Home Office flags online sick notes used to postpone asylum interviews
An internal Home Office memo says staff have seen similar online sick notes submitted in different asylum case files, allegedly to postpone interviews. A Home Office source claims this can delay interviews for months, giving applicants more time to prepare claims and, in some cases, continue working while awaiting decisions.
The memo says notes costing £44 from Home2Lab can be issued without a GP appointment, and asks staff to report them. The Home Office did not provide figures for interviews postponed after sick notes were submitted, and the number involving Home2Lab is unknown. The company said its certificates can be issued by registered healthcare professionals including pharmacists, and corrected website wording that had said they were signed by a UK-registered GP.
- Home Office memo flags similar sick notes in asylum files.
- Source alleges notes can delay interviews for months.
- Home2Lab says certificates involve safeguards and corrected its website.
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The Home Office conducts interviews as a key part of assessing asylum claims. These interviews are significant for those seeking refuge, as they help determine whether an applicant can remain in the UK.
Medical certificates are now available online for small fees, without requiring a doctor's appointment. Home2Lab is one service offering these certificates for £44, which some applicants submit to the Home Office to postpone their asylum interviews.
Postponing asylum interviews extends the time before a claim is formally decided. The delay allows applicants to prepare their cases and, according to the Home Office memo, may enable them to continue working whilst awaiting a decision.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The Home Office's concern reflects a legitimate need to protect the asylum system's integrity. When apparently identical or near-identical sick notes from a budget online service surface repeatedly across different case files, it suggests potential misuse rather than coincidental illness patterns. If applicants can indefinitely postpone interviews through low-cost notes issued without rigorous medical assessment, the process risks becoming gamed, allowing some to build stronger cases whilst continuing to work illegally whilst awaiting decisions. Proper verification of medical claims is essential to ensure fairness and that limited resources serve genuine need rather than tactical delay.
The case against
Online healthcare services are now mainstream across the NHS and private sector, and registered professionals including pharmacists are legally competent to issue sick notes. The Home Office has presented no evidence of actual fraud—merely suspicion that similar notes exist, which is unsurprising when a legitimate service operates transparently with standardised pricing. Asylum seekers frequently suffer genuine health crises and trauma that warrant additional time to prepare complex cases; postponing an interview can be medically necessary and humane. Targeting an entire lawful healthcare business based on speculative concern unfairly stigmatises both the service provider and vulnerable people who may have legitimate medical needs.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Asylum seekers buying sick notes online to dodge Home Office interviews”.