Introduction and Welcome

Thank you for your interest in this opportunity to join the Home Office. We have one of the most challenging and fundamentally important jobs in government: to keep Britain's streets safe and its borders secure. Each and every member of Home Office staff plays a part in making that happen.

Working for us is interesting and varied, and gives you the chance to make a real difference to people's lives. In UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) we make millions of decisions every year about who can visit or stay in the country, keeping the UK safe and secure.

We expect the highest possible standards of professionalism and teamwork from our staff. You would be required to operate in sometimes difficult, complex, traumatic and pressurised environments. Working directly with Asylum claimants and Refugees requires you to have strong emotional resilience and make well balanced decisions in often difficult circumstances.

We select our staff through a stringent and robust recruitment process. For those who meet these demanding standards, it is a hugely rewarding and very satisfying career - and one that offers the opportunity for increasing responsibility and reward.

We wish you well in your application.

About Us - who are we and what do we do

The Home Office leads on immigration and passports, drugs policy, crime policy, counter-extremism and counter-terrorism and works to ensure visible, responsive and accountable policing in the UK. These issues are at the heart of the Government's agenda. The challenges the Department faces are significant and can change rapidly in the global environment in which we operate. This makes it one of the most exciting and stimulating Departments to work in.

We are flexible, skilled, professional and diverse. We have been recognised in The Times Top 50 Employers for Women; and were the first organisation to be ClearAssured in recognition of our work to recruit and retain disabled staff. We have been in the top 10 of the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index for the past 5 years.

Asylum Operations

UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) is one of four key business areas within the Home Office and we are undergoing an exciting period of change.

Alongside the other areas of the Home Office, the department is embarking upon a transformational programme. We aim to become a high performing, consistently competent and customer focused organisation which controls migration for the benefit of the UK, or removing those who have no right to be here, in a way that affords value for money for the taxpayer.

Within UKVI, Asylum Operations is responsible for registering, deciding and concluding asylum protection claims. The primary function of the directorate is to make high quality decisions on asylum cases and work with other parts of the organisation to ensure effective immigration control.