Refugees faced move-on periods that were too short to do basic things like open a bank account and find housing. Will the new 56-day move-on period help?
When Gail (not her real name) finally received confirmation of her refugee status, she was required to leave the Home Office accommodation she had been staying in almost immediately. In the weeks leading up to her receiving the news, Gail’s solicitor repeatedly chased the Home Office, but getting updates on her case proved a struggle.
“By the time I received information [about receiving refugee status], I was given an eviction letter which said I needed to move out in just seven days,” she says. Although Gail was technically entitled to a 28-day move-on period, in practice, it hadn’t worked out that way. Gail says she thought she would be “so happy” when she was granted her refugee status, “but this was the start of my troubles”.
This is the reality that refugees have faced for a long time. Under the Asylum Support (Amendment) Regulations 2002, refugees have a move-on period of 28 days to leave Home Office accommodation and find alternative housing after receiving a decision on their asylum application. During this time, they need to open a bank account, find work or apply for Universal Credit, reach out to the local council for support, and secure housing.
The new 56 day ‘move-on period’ trial
As of Monday this week, the Home Office has extended the move-on period from 28 days to 56 days. However, the extension is a trial, which will be in place until June 2025, before being reviewed.
Charities supporting refugees have welcomed the extension, but say it needs to be permanent, noting that even two months still isn’t enough time.
Left Foot Forward chatted with refugees supported by Women for Refugee Women and Young Roots to hear their views on the change.
The Tories’ 7-day move on period
With just a week to try and find alternative accommodation, Gail describes having felt overwhelmed and lost, “I had no idea what to do or where to look”.
Last August, the government changed the way it calculated the move-on period. This came as the Home Office’s 2022/23 financial accounts reported “unacceptable costs” for housing migrants in hotels which it said was costing the taxpayer around £8 million a day.
Under the rule change, people only had 28 days accommodation and support from the day the letter about their decision is issued.
Previously, refugees were granted 28 days from receiving their biometric residence permit (BRP), which is often issued several weeks after the decision letter. In January this year, the Conservatives reversed the policy after homeless organisations reported huge increases in homelessness and destitution due to the change.
‘I fell into depression’
Gail describes the toll that having such limited time to find accommodation had on her. “There was so much information all at once, so much to do, so much to process. Mentally, it was so draining. I fell into depression,” she explains. She made a homeless application to her local council, but as a single person, was told she wasn’t in priority need.
“They told me to find somewhere to rent privately, but how could I do this? I had only been in the UK for a year, I wasn’t allowed to work, I had no savings,” Gail says.
Gail arrived in the UK from Central Africa in 2022. She received her refugee status in early 2023. On leaving the Home Office accommodation, Gail began sofa surfing. Almost two years on, she is still in the same situation. “It is so hard, but I have no other choice,” she says.
Gail believes that giving people 56 days instead of 28 “is much better, it sounds amazing compared to what I had”. “If I had had more time, I think my life would be better,” she says.
28-day period: ‘set individuals up to fail’
In a statement, a spokesperson said Women for Refugee Women is pleased that the government has extended the move-on period, noting that the 28-day period “set individuals up to fail”. They added that it also “put refugee women at risk of further harm and abuse, including homelessness and destitution”.
In addition, they said that expecting women who have received refugee status to find somewhere to live, open a bank account and apply for Universal Credit among other things “was near impossible”.
“The restrictions imposed on women during the asylum process, such as the ban on work, only makes this more difficult,” they said.
The challenges for young refugees
Paola Uccellari, Chief Executive of Young Roots, a London-based charity that works with refugees aged 11 to 25, said that she is “so relieved” that the government has decided to extend the move-on period. Uccellari stressed that 28 days was “far too short a time” to open a bank account, apply for Universal Credit, or find a job, and somewhere to live.
She also points out that for many young people, it’s the first time they’ve done “any of these complex and challenging things”.
Young Roots said they worked with a young man who had to sleep on the floors of friends’ rooms after he received refugee status. When that was no longer possible, he started sleeping on night buses and out on the streets.
They said: “He has been through so much and wants to rebuild his life and look to the future, and should have been given the time and support to find a new home and live a healthy and happy life, but was instead exposed to the dangers of rough sleeping.”
Baroness Lister’s bill
The Home Office has said it will review the move-on period extension in June next year. Women for Refugee Women and Young Roots are both urging the government to make the change permanent.
W4RW also said that the introduction of move-on plans from day one, granting refugees the right to work and delivering asylum decisions more quickly are key to ensuring refugee women aren’t pushed into poverty, homelessness and destitution.
Young Roots highlighted the importance of Baroness Lister’s bill, which is currently being debated in the Lords. If passed, the bill would make the 56-day period fixed in law.
“We also need local authorities to be resourced properly so they can respond appropriately to people facing homelessness – and can take action to prevent homelessness straight away,” Uccellari says.
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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