1 August 2026
1 August 2026
This factsheet is for advisers assisting clients whose section 95 or section 4 support has been refused or discontinued because they are considered not destitute. It explains the evidence needed to challenge the decision and prepare for an appeal.
Destitution is a prerequisite for asylum support. A person is entitled to section 95 or section 4 support only if they meet the relevant destitution test. When applying for support, the burden is on the applicant to establish that they are destitute by providing evidence of their financial circumstances, accommodation arrangements, and any other relevant support available to them. If the Home Office refuses or discontinues support because it is not satisfied that the person is destitute, the applicant can appeal to the Tribunal.
In this Factsheet:
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 destitution test is the same whether the person has applied for s95 support (support given to asylum-seekers whilst their asylum claims are being considered by the Home Office) or s4 support (support given once the asylum process is at an end). See ASAP Factsheets 1 and 2.
A person applying for support will be considered destitute if they do not have access to ‘adequate accommodation’ or they cannot meet their ‘essential living needs’ now or within the next 14 days.
It is important to note that in order to show that they are destitute, the person does not need to show that they are currently or are at risk of becoming ‘street homeless’. It is enough to provide evidence that they will not have adequate accommodation or that they will not be able to meet their basic living needs within the next 14 days.
The destitution threshold is the amount of money that the Home Office considers a person needs to secure adequate accommodation and meet their essential living needs during the relevant assessment period.
For people applying for support, the relevant assessment period is 14 days. Where the Home Office is considering discontinuing support, the relevant period is 56 days.
The method for calculating the destitution threshold is set out in the Home Office Assessing Destitution policy Assessing Destitution, Version 5, August 2023.
In general, the Home Office considers that a person applying for support can meet their essential living needs if they have access to funds equivalent to twice the weekly asylum support rate. At the current rate, this is £94.78 per person.
The cost of obtaining adequate accommodation is usually determined by reference to the average cost of bed and breakfast accommodation in the local area.
As a result, the Home Office will generally find that a person applying for support is not destitute if they have access to sufficient funds to cover both:
In practice, the destitution threshold is calculated by adding together these two amounts.
About three days before the appeal is due to take place, the Tribunal will send out a Directions Notice to both the respondent (the Home Office) and the appellant (person appealing). The Directions Notice is a list of evidence the Tribunal expects the parties to provide for the hearing. Advice workers who have assisted clients to complete the appeal notice form and included their contact details on the form will be sent a copy of the Directions Notice.
In relation to destitution, the Directions may ask appellants to provide the following types of information:
Accomodation
Evidence about their most recent accommodation, where this was and why this accommodation is no longer available. This will usually be in the form of a letter from the person who has been supporting them.
A list of prior addresses, with details of how long the appellant stayed at each address and why this support can no longer continue.
Other Sources of support
Evidence of any charitable support the appellant has received, and/or their attempts to seek charitable support.
Income and assests
Evidence relating to assets outside the UK including bank accounts and property held abroad.
Copy of any bank / credit card statements for the last 6 months.
Other types of evidence
Lone parents may be asked for evidence of attempts to seek maintenance from the father / mother of the child.
Those who previously had permission to work or have worked illegally may be asked for their latest P60 and/ or wage slips, plus evidence that they are no longer entitled to work.
For those who are living in private rented accommodation, the rental agreement and any requests to leave the property. Asylum-seekers and refused asylum-seekers may not have the right to rent. The Home Office policy states that asylum-seekers and refused asylum-seekers who satisfy one of the reg 3(2) conditions should normally granted permission to rent The right to rent scheme: permission to rent, V1 April 2025. However, asylum-seekers and refused asylum-seekers may still encounter problems with getting the ‘right to rent’ and this can be pointed out to the AST.
For those who have previously claimed mainstream benefits, evidence they are no longer entitled (e.g. a letter from the DWP).
Visa related issues
People who have recently arrived in the UK may be asked to explain why any income or assets declared in a visa application are no longer available to them. The evidence required will depend on the circumstances of the case, but may include:
If information contained in the visa application was inaccurate, evidence of the person's actual financial circumstances should be provided.
Important: Advisers should make clients aware that the Home Office may verify information provided in an asylum support application against a range of other sources. This can include Experian checks (which may reveal address histories, bank accounts, mobile phone and other financial records), DVLA records, previous support applications and Tribunal decisions, visa applications, immigration records, police records, asylum screening interviews, and responses to any Home Office requests for further information. Any inconsistencies between the client's evidence and information already held by the Home Office may be raised during the decision-making process or on appeal, so clients should be prepared to explain any discrepancies.
If my client cannot get the evidence requested
If appellants are unable to obtain evidence they should write a statement explaining what steps they have taken to get the evidence and the reasons they were unsuccessful. The statement should also try to address the points which would have been in the evidence.
For example: if they have been asked to provide bank statements, but cannot do so, the statement could say
I have a bank account with x bank. I opened this account in 20XX. I last used the account in Month Year. The bank card for this account is…… The balance on the account is £x
For people who have not had support for some time, it is important to note the approach taken by the Home Office in its Assessing Destitution guidance. These are the guidance notes used by caseworkers when assessing applications for support.
The guidance state that
If they have been present in the United Kingdom for a prolonged period before seeking support it will usually be a reasonable assumption that they have had access to alternative forms of accommodation or other forms of assistance during the period. An explanation of why this accommodation and assistance is no longer available will therefore usually be required p.11, Assessing Destitution, Version 5, August 2023
For this reason, if the client has been unsupported for some time they will often be expected to provide evidence of how they have been supporting themselves since they were last on government support.
If someone has previously supported themselves by working without permission, they cannot be expected to continue to do so in order to avoid destitution. It is a criminal offence under the Immigration Act 2016 to work without having permission to do so.
Oral evidence is often crucial to proving destitution. It is important appellants prepare for questions they may be asked during the appeal. The types of questions asked will vary depending on how long ago the person arrived in the UK.
Those that have been in the UK for some time might be asked:
Those that have recently arrived in the UK might be asked:
Those that have recently arrived might be asked questions about how they have been supporting themselves in the UK if they have not already been admitted to IA. Applicants should not be expected to provide certified translations of documents. ZN v Secretary of State for the Home Department[2017] AST (37288), Para 35
When determining whether someone is destitute, the Judge at the Tribunal will also take into account whether they think the person gave an honest and consistent account of their living circumstances. If the client is reluctant to answer questions or has given contradictory accounts of how they have been surviving this will have an impact on the outcome of the hearing.
For this reason it is important that the adviser, as far as possible, helps the client prepare for the hearing by making them aware of the evidence they will be required to give. It is for the client to prove their destitution (to the Home Office, and then to the Tribunal), on the balance of probabilities.
It is also important that all written evidence given (e.g. letters) is consistent within itself and with the applicant’s oral account. For example, it can damage a client’s case if he states on the form he is ‘street homeless’ when in fact he has been living with friends. Any inconsistencies should be explained.