About the Refugee Council#
The Refugee Council has been a registered charity since October 1992, under the name British Refugee Council. Its register entry describes it as one of the leading charities in the UK working directly with refugees, and says it uses that direct work as evidence when it speaks up for them. It works throughout England, with children and young people among those it helps, and also acts as a resource for other organisations. In the year to March 2025 its income was about £14.9 million, just over half of it from government grants and contracts.
Our research on 22 October 2026 recorded advice, resettlement support, services for young people and therapeutic services for refugees and people seeking asylum, all in England, along with policy and campaigning work. Its site could not be read in full even then, so treat the detail as a starting point.
How to reach it#
Its website could not be read when we checked again on 26 October 2026, as the site refused our requests, so we cannot give its current opening hours or referral routes here. Start from its get support pages. In Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, use the refugee charities for those nations, listed on charities that help refugees and migrants.
Does it publish anything on names?#
We found nothing from the Refugee Council on changing your name, though its blocked site meant we could not run its own search. That is common: none of the refugee charities we read publishes such a page, because for someone with refugee status the Home Office record comes first.
The Home Office's guidance on names explains why. It asks for proof that a new name is used in every part of your life, of which a deed poll is one piece. People without a national passport can have it put on their eVisa only in limited cases, chiefly recognised refugees and stateless people, through a separate application, and the old travel document is withdrawn when the new eVisa is issued. GOV.UK adds that no name change can be made to a UKVI account while a visa application is still being decided.
Before changing your name#
Ask a registered immigration adviser before you sign anything; GOV.UK's adviser finder lists them. Changing your name if you are not a British citizen sets out the order of steps, your eVisa and UKVI account covers the update itself, and long names and accents explains how names from other alphabets are printed on British documents.
This page describes the Refugee Council from its register entry and our research of 22 October 2026; its website could not be read on 26 October 2026. The Refugee Council has not reviewed it, and listing a charity here does not mean it recommends this handbook or any deed poll service.
