Refugees, asylum seekers, trafficking survivors and people with discretionary leave and humanitarian protection
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Are you a refugee or asylum seeker?
If you are a refugee, an asylum seeker or a victim or survivor of human trafficking or slavery, this page gives you guidance on eligibility for housing and benefits. (Note: if you are from Ukraine, see our Ukraine page; if you left Sudan after 15 April 2023 and have been given limited leave see our limited leave page.)
In other cases, this page applies to you if:
- you claimed asylum and have been granted leave to remain in the UK: this may be refugee status, humanitarian protection or discretionary leave to remain
- you have been given resettlement in the UK through the Gateway Protection Programme, Syrian Resettlement Programme, the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) set up to provide protection for Afghan citizens and others at risk (following the Taliban takeover in August 2021) or other official refugee resettlement programme
- you were formerly employed as support staff to the UK armed forces in Afghanistan and were given permission to enter the UK under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP), this page applies to you unless your leave has a ‘no public funds’ condition
- you have been given leave to remain as an unaccompanied child who was ‘stranded’ in Europe (sometimes called ‘Dubs children’), or ‘Calais leave’ because you were transferred from Calais camps to live with a relative in the UK
However, if you made a claim for asylum but you have not yet had a decision or are waiting for the results of a fresh claim, you are an asylum seeker and the special arrangements for your housing are explained below. If your asylum claim has been finally refused but you have not left the UK, you are a refused asylum seeker. This section does not apply to you. You may find some information to help you on the pages on people with social care needs or people who are destitute.
Are you a victim or survivor of human trafficking or slavery?
If you are a victim or survivor of human trafficking or slavery and you have been granted temporary permission to stay by the Home Office you are entitled to housing and help if you are homeless. You are also entitled universal credit or housing benefit to help pay your rent provided you are habitually resident.
Are you a stateless person?
You are a stateless person if you are not recognised as a citizen by the law of any country. A stateless person can be granted leave in the same way as any other non-UK national (e.g. as a student, work permit holder etc.) but can also apply for five years' leave from the Home Office for that reason. The Home Office usually only do this if you do not meet the criteria for asylum or qualify for leave under any other category – although the law does not strictly require this. You can find out more about statelessness and stateless leave here.
Special arrangements for asylum seekers
If you applied for asylum but have not yet received a final decision or you are waiting for the result of an appeal against a refusal of asylum, you cannot get an allocation of housing from the council, or get help if you are homeless. You cannot get universal credit or housing benefit to pay your rent. You can apply direct to a housing association or for private rented accommodation, but in England where immigration checks apply you will not have the ’right to rent’ and landlords cannot accept you as a tenant. You can however stay with friends or family.
As an asylum seeker you can apply to the Home Office for asylum support if you have no money or nowhere to live. The government website explains how, gives details of helplines that can help you do it, and what you will get. Asylum seekers are offered basic housing on a no-choice basis anywhere in the UK and some money to pay for food. This accommodation can be in hotels or army barracks as well as in normal housing, but your rights are still the same. If you already have somewhere to stay and do not need Home Office accommodation, you can still ask for money for food.
If you have been refused asylum but cannot travel home immediately you can also apply for support and accommodation. Support for refused asylum seekers is paid via a cashless payment card and accommodation is also on a no-choice basis.
What documents might refugees be asked for?
If you apply for housing or benefits you will be asked for:
- The Immigration Status Document you were given with your asylum decision or when you arrived in the UK. This proves your identity and your eligibility. If you do not have one you will need a letter from the Home Office confirming your eligibility but will also need to prove your identity.
- If you are leaving asylum support accommodation, the NASS 35 or other form that shows where you have lived and when your support and accommodation ends.
- If you have applied to renew your leave, a copy of the documents you sent off and the receipt from the Home Office.
What are a refugee's or stateless person's rights to housing and benefