Evidence
Evidence: what counts, what nobody has the right to demand, what you can start collecting now
General information on how the evidence side of an asylum case works. What exactly to collect, what to submit and when — only your representative decides that. Here you'll find the types of documents, your rights and ready-made phrases for requesting letters and records.
We don't give immigration advice and we don't assess the prospects of a case. Anything to do with your claim goes only to an IAA-registered adviser (formerly OISC) or an SRA or BSB lawyer.
What counts as evidence
1. Your testimony
The main evidence in cases like this is the person's own account: the questionnaire, the screening interview, the substantive interview, and the witness statement your lawyer prepares. Most people have no documents — and the system takes that into account.
2. Personal documents
Messages and photos that confirm a relationship. Letters from friends and partners. Proof of taking part in the LGBTQ+ community here: membership of an organisation, attending groups, volunteering. Medical documents, if there was violence. Screenshots of threats or of posts about you back home. Quality matters more than quantity: three relevant documents weigh more than a hundred random ones.
3. Witness letters
From people who know you here: your partner, friends, coordinators at organisations, housemates. A letter usually says: who the author is, how long and in what capacity they've known you, and what exactly they've seen themselves. A letter from an organisation carries more weight if it states since when and in which activities you've taken part.
4. Country of origin information (COI)
Not about you, but about the country: reports by human rights organisations, publications about persecution, laws and how they're applied. This is what's used to assess whether there's a real risk on return. The Home Office has its own country policy and information notes: they exist for Uzbekistan and Russia, including on sexual orientation. For Kazakhstan there are none at all. That means the caseworker has no ready reference point, and the country part is brought in by your representative. A table for all five countries is in "How the decision is made".
What nobody has the right to demand from you
What you can start collecting right now
Take part and keep a record
Community involvement, letters and records of meetings build up over months and can't be created after the fact. The most common mistake is starting a week before the interview. Taking part even before you've lodged your claim doesn't hurt anything. Volunteering is allowed without permission to work.
Ask the organisation for a letter
The phrase: “Could you write a letter confirming my participation in your organisation — since when and in which activities — for my asylum case?”
Medical records — through your lawyer
An expert report is commissioned by your lawyer, not by you. If there was violence, register with a GP (free, no documents, address or status needed) so that your visits are on record. Therapy after torture: Freedom from Torture 020 7697 7777, self-referrals accepted.
Statistics: why we're invisible in them
What we know
The Home Office used to publish a separate report on claims based on sexual orientation. The last one came out in August 2024 and covers 2023; there is no such data for 2024 and 2025 — the publication was discontinued. By the latest available figures, the grant rate in these cases is 62%, almost the same as for all other claims. "They don't grant asylum for orientation" is a myth.
Where Central Asia stands
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan don't appear in these statistics at all. The Home Office groups together countries with fewer than ten cases a year and doesn't show them separately. The conclusion is the same as with the CPINs: the system has no ready understanding of our region — everything it learns about your country will come from you and your representative.
Frequently asked questions
I have no messages and no photos. Can I still apply?
My representative is asking for intimate photos "to make it more convincing".
Who should write the letter and what should it say?
Do I need to keep the materials after I get status?
I'm being threatened or blackmailed over the materials.
Official sources
Sexual identity issues in asylum interviews
Home Office guidance on cases involving sexual orientation
Open →Country policy and information notes
Home Office country notes — none for Kazakhstan
Open →Asylum claims on the basis of sexual orientation
Official statistics on these claims for 2023
Open →Information booklet about your asylum application
Home Office leaflet for applicants: the stages and what to expect
Open →Right to Remain Toolkit
A step-by-step explanation of the process from a human rights organisation
Open →Rainbow Migration
Support for LGBTQI+ people preparing for the interview
Open →Find an immigration adviser
Check an adviser's registration before you pay anything
Open →Find a legal aid adviser
Find a legal aid lawyer in the category immigration or asylum
Open →Qadam London
How we can help
- We'll help you find a regulated representative and check their registration on the IAA or SRA register.
- We'll point you to organisations whose activities you can confirm with a letter, and we'll write our own letter if you take part with us.
- We'll explain what happens at each stage, so the interview doesn't come as a surprise.
- We won't assess your chances and we won't read your case papers — that's your lawyer's job.
Useful phone numbers at this stage
Asylum and LGBTQI+
020 3752 5801Rainbow Migration. 18+, you're in the UK, you have your own lawyer.
Services are free
Violence, blackmail, threats
0800 999 5428Galop. A helpline for LGBT+ people.
Mon–Tue 9:15–20:00, Wed–Fri 9:15–16:30
Struggling and no one to talk to
116 123Samaritans. You can call in any state.
24 hours, free
HIV and sexual health
0808 802 1221THT Direct. Testing, treatment, PrEP, rights at work.
Mon–Fri 10:00–18:00
Can't get a doctor
0808 1647 686Doctors of the World. They help migrants register with a GP.
Helpline for migrants
A medical question, not urgent
111NHS 111. They'll tell you where to go.
24 hours
Personal plan · free · 24 hours
Don't know what to gather? Ask for a route
Which organisations in your town will help with documents, how to find a lawyer who'll tell you what your particular case needs.