In 2023, the Home Office introduced a new process for dealing with children’s asylum claims. The aim was to “streamline” the process, leading to children getting decisions on their claims more quickly. In the place of submitting a SEF form and having a substantive interview the new process consists of a shorter meeting, a “Preliminary Information Meeting” (PIM). Only children of certain nationalities and who arrived in the UK before a certain date are eligible for the streamlined process.

We have produced these resources for children and young people who are eligible for PIMs and the adults supporting them. You can download them as PDFs or as plain text Word documents below.

We also know that many children in the asylum process are being held back by the lack of available legal aid representation. Children we work with are frustrated that they are waiting for a lawyer before their asylum claim can progress. Scroll down for a resource explaining the situation and read more about what’s happening in the North West here.

Information for young people

Preliminary Information Meetings (PIMs) Information for young people What is a PIM? The PIM is a new alternative to the substantive asylum interview for young people who are eligible. The PIM is a meeting between a young person and the Home Office decision-maker, with an interpreter and responsible adult present (usually your Social Worker or Personal Advisor). According to the Home Office – the PIM is not an interview. A PIM should be short and it should speed up the asylum process. You do not need a legal representative, but they can attend if you do have one. Currently only available to young people who registered their asylum claim before 6 March 2023. Currently only available to young people from 5 High-Grant nationalities: - Afghanistan - Eritrea - Sudan - Syria - Vietnam If your nationality is not in this list– don’t worry! Your asylum claim will still be considered under the normal process, which usually involves an interview where you can explain your reasons for claiming asylum. If you claimed asylum after 6 March 2023, the Home Office still need to consider your asylum claim.
What happens at the PIM? The PIM is usually via a Teams (video) meeting, but you can request it in person. You will always be with your Responsible Adult, somewhere private. Brief questioning on: identity and nationality; basis of asylum claim; family background; any evidence to be submitted; issues around welfare and safeguarding; your journey to the UK; and national security questions. You can ask for a break at any time, or your responsible adult can ask for one for you. The meeting is not recorded. A written record is taken. What happens after the PIM? The Home Office cannot refuse an asylum claim on the basis of a PIM. They can either make a POSITIVE DECISION; Or, if more information is required, they can request a SEF form; a short, targeted interview or a full substantive interview. If you are eligible for a PIM, you can ask your Social Worker or Personal Advisor to request a PIM invitation from the Home Office.

Click to download this leaflet as a PDF
Click to download as a plain-text Word document

Information for Responsible Adults

Preliminary Information Meetings (PIMs) Resource for Responsible Adults The PIM is part of a new process by the Home Office, which is meant to improve the asylum process- see their guidance. It is an alternative to the normal substantive asylum interview, available to young people who are eligible. The PIM is a meeting between a young person and the Home Office decision-maker, with an interpreter and responsible adult present (usually their Social Worker or Personal Advisor). According to the Home Office – the PIM is not an interview. A PIM should be short. It should speed up the asylum process. The young person does not require a legal representative, but they can attend if you do have one. Currently the PIM is only available to young people who registered their asylum claim before 6 March 2023. Currently only available to young people from 5 High-Grant nationalities: - Afghanistan - Eritrea - Sudan - Syria Vietnam GMIAU has been told that children outside the PIM process will continue to have their asylum claims decided in the usual way and that they will still be triaged for decisions without a substantive interview (without a PIM).
What happens at the PIM? The PIM is usually via a Teams (video) meeting, somewhere private, but it can be requested in person. The young person will need a Responsible Adult to be with them. There is brief questioning on: identity and nationality; basis of asylum claim; family background; any evidence to be submitted; issues around welfare and safeguarding; your journey to the UK; and national security questions. The young person can ask for a break at any time. The responsible adult can ask for a break on their behalf. The meeting is not recorded. A written record is taken. If the young person does not have a legal representative (which they do not need for a PIM), the responsible adult needs to take a written record of the PIM – the more detail the better! They should note any issues encountered with the interviewer, the interpreter, impact on the child, as well as the questions and answers themselves. This will be important if the child is not granted asylum after the PIM. See our briefing for more tips.
What happens after the PIM? The Home Office cannot refuse an asylum claim on the basis of a PIM. They can either make a POSITIVE DECISION; Or, if more information is required, they can request a SEF form; a short, targeted interview or a full substantive interview. We recommend seeking legal representation if further information is required. How to get a PIM? The policy states that the Home Office will invite eligible young people for PIMs, whether or not they have a legal rep. BUT we have not seen this happening often. The Home Office have a clear policy to streamline the asylum process, so it is possible to prompt them to send an invitation to eligible young people who are waiting. If a young person is eligible for a PIM, their Social Worker or Personal Advisor (or Responsible Adult) can request a PIM invitation from the Home Office. You can email LiverpoolAsylumAdmin@homeoffice.gov.uk to state: Young Person’s name, DOB, nationality and Home Office reference number (if you know it, on HO documents). “In line with the Home Office’s Streamlined Asylum Processing for Children Guidance, this young person is eligible for a PIM as [they] are a national of ______ and they claimed asylum before 6 March 2023. Please invite them for a PIM.” If after requesting a PIM, the Home Office take another form of action, you can contact Nicola Burgess for advice at this stage nicola@gmiau.org

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Click to download as a plain text Word document

Waiting for a lawyer

Why Are We Waiting? At Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit (GMIAU), we understand how difficult it is for you to have to wait for lots of things right now. Unfortunately some waiting cannot be avoided. This a guide to help you understand why you are waiting for these things. We have a phrase here – ‘good things come to those who wait’. So we hope that good things will come to you! Waiting for a caseworker / solicitor / lawyer: We want to help as many of you as we can. There are lots of people who need our help. As well as helping young people who are seeking asylum, we help even more people with other immigration needs. At GMIAU, we only have 15 caseworkers who work on young asylum seekers’ cases. There are hundreds of children and young people like you who are claiming asylum and need our help. Some children claiming asylum are close to reaching the age of 18. It is important for us to open their cases first, even if they have not been waiting very long. This is because, after turning 18, your legal rights change. For example, 18 year olds are not automatically entitled to a caseworker with them at their asylum interview.
Waiting for a decision Waiting for a decision is normal. The Home Office can take a long time deciding cases. Everybody has to wait for their decision. Once everything in your case has been submitted, we need to give the Home Office a reasonable time to make that decision before we can chase them. In general, your caseworker should allow the Home Office around 3 months to make a decision or invite you for an interview. Your caseworker will be chasing the Home Office at regular intervals, and if they take too long, there are different ways to prompt the decision. Your caseworker will be doing all they can to ensure you receive your decision as soon as possible – you are in safe hands! Ideas for whilst you are waiting: • Attend groups for young asylum seekers like GMIAU’s All4One group. • Focus on your studies: learning English can help your understanding and integration. • Hobbies such as football, cycling, sports. • Learn about the asylum process. • Speak to friends. • Speak to trusted adults. • If you can, it can help to write down what happened to you (in your home country and on your journey) whilst this is fresh in your memory. You can write this in your own language. If you want to contact GMIAU with any questions, your social worker or personal adviser should help with this. You can also email us at info@gmiau.org. www.gmiau.org

Click to download this leaflet as a PDF
Click to download as a plain text Word document

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