Charities that help refugees and migrants with their names

Which charities help refugees and migrants with their names?#

For the Home Office side, use a refugee or migrant charity with regulated advisers: Migrant Help advises people seeking asylum in the UK, and Refugee Action, the British Red Cross, the Scottish and Welsh Refugee Councils and Law Centre NI support refugees and people seeking asylum. Asylum Aid, JCWI and Praxis give legal advice.

No refugee or migrant charity we read in October 2026 publishes a page on changing your name by deed poll. That is not a gap in their work: for most people with a visa or refugee status, the name on the Home Office record is the one that has to come first, and it follows the Home Office's own rules rather than the deed poll.

What does changing your name involve if you are not British?#

In brief, with the handbook's full pages linked:

• The deed poll itself works whatever your nationality. GOV.UK's only residence rule is that a permanent resident overseas cannot change their name by deed poll. Banks, employers, HMRC and DVLA accept it from anyone living here.
• The Home Office wants one name. Its guidance on names says holders of non-British passports and identity cards must show they have changed those documents too, unless there are exceptional circumstances, and that the names in those documents take precedence over a deed poll.
• Your eVisa changes with an identity document. GOV.UK says that to update your name in your UKVI account you need an identity document proving the change, and that you cannot change your name while waiting for a visa decision. What UKVI asks for goes step by step.
• Refugees are the main exception. Where a person has no foreign passport or identity card, the Home Office will change the eVisa name only for a recognised refugee, a stateless person or someone with humanitarian protection, where it has accepted that they cannot approach their national authorities. The application is a transfer of conditions for temporary leave, or a no time limit application for indefinite leave.
• Your travel document is cancelled when an eVisa is issued in a new name, and you apply separately for a new one.
• Transgender people whose country will not change their passport can get an eVisa in their acquired name and gender if they use it for all purposes.

Changing your name if you are not a British citizen explains the order to do things in, and what India, Nigeria and Pakistan ask shows how embassies treat a UK deed poll.

Charities that can help#

What each kind of charity can help with#

Advice for people seeking asylum

Migrant Help gives independent advice and guidance to people seeking asylum in the UK. Its pages explain how to update your UKVI account, say that your name and date of birth should match your immigration paperwork, and explain how asylum support is reinstated once a wrong detail has been reported to the Home Office.

What to ask: whether you should wait until your claim is decided, how a new name would affect asylum support, and how to report a name the Home Office has recorded wrongly.

Refugee councils and support services

• England: Refugee Action gives help and advice to people seeking asylum in Greater Manchester, the West Midlands and Bradford, and points people elsewhere to other services.
• Across the UK: the British Red Cross offers practical and emotional support to refugees and people seeking asylum, and helps with reuniting families.
• Scotland: the Scottish Refugee Council gives confidential help and advice to refugees and people seeking asylum living in Scotland.
• Wales: the Welsh Refugee Council supports people seeking sanctuary in Wales, with emergency drop-ins and booked appointments.
• Northern Ireland: Law Centre NI gives free, confidential immigration advice and representation to migrants, refugees and people seeking asylum.

What to ask: whether your name is spelled the same on every Home Office record, what to send if your country cannot issue you a passport, and which organisations to tell once the eVisa is right.

Legal advice and representation

Asylum Aid represents people seeking asylum, particularly children, survivors of trafficking and stateless people; Praxis gives free legal advice to migrants and refugees in crisis; and the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants provides legal advice to people making the UK their home. GOV.UK says every immigration adviser must be registered with the Immigration Advice Authority or belong to an approved professional body, so check before you rely on anyone, charity or not. GOV.UK's adviser finder lists registered advisers near you.

Survivors of torture and trafficking

The Helen Bamber Foundation and Freedom from Torture support survivors of trafficking and torture through therapy and practical help. If you need to change your name to stay safe, the Home Office says a victim or witness at risk of harm should have the application supported by the police, a refuge service or another accredited organisation; charities that help after domestic abuse lists modern slavery services too.

How do I reach them safely?#

Use each charity's own website for its contact options, and its translation tools if you need them. Speak only to advisers you have checked; GOV.UK warns to check whether an adviser is registered, and whether they charge, before you use them. Keep your Home Office letters and any new documents together, and never give the originals to anyone who is not your registered adviser or the Home Office.

Can I make a deed poll myself, for free?#

Yes, if you live in the UK and are 16 or over. GOV.UK publishes the wording of an unenrolled deed poll, which you sign in front of two witnesses aged 18 or over and can use at once, at no cost. For the Home Office, a deed poll is one piece of evidence among several, not the whole application.

A paid deed poll adds a checked draft on certificate paper, optional certified copies, and a refund if an organisation refuses it. We do not advise on immigration, and nothing here replaces a registered adviser's view of your case. These charities are listed for the help they give; a listing does not mean any of them recommends us, and none has reviewed this page.