Who Refugee Action is#
Refugee Action was registered in 1981 and has worked with refugees ever since, from Vietnamese families in the 1980s to people arriving today. It calls itself a small charity, and in 2024-25 its frontline services supported more than 4,000 people. Beyond direct advice it campaigns, for example for people seeking asylum to be allowed to work, and trains other organisations' staff to give regulated immigration advice through its Frontline Immigration Advice Project.
Three regions, three ways in#
Its contact page is clear that its asylum advice reaches only three areas; anyone elsewhere is pointed to GOV.UK's asylum helplines. Each region works differently, and you can refer yourself or someone else:
| Where | Project | Who it is for | How to get in touch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greater Manchester | Asylum Crisis Project | People seeking asylum at risk of homelessness or needing financial support, including some refused but unable to return | Web form, email, or a phone line four mornings a week |
| Birmingham, Coventry, Stoke-on-Trent | CARE Project | People refused asylum who need Home Office support | Email, WhatsApp, or a weekly online outreach session on Thursday mornings |
| Bradford | Bradford Asylum Services | One referral point for all its Bradford services, assessed by a duty caseworker | Referral email or web form; no drop-in |
Separately, its Pathways to Work programme helps people seeking safety anywhere in England towards employment, with a self-referral form on its site.
Does it help with names or documents?#
Refugee Action's services centre on the asylum process, support while a claim is decided, and avoiding homelessness. A search of its site on 26 October 2026 found nothing on changing your name or on eVisas. Its only document guide is an old 2016 overview of embassy travel documents, which it says to use as a guide only.
That is not a gap so much as a reflection of the rules. While a claim is open, your name and date of birth need to match the Home Office's records, and GOV.UK says you cannot change your name on a UKVI account while waiting for a decision. A deed poll made during a claim would not change those records, and could leave you with papers that disagree.
If you are granted status and want a new name#
Once you have refugee status, a change becomes possible, but it follows the Home Office's own route. Its guidance on names wants to see the new name used consistently, shown by a deed poll together with other papers. A refugee who cannot approach their own country's authorities can have the eVisa changed without a passport, by applying for a transfer of conditions or, with indefinite leave, a no time limit application; a refugee travel document in the old name is then cancelled and has to be replaced.
For the sequence to follow, read changing your name if you are not a British citizen; your eVisa and UKVI account covers the update itself. Who can change their name? explains that a deed poll is open to anyone living in the UK, whatever their nationality. Before you act, ask a registered immigration adviser about your own case.
This page describes what Refugee Action publishes on its own website, read on 26 October 2026. Refugee Action has not reviewed it, and listing a charity here does not mean it recommends this handbook or any deed poll service.
