FAQ About Refugees and People Seeking Asylum in London

London has a long provided refuge to those seeking sanctuary, stretching back centuries. London is home to refugees from across the world who have come to the capital from a range of countries over recent decades.

According to the UN, there are around 133,000 refugees in the UK. The majority will have applied for asylum in this country before they are recognised as refugees by the government.

In 2016, the Government launched an alternative route to sanctuary for refugees called Refugee Resettlement. Through this route, the Home Office and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) identify vulnerable refugees to be transferred from the country of refuge to the UK after going through a rigorous process. Once the refugee family is in the UK, they are helped by a local authority or a community sponsorship group with a home and the support they need to thrive.

When helped by a community group, this is known as Community Sponsorship. Anyone in London can get involved with helping a refugee come to the UK under this scheme.

In London, 1088 refugees have been resettled by local authorities and community groups. So far, refugee resettlement has been open mainly to people fleeing the Syrian conflict, but more nationalities will be eligible in the future.

The Home Office aim to give people a decision on their asylum application quickly. However, 61 per cent of people seeking asylum have been waiting for a decision for over six months.

While waiting for a decision, people seeking asylum in the UK cannot claim benefits and are usually not allowed to work. Some will have their own savings or get support from family or friends. But this is not an option for most people.

For people seeking asylum who would otherwise be destitute, the Home Office provides an allowance of £37.75 a week and, if needed, a home to live in. The Home Office uses a private contractor Clearsprings Ready Homes to provide this accommodation in London.

London is currently home to 1954 people seeking asylum who are only receipt of a cash allowance and not housing from the Home Office. They often live with family or friends.

People seeking asylum in the capital who need a home are first accommodated in Barry House in Southwark and Brigstock House in Croydon (“initial accommodation”), before being dispersed in housing across London or outside the capital (“dispersed accommodation”).

London has historically been home to relatively low numbers of people seeking asylum in dispersed accommodation. However, in recent years there has been a rise in the number of people in dispersed accommodation in the capital, from a low of 771 people five years ago, to 5002 people today.

As a result of the pandemic, the Home Office and Clearsprings Ready Homes have also increasingly resorted to using hotels to accommodate people seeking asylum. This brings significant challenges, as households are not able to live independently. For example, families do not have the money or the facilities to cook their own meals and are reliant upon accommodation provider for food. People receive support payments of just £8 a week, which is intended to cover the cost of travel, non-subscription medication and clothing. Some households have been in these hotels for many months.

The Home Office has contracted Migrant Help to provide additional support, information and guidance to people seeking asylum. You can find out more about their work here.

If someone receives a positive decision and is recognised by the Government as a refugee, they have just 28 days until their support from the Home Office ceases and they are evicted their Home Office accommodation. This leaves little time to find alternative accommodation, find work, or establish a welfare benefits claim.

Newly recognised refugees should receive a call from the Home Office’s subcontractor Reed in Partnership, who will signpost them to local authority support to help avoid homelessness. Despite the efforts of London’s boroughs and civil society, many newly recognised refugees face extremely challenging circumstances and homelessness is far too common.

Those who get a negative decision from the Home Office (“refused asylum seekers”) are expected by the Home Office to leave the UK. Households without children lose support and are evicted after 21 days. If people do not feel able to return to their country of origin, they often face destitution and homelessness.

Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (also known as “unaccompanied children” or “UASC”) are children and young people who are seeking asylum in the UK but who have been separated from their parents or carers. While their claim is processed, they are cared for by a local authority.

There are more than 1,600 unaccompanied children in the care of London boroughs. 270 of these children are in the care of the London Borough of Croydon. London councils run the Pan London Rota to support an equal distribution of unaccompanied children 16/17 years old across London boroughs. You can read more about the Pan London Rota here.

Building on the success of the Pan London Rota model, the Government introduced the National Transfer Scheme (NTS) in 2016. The scheme is designed to ensure a more equitable distribution of unaccompanied children across Britain. The Government is currently deliberating on how to reform the NTS to ensure it is effective and takes proper regard of the best interests of unaccompanied children.