The Home Office has published a new version (10.0) of its guidance “Withdrawing asylum claims“. The Home Office describes the changes as:

Guidance updated: structure and language used across the guidance has been simplified; the process around the requirement to provide and maintain up to date contact details with the Home Office has been clarified; further clarity provided around circumstances under which a withdrawal of a claim can be cancelled and ways for claimants to request a review of their asylum claim where they believe the claim was withdrawn incorrectly.

For those who want to see the changes in detail, here is the previous version and a comparison of the two I have made using this process. Although this seems to have had a substantive re-draft which makes identifying changes (deliberately?) more difficult.

The change made in December 2023 to halve the amount of time people are given to explain non attendance at an interview remains in place. There is now a time limit in this version of the guidance for review requests to be made:

Individuals whose claims are withdrawn (either implicitly or explicitly) by the Home Office can request a review of the withdrawal decision, if they believe that the claim was withdrawn incorrectly. They must do so within 60 days of the date of the Notice to Withdraw letter. If requests are received after this time, unless there are very exceptional circumstances, it is unlikely to be appropriate to review.
There is no time limitation for challenges of a withdrawal decision for individuals who are victims of domestic abuse or modern slavery.
Individuals can request a review by contacting the Asylum Outcome Review team on the following email address: asylumoutcomereview@homeoffice.gov.uk.
The individual must provide their name, address, contact details (telephone and email) and Home Office reference number. They should also provide a brief explanation as to why they believe their claim was withdrawn incorrectly and attach all relevant documentary evidence.

If the Home Office refuses to reinstate a withdrawn asylum claim following a review request, then the appropriate remedy is likely to be judicial review, although do also be aware of appeal rights where asylum support has been discontinued following a withdrawal.

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