29 June 2026
29 June 2026
This page explains when asylum support can be reduced, suspended and how overpayments are treated.
If you still have questions or need further information and advice after reading this factsheet, please contact our advice line on 020 3716 0283. It is open Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 2pm to 4pm. Please note, this is a ‘second-tier’ advice line. This means that we can give advice to other advice workers but not to individual clients.
The Home Office can reduce the amount of Section 95 financial support where a person has income, assets Only the assets listed in AS Regs 2000 reg 6(5) can be taken into account, or other support available to them.
Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 s114 and the Asylum Support Regulations 2000 reg 12(3) and 16
It is important to distinguish between eligibility for support and the level of support provided. A person may still meet the legal test of destitution, meaning they do not have enough to meet their basic living needs and secure accommodation. However, if they have some limited resources, the Home Office may reduce the level of support to reflect this.
In some cases, the Home Office may suspend support where a person is temporarily not destitute. For example, this may occur if the client is hospitalised or has access to support for a short period.
Home Office policy suggests that suspension is intended for shorter periods, generally where the situation will resolve within 56 days. Where the position is longer than 56 days the expectation is that support will be discontinued rather than suspended. P.15 Ceasing Section 95 Support Instruction
In other cases, people may see the financial element of their support reduced or see a delay in payment where they have declared income but remain destitute.
For example: An individual applying for asylum support (either section 98 or section 95) declares that they have some cash but it is not sufficient to mean that they are not destitute. They should be granted support, but the Home Office may delay or vary the level of asylum support that person receives to account for the cash they have.
If the figure the Home Office arrives at seem unfair (for example the Home Office has not taken into account factors it reasonably ought to have done) then it is important to raise this as quickly as possible with Migrant Help and the Home Office.
If the matter cannot be resolved satisfactorily and fairly, judicial review is unlikely to be an appropriate remedy due to the sums involved. A formal complaint may be worth pursuing.
Key Point
A person can meet the statutory definition of destitute but still receive reduced support.
The key issue is whether the reduction fairly reflects their actual circumstances.
Reg 16 of the 2000 Regs gives the Home Office the discretionary power to give support at the full level and then ask the person to pay money to the Home Office by way of contributions.
This may apply where someone is working or has some income but is still considered destitute.
However, in practice, there is no system for collecting such contributions. Instead, the Home Office typically adjusts support by reducing the level of subsistence provided.
The absence of a contribution system poses difficulties where an individual has income exceeding asylum support subsistence rates but is still considered destitute. In such cases, individuals may earn more than they would receive through asylum support subsistence payments and could be asked to contribute towards the cost of their accommodation.
However, there is no process to allow them to do so.
In these circumstances, ASAP recommends that individuals regularly contact the Home Office via Migrant Help to offer to make contributions and to set aside the relevant funds. (See the Effect of Income briefing note.)
The same rules apply to people who are already on support but gain access to cash or other relevant assets, e.g. a car, whilst on asylum support (see effect of income briefing note). The only substantial difference is that the Home Office must consider whether the individual’s destitution over a period of 56 days, not 14 days. AS Regs 2000, reg7(b)
Section 114 IAA 1999 and Regs 17, 17A and 18 of the 2000 Regs give the Home Office the power to recover sums from section 95 recipients.
Overpayments arise where the Home Office decides that support has been paid when it should not have been.
This can happen where a person had access to an asset that could not be realised at the time of their application but later becomes available. For example, a property abroad that could not initially be sold but is later realised. Reg 17. The Home Office may seek to recover the monetary value of the asylum support (i.e. cost of accommodation and subsistence support provided) or the value of the asset, whichever is lower.
It can also arise where a person is later found to have had sufficient resources (i.e. not destitute) during a period when they were receiving support. Reg17A
In these situations, the Home Office may seek to recover the value of the support provided (i.e. cost of accommodation and subsistence support provided) for the relevant period. That is the period during which the person received asylum support and was not destitute.
