Asylum and Humanitarian Protection Claims

We provide expert legal support for asylum and humanitarian protection applications. We Carefully assess clients’ circumstances and collect relevant evidence for their protection claims, guiding them to present their cases effectively. Our comprehensive support covers every stage of the process, including specialised guidance for asylum interviews (both screening and substantive).

Key Stages and Timescales:

Case Review and Strategy (1–2 Weeks): Examining clients’ circumstances, collecting relevant evidence, and providing clear guidance on subsequent steps.
Registering the claim (1 day): This is usually done by calling the Home Office on: 0300 123 4193. In most cases, we make this call on behalf of our clients.
Initial Screening Interview: The Home Office then invites the Applicant for a screening interview, which typically takes places about 2-6 weeks after the initial phone call. At the screening interview, the Applicant’s personal details and the basic information of the claim is taken. The Home Office provides an interpreter for this interview, if necessary.
Substantive Interview: It is difficult to give an estimate as to when this interview may take place. There are cases where Substantive Interviews are taken 2 years after the Screening Interview, whereas in some cases the Substantive Interview is scheduled within a month of the Screening Interview. There are usually one Substantive Interview per case and this is done within a day. The Home Office may ask an Applicant to attend multiple Substantive Interviews, particularly in complex cases. Substantive Interviews are lengthy (lasts for several hours) when the Applicants are asked to explain various aspects of their claim. The credibility of the claim is also tested in these interviews, and therefore, these interviews may also feel like interrogations.
Documents preparation and submission: from the moment we take instructions for asylum and humanitarian protection claims, we start to collect, prepare and compile documents in support of the claim. This includes collecting documentary evidence from our clients as to the claimed persecution, preparing witness statements and obtaining expert reports. This is a lengthy process, and we complete this by the time of the Substantive Interview. The Home Office provides 5 working days after the Substantive Interview to submit all supporting documents and we submit all such documents by that deadline.
Decision: In most cases, decisions are made shortly after the Substantive Interview and submission of all documents in support of the claim. However, in certain cases the Home Office takes several additional months to issue the decision.
Asylum Support: Those with limited income or financial support can seek Asylum Support (a place to stay and a small amount per week) from the UK Government. We assist our clients with making this application and it can be made immediately after making the asylum and humanitarian protection claim.
Obtaining the right to work: Those who claim asylum when they still hold valid leave in the UK with a right to work, will continue to have that right to work while the asylum claim remains pending. In other cases, an application can be made for limited right to work (to work in certain jobs) once the asylum claim is pending for 12 months. We assist our client in obtaining this right to work.
Further submission: We make further submissions on behalf of our clients if the nature of their asylum or humanitarian protection claim changes or if new material evidence comes to light in relation to their claims. Further submissions can be made after refusal of an asylum or humanitarian claim, on the basis of which the Home Office may carry out a reconsideration.

Our fees

Our fees for asylum and humanitarian protection claims vary. This is because, certain claims are quite straightforward, while some claims are complex involving hundreds of pages of documents. For standard asylum claims, we charge £2,000 – £3,000 (excluding disbursements), while for complex cases, we charge over £4,000 (excluding disbursements). Please note that our services are not covered by legal aid, and if you are a person with limited financial means, then it may be suitable for you to process your case through an accredited Legal Aid law firm.

Disbursement for asylum and humanitarian protection claims mostly involve costs of obtaining expert reports, translating documents written in a language other than English and obtaining other documents (e.g. documents relating to a criminal case filed against the Applicant in his or her country of origin). Reports from medical experts typically costs £1,200 – £1,500 VAT, whereas reports from other type of experts (e.g. expert on human rights violations in a particular country) usually costs £1,200 – £2,000 plus VAT. Translating documents to English usually costs £20-£30 plus VAT per page.

CEO

Dr. Sonia Khan

Phone

+44 (0)7738369514

Email

office@drsoniakhansolicitors.com

Location

Unit 10, 384 Abbott Road, London E14 0UX

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Why Clients Choose Us

Case Preparation
Meticulous case preparation and adherence to compliances
Boutique Service
Partner-level attention on every case
Predictable Pricing
Clear fee structures, including conditional fee options

Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are

Dr. Sonia Khan

We Always Take Care Of Our Clients Seriously

We aim to empower individuals and businesses by providing reliable legal solutions that protect their rights and safeguard their future.