ASAP Duty Scheme

ASAP Duty Scheme gives free representation and advice to people with asylum support appeal hearings. Appeals happen when the Home Office decides you cannot have (or continue having) housing and money payments, and you write to the Asylum Support Tribunal to say the Home Office decision is wrong.

‘Representation’ means an ASAP advocate takes part in your appeal hearing. They write and/or talk to the Judge for you.

Stage 1:

You (or an organisation helping you) send the Asylum Support Tribunal a completed Notice of Appeal – How to appeal explains how you do this. ASAP cannot do this for you.

Stage 2:

You (or an organisation helping you) email ASAP a completed referral form and authority form – How to make a referral explains how you do this.

Stage 3:

ASAP lets you know we have received your referral. We always try our best to help everyone who is referred to us. But sometimes we are unable to, for reasons outside our control.
ASAP emails you a list of documents to send us. These documents help us understand your appeal. If you are unable to send us documents, your signed ASAP authority form lets us ask the Tribunal for your appeal documents.

Stage 4:

ASAP confirms if we can advise or represent you. If we can help, we give you a legal representative (a volunteer lawyer or ASAP legal adviser) for the appeal. They will be your ASAP advocate.

Stage 5:

Your ASAP advocate reads the documents we receive from you and/or the Tribunal.

Advocate on phone

Stage 6

Your ASAP advocate calls you in the week before your appeal. They will use a telephone interpreter in your chosen language (if you write this on the ASAP referral form).
Your ASAP advocate will check you understand the ASAP authority form. They will talk to you about the Home Office decision and how the Tribunal will decide your appeal.
Your ASAP advocate will ask you questions. Some questions may feel very personal, for example about how you have spent money. But these questions help the ASAP advocate understand your situation. They also help prepare you for questions you may get asked at an oral hearing, if you have one.

Stage 7:

After speaking to you about your case, your ASAP advocate confirms if they will represent your appeal.
We will normally represent you. Very occasionally we are unable to. For example, if there is no legal argument we can make to the Tribunal. If your ASAP advocate says they cannot represent you, they will explain why. They will also give advice about your case and suggest what you should do next.

Stage 8:

The ASAP advocate prepares and represents your appeal. They may need to speak with you more than once before the appeal takes place.
If you have a paper hearing, your ASAP advocate works with you to write a document to send to the Tribunal. This will explain your situation to the Judge and include legal points that help your case. The Judge will decide your appeal by reading this document and all the other papers you and the Home Office send to the Tribunal.
If you have an oral hearing, your ASAP advocate takes part in this with you. The Judge will listen to what you, your representative and the Home Office representative say.

Stage 9:

After the judge decides your appeal, your ASAP advocate writes you a letter. This will explain what the judge has decided and advise you what to do next.
If you want, you can tell ASAP if the help we gave was useful or not.

Your case with ASAP is now finished. If you need more help after the appeal, your ASAP advocate will suggest other charities to contact near where you live.