A Welcome Change: Extending the Move-On Period for Refugees

21 Jan 2025 03:33 PM

This joint blog from Homeless Link and NACCOM provides an analysis of the latest legislation changes and makes recommendations for next steps:

At the close of 2024, we saw a long-awaited shift in the asylum system as the Home Office announced a trial extension to the move-on period for newly recognised refugees. The move-on period has been extended to 56 days from the date of a positive asylum decision or 28 days from the discontinuation letter (the letter is issued by the Home Office outlining a specific date from when a person’s asylum support will end), whichever is longer.

This temporary change, set for review in June 2025, represents a vital step forward toward reducing the risk of homelessness for refugees and ensuring a smoother transition to life in the UK. After years of campaigning by Homeless Link, NACCOM and many others across the homelessness and migrant rights sectors, this development is highly welcomed. However, much work remains to be done to ensure refugees get the wider support they need to rebuild their lives.

Why Extending the Move-On Period Is Crucial

Homelessness among refugees has been escalating at an alarming rate. In 2023 – 2024, cases of homelessness among people leaving asylum accommodation rose by 251%. NACCOM’s network of homelessness services accommodated 1,941 refugees in 2023-24, a 99% increase from the previous year, and wider homelessness accommodation services reported a 60% increase in refugees supported. A major contributing factor is the insufficient 28-day move-on period, which research consistently shows is not long enough for many refugees to secure housing or financial stability. As a result, newly recognised refugees face a high risk of homelessness, placing enormous pressure on both statutory homelessness services and the voluntary sector.

An extended move-on period also better aligns with welfare and housing systems. Refugees often rely on Universal Credit during their transition from asylum accommodation. However, the first Universal Credit payment takes at least 35 days – longer than the 28 day move-on period allowed, leaving many refugees without any financial support during this critical time.

The 28-day window was also out of step with the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017, which requires local authorities in England to assist people at risk of homelessness within 56 days. As a result, councils have often been unable to provide timely support to people transitioning out of the asylum accommodation. A positive step forward is the update to asylum decision letters, which now explicitly advise local councils to treat them as evidence of homelessness risk.

Building a Better Move-On Process

While the interim extension of the move-on period to 56 days is a welcome and much needed change, it is only the first step. As highlighted in our policy briefing Vital Solutions to Ending Migrant Homelessness, there is much more to do to stop the flow of homelessness for those leaving the asylum system.

This change is about more than just extending timelines – it’s about creating a move-on process that genuinely supports everyone leaving the asylum system, allowing them to make the most of the additional time. A longer move-on period offers refugees a more reasonable timeframe to navigate a challenging transition, secure housing, access essential benefits, and start rebuilding their lives after years of uncertainty.

However, even with this extension, many refugees face daunting obstacles, including:

• Delays and Errors in Documentation: Without all their key documents—decision letters, eVisas, Notices to Quit, and others—delivered promptly and accurately, refugees are left struggling to plan their next steps.
• Lack of Integration Between Services: The transition from asylum support to mainstream services and support remains disjointed. Without better coordination between services such as housing and welfare, refugees are at significant risk of falling into homelessness and being left without vital support.
• Barriers to Navigating New Systems: Refugees face significant hurdles navigating unfamiliar systems such as homelessness services, welfare benefits, employment, and housing, all of which are complex and difficult to access without prior experience or sufficient support. The shift to digital eVisas adds further barriers for those unfamiliar with technology or lacking access to digital resources. Many banks still do not accept eVisas as a valid form of ID, and even those that do, require in-branch visits, which are inaccessible for many. Ongoing challenges with the eVisa rollout risk undermining the benefits of the extended move-on period.
• People Refused Asylum or Withdrawn Claims: The Home Office’s move-on policy updates fail to address the needs of people whose asylum claims have been refused or withdrawn, leaving them at greater risk of homelessness.

A 56-day move-on period is an important start, but without addressing these systemic issues, the extension will fall short of its full potential to support refugees and asylum seekers in their transition to stability.

As this trial progresses, it is vital that the government takes action to ensure it delivers meaningful, lasting change. We recommend the following:

Immediate recommendations:

• While developing a comprehensive move-on process, the government must, in the short term, work more effectively with local authorities and key voluntary and community sector services.
• Refugees should receive all key documents together, enabling them to plan effectively. Clear escalation routes must be in place for resolving delays or errors, with asylum support extended when documentation issues arise.
• Any evaluation of the trial must consider broader systemic challenges, including the housing crisis, overstretched local services, and barriers introduced by the eVisa system.
• People with lived experience of the asylum system must play a key role in the design and evaluation of any new processes.
• The 56-day move-on period must be made a permanent feature of the asylum system and extended to all people leaving asylum accommodation, including those refused asylum, who currently have a 21-day move-on period, and those who have had their asylum claims withdrawn.

Longer-term recommendations:

• The government must work with local authorities, migrant sector and homelessness sector providers to develop a co-ordinated and integrated move-on process that looks to prevent homelessness wherever possible.
• Grant people seeking asylum the right to work after six months.
• Expand the Homelessness Reduction Act’s Duty to Refer to include the Home Office.

Get involved

As part of our ongoing joint work with NACCOM, we will continue to call on the Home Office to make the 56-day move-on period a permanent feature and extend it to everyone leaving asylum accommodation.

On Tuesday 11th March 2025, 10am – 12pm, Homeless Link and NACCOM will host an engagement session for those working in the homelessness sector to discuss what an effective move-on process could look like. To join us and share your insights, please sign up below:

Sign up for free event: Creating a Better 'Move On' Process for Refugees