Refugee Week 2024: Our Home

Refugee Week was stablished in 1998 in the UK and this annual festival aligns with World Refugee Day, celebrated globally on June 20th.

The theme for Refugee Week 2024 is “Our Home”. Home can be a place of refuge, a feeling, or a state of mind. It can be evoked by smells, tastes, and sounds, found in the clothes we wear and the words we grew up hearing. Home is present in food, music, arts, our cultures, and the landscapes surrounding us.

Accessing healthcare as a refugee

Refugees, asylum seekers and refused asylum seekers can register with a GP and receive primary care free of charge just like any other patient in the UK. 

Additionally, all refugees and asylum seekers with an active application or appeal can access the full range of secondary care services free of charge in the UK.

Refused asylum seekers in England

In England, refused asylum seekers are not necessarily eligible for secondary NHS care for free. Their ability to access care depends on:

• whether the care is immediately necessary/urgent or non-urgent
• whether specific exemptions apply.

Refused asylum seekers are entitled to receiving immediate and urgent care regardless of whether they are required or able to pay. The patient may be billed at a later date.

For non-urgent care, NHS Trusts and some community services are required to charge refused asylum seekers who are not exempt before providing the care.

People who are exempt from charging

Refused asylum seekers who are supported by the Home Office are exempt from charges for NHS treatment. Some people may be exempt from charges for other reasons, for example if they have been victims or suspected victims of trafficking or modern slavery.

Refused asylum seekers’ entitlement to NHS care can change throughout the treatment period. If patients become chargeable during a specific course of treatment, they are able to complete the course free of charge.

Maternity Action has information on maternity rights and benefits for migrants, asylum seekers and refugees.

For more information and guidance about migrants’ entitlement to healthcare, please visit the government website or this page by the British Medical Association.