Working illegally Expand It is a criminal offence for migrants to work illegally in the UK (for example, where they are breaching their conditions such as those on a visa or they have not been granted leave to enter or remain in the UK), including through self-employment activity. The offence of working illegally carries a maximum penalty of 51 weeks (England and Wales), or six months’ (Scotland and Northern Ireland) imprisonment and/or fine. If you have permission to work as an asylum seeker, you must only work in a job that is allowed under your PTW conditions. If you have permission to work as part of a UK visa, you must only work as per those conditions. It is up to you as the visa holder to ensure you are compliant with your conditions of leave. If you work in a job that is not allowed, the Home Office may treat this as illegal working. From 27 March 2026, illegal working is listed in the support rules as a reason the Home Office may suspend or stop asylum support. If you have not been given permission to work, you must not: engage in any form of employment, paid or unpaid, as this is a breach of your support conditions; undertake work for cash-in-hand, informal work, or work arranged privately without permission as this is strictly prohibited; provide false information to an employer, falsely present yourself as having permission to work, or use another person’s documents
Criminality Expand Asylum seekers or failed asylum seekers who have been convicted of criminal offences must not be granted permission to work if the decision on their asylum claim has been delayed to await the outcome of any prosecution. Any delay on this basis is, at least in part, attributable to the applicant.
What is volunteering Expand Volunteers are those who give their time for free to charitable or public sector organisations without any contractual obligation or entitlement. They are not employees or workers as defined by various statutory provisions.
When can you volunteer Expand You can volunteer whilst your claim is considered without being granted permission to work. It is Home Office policy to support asylum seekers volunteering for charities or public sector organisations. However, this must not amount to engagement as an ‘employee’ or a ‘worker’, and it is your responsibility and the responsibility of the organisation you are volunteering for to check that such activity does not mean you are working in breach of conditions. Volunteers may be reimbursed for expenses incurred whilst volunteering, for example, for travel and food but you should not receive any other payment. If any other payment is received the role may be classed as an employee or worker. Working or being employed by a charity or voluntary organisation is subject to the same restrictions as employment in other sectors. Genuine volunteering roles are not subject to these restrictions.
How is volunteering different to paid work Expand The key difference is that volunteering must not amount to unpaid work, or job substitution, and there should be no payment, other than reasonable travel and meals expenditure actually incurred (not an allowance for the same). There should be no contractual obligations on the volunteer, or on the organisation to provide it, and they should not enjoy any contractual entitlement to any work or benefits. When volunteering, the volunteer is helping a registered voluntary or charitable organisation, an organisation that raises funds for either of these, or a public sector organisation. Volunteering is not a substitute for employment, that is fulfilling a role that a salaried worker would normally fulfil.
Who has responsibility for volunteering Expand It is your responsibility, and the responsibility of the organisation you are volunteering for, to ensure that any volunteering you undertake does not mean you are working in breach of conditions. Further information on volunteering can be found at: gov.uk/volunteering/find-volunteer-placements.
Working for a charity Expand Asylum seekers or failed asylum seekers awaiting the outcome of an asylum claim or further submission cannot work as an employee or a worker, even for a voluntary organisation, unless they have been granted permission to work under Paragraph 360 or 360C of the Immigration Rules.