Late Asylum claims from families and unaccompanied children NIAA 2002 s 55

Single adult applicants who are considered to have made a late claim for asylum are excluded from NASS support under the NIAA 2002 s 55. NASS support will be refused if the Home Office is 'not satisfied that the claim was made as soon as reasonably practicable after the person’s arrival in the UK' unless support has to be provided in order to avoid a breach of the applicant's human rights.

It should generally be accepted that the Appellant has applied for asylum as soon as reasonably practicable if the claim has been made within three days of arriving in the UK.

See challenges to section 55 below for examples of cases where the refusal of support was held to amount to a breach of human rights. Refusal of NASS support under this provision cannot be appealed to an Asylum Support Adjudicator and can only be challenged by way of judicial review.

Following recent court challenges, late asylum applicants are now much less likely to be refused support.

Home Office policy and guidance in dealing with Section 55 decisions can be found at

http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/accesstosupport/pb75?view=Binary