If this is not repaid within a reasonable timeframe it could be treated as a debt by the Home Office.
We are seeing increased use of these powers in practice, particularly in cases involving:
In these situations, it is increasingly common for an overpayment decision to be made at the same time as a decision to discontinue support for breach of conditions.
There is no published Home Office policy on how they process recovery of overpayments and decision-making is not consistent. However, in practice the discontinuation letter will also include an overpayment decision. The letter will state that the individual has received asylum support which they were not entitled to received and that they are required to repay the monetary value of the support for the relevant period.The relevant period is the time which asylum support was provided for which the person was not destitute (reg 17A) Individuals are told they are required to pay the money in full or in instalments as required by their circumstances. The letter will often warn that if no repayments are received the debt will remain on the individual’s ‘file’ and could result in recovery action being pursued at any given time by The Home Office through the County Courts (or Sheriff’s Court in Scotland).
Individuals are often asked to respond within 21 days if they consider the decision or the calculations to be incorrect. Individuals are not usually provided a with a breakdown of how the Home Office have calculated the overpayment.
The repayment requests can be for large sums of money. The Home Office is not using a uniform methodology for calculating the monetary value of asylum support.
Even though the overpayment decision is often contained within the letter discontinuing support, it is important to note that the Tribunal has no jurisdiction to hear challenges against a decision to recover asylum support payments. Even where an appeal against the discontinuation of support is successful, the Home Office may still pursue recovery of the alleged overpayment. However, it is not clear the lawful basis for doing so if the person is no longer on asylum support.
These decisions often turn on detailed factual issues. Advisers should support clients request the investigation report which so that your client can check whether the calculations of the alleged income are correct. In some cases, the Home Office may be treating a situation as an overpayment when the client remained destitute.
Your client may need to be referred for further advice from
In some cases, a judicial review may need to be considered.
This is a complex area and we recommend that you contact ASAP’s advice line
The position in relation to section 4 is currently unclear, but we think the Home Office do not have the power to reduce section 4 support or request repayments and contributions.
The Home Office also has the power to suspend section 95 support where it believes that the client has not complied with the conditions attached to that support. (See Factsheet 20) The 2000 Regs reg 20
A discontinuation brings support to an end and will usually carry a right of appeal to the Tribunal. A suspension is generally described as temporary, but in practice it can leave a client without support.
The right of appeal does not extend to a suspension of support. The right of appeal is not contained in statue, and the Home Office does not have the power to grant a right of appeal. The Tribunal may grant a right of appeal if it can be argued that suspension amounts to a cessation of support for example if it is indefinite.
In practice the Home office may suspend section 95 support during an investigation into an alleged breach of conditions, usually where it is suspected that the individual has concealed financial resources or has worked illegally.
In cases of suspected illegal working, Home Office policy states that it may suspend support to encourage compliance with an investigation. P.9 Illegal working as a breach of asylum support conditions V1, 2026. In these cases, the Home Office should consider whether the client had a reasonable explanation for not complying. For example, a client may have tried to obtain documents but been unable to do so. Where there is a reasonable explanation, support should not normally be suspended.
Support may be discontinued if the person continues to fail to provide the information or if they are found to have been illegally working. The person would then have a right of appeal to the Tribunal against the decision to discontinue support on the basis that they had breached conditions (see Factsheet 20).
Key Point:
The Home Office may suspend Section 95 support where it believes there has been a breach of conditions. Suspension is usually temporary and generally carries no right of appeal.
If a suspension appears unreasonable or raises safeguarding concerns, advisers should contact the Home Office. Advisers can also contact our advice line for further information and advice.
Section 4 support can be discontinued, for breach of conditions. The conditions are set out in Immigration and Asylum (Provision of Accommodation to Failed Asylum-Seekers) Regulations 2005 (the 2005 Regs), reg 6. (See Factsheet 20)
There is a right of appeal to the Tribunal when section 4 support is discontinued due to a breach of conditions. But the 2005 Regs do not give the Home Office the power to suspend section 4 support.