Refugees given 56 days to find new housing as ‘move on’ period doubled

The number of days newly-recognised refugees have to find somewhere new to live is to double from next week.

The time period given to transition from supported housing to other accommodation will be increased from 28 days to 56 days.

The change, which comes into effect from Monday, December 9, has been described as a temporary measure by the Home Office.

The extended ‘move on’ period is currently expected to stay in place until June 2025. We will continue to campaign for it to be made permanent and continue to support people through every step of the process.

We will also be watching closely over the next few months to make sure people receive all necessary documents from the start of the move-on period to avoid unnecessary delays.

Our Winter Appeal seeks to support people seeking protection who are struggling because of Scotland’s housing crisis this winter.

Our response to the new ‘move on’ period:

Refugee Integration Service Manager Rebecca Menzies said:

“We are relieved that people will now have 56 days to find somewhere new to live after receiving a decision about their asylum claim. This is a common-sense move that provides a little more time for people make the transition from temporary asylum accommodation into something longer-term and more settled.

“People who are granted refugee protection need be able to focus on rebuilding their lives, it’s a really crucial time for people and a moment many have looked forward to for years. Being recognised as a refugee means an end to the uncertainty of the asylum system but, a whole new, complicated and challenging journey begins. There are a lot of significant changes to navigate in a very short space of time and most people face an immediate housing emergency when their asylum accommodation is withdrawn. Very few people have savings for a rental deposit or the up-front costs required for moving and moving at such short notice can be extremely difficult for people without family or social networks in Scotland to rely on for support.

“We hope that the decision to increase the ‘move on’ period will have a positive impact on this and reduce the number of people who are forced to endure homelessness this winter.”

Why do so many refugees face homelessness?

People granted refugee protection are currently only given up to 28 days to find somewhere to live before being evicted from Home Office accommodation.

If a newly-recognised refugee does not find somewhere to live in that short space of time, they often declare themselves as homeless to a local authority.

A lack of available accommodation options has made that many councils have had to use hotels and bed and breakfasts to house those in need.

Part of this increased demand has been blamed on how the Home Office has handling the number of outstanding asylum claims. Last week, new figures showed that more than 133,000 people are still affected by the backlog of cases across the UK.

The UK Government said the upcoming change to the ‘move on’ period is designed to support local councils after a significant rise in refugee homelessness over the past year.

In Scotland, the number of households becoming homeless from supported accommodation has risen from 932 in 2022-23 to 1,978 in 2023-24.

This prompted a group made up of nearly 40 charities and academic organisations, including Scottish Refugee Council, to write to UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper MP urging the Home Office to plays its part in preventing homelessness in Scotland.

They accused the UK Government of “washing their hands of any responsibility to support people newly out of the asylum system”.

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