office will send you a letter and tell you what restrictions and conditions you have. You will need to return your Application Registration Card to the Home Office address listed at the end of the guidance: Working and volunteering in the UK while an asylum case is considered. You will be issued with a new Application Registration Card updating your permission to work starting ‘Work permitted’. 

You must apply for a National Insurance (NI) number, if you want to work. It is a number unique to you and it is used as a reference by employers and government departments to record your National Insurance and tax contributions. You don’t need to apply for a new NI number if you already have one, for example, if you had another form of leave to remain that came with the right to work before you claimed asylum. If don’t have an NI number, you have to apply for one. The Home Office letter granting you permission to work will tell you how to apply for NI number. You can apply online or by phone at 0300 200 3500. You may need to attend an appointment in person and show your updated Application Registration Card. 

All employers are legally required to conduct right to work checks before employing anyone. When you are offered a job and your employer asks for evidence of your right to work, you will need to give them your Application Registration Card and the Home Office letter granting you permission to work. You won’t be able to use the online share code as this option is for individuals with leave to remain. If your employer asks for a share code, explain that you don’t have access to a share code due to your asylum status and that they must use the Employer Checking Service to conduct the right to work checks. If further support is required, contact: employability@scottishrefugeecouncil.org.uk.

Yes, you must tell the Home Office every time you find work. You will need to call Migrant Help UK on 0808 801 0503 or email CoC@migranthelpuk.org. They will conduct a review of your eligibility for asylum support and tell you about any changes to your asylum support. Working without telling the Home Office may lead to your asylum support being discontinued. You may face criminal charges if you don’t disclose you are working or if you work in jobs not listed in the Immigration Salary List and Shortage Occupation List. This may impact on your asylum case. 

If you are receiving asylum support, income from work can affect your asylum support as you might be assessed as no longer destitute and not in need of asylum support. This may mean losing some or all the money you get on your ASPEN card, contribute towards rent payments of your asylum support accommodation, or move into privately rented accommodation. Before you start working you should speak to Migrant Help to work out if work income will affect the level of asylum support you and your dependants get. It is important to talk to your solicitor about this. They might advise you if working could affect your asylum claim or explain how your income and savings might impact other entitlements, like legal aid. 

If you are in the asylum process, you may be funded by legal aid to get advice and support from a solicitor. Getting legal aid in Scotland depends on your income regardless of your immigration status. If you start to earn more than the minimum financial amount needed to qualify for legal aid, you will no longer be eligible for legal aid. This means you will have to pay for the legal fees. The Scottish Legal Aid Board may ask you to pay back any legal costs you were not eligible to receive. We recommend you seek legal advice before accepting any job offer. 

You may experience difficulties opening a bank account while in the asylum process. You can approach different banks with your new Application Registration Card and a proof of address. It may be easier to open a basic bank account. Speak to your solicitor about impact of having a bank account on your asylum support eligibility. 

If you are an asylum seeker, you are unlikely to get a provisional driving license because you don’t have leave to remain. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency won’t accept the Application Registration Card as a valid form of identity document when you apply for a driving license. This can make it difficult for you to consider job offers that require driving. 

In some cases, you might already have a driving license from when you had a previous leave to remain (such as a student visa or skilled worker visa) before you claimed asylum. However, even if you have a driving license, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency can cancel it if they believe you are in the UK without leave to remain.  

Check the GOV.UK page on applying for your first provisional driving license to see who can apply and get a driving license.

Yes, you can volunteer for charities and public sector organisations at any stages of your asylum application. You don’t need permission from the Home Office to take up volunteering. Volunteering involves giving unpaid time, doing something that aims to benefit the environment or someone (individuals or groups). As a volunteer you can get some expenses reimbursed, such as reasonable travel and food expenses. There should be no payment for your time. Volunteering can help you gain valuable experience and skills. It can help you prepare for education, training and work opportunities in future. 

As a dependant on someone else’s asylum claim, you generally can’t apply for permission to work, unless you separately claimed asylum. Children under 18 will also not be given permission to work. However, children will be able to take part in work experience placements or training if that forms part of their education.  

If you were originally in the UK as a dependant on a different visa, you may retain the right to work under Section 3C Leave. Section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971 extends an individual’s leave and their existing rights if they applied for leave to remain before their current leave expired. This right continues until the Home Office makes a decision on their new leave application. This rule applies to dependants as well. For example, if you were a dependant on someone’s student visa that allowed you to work, you would retain the right to work if they claimed asylum before their visa expired and included you as a dependant on their asylum claim. It is important to always check with your solicitor if you are allowed to work, as the Home Office can amend conditions of any leave and may remove your permission to work. 

In exceptional circumstances, dependants of an asylum seeker may request that the Home Office uses their discretion to grant permission to work outside the immigration rules. Speak to your solicitor about this. 

Your permission to work will come to an end if your asylum claim is refused and your appeals rights are exhausted. If your initial asylum claim is refused but you appealed the decision within the deadline, you can continue to work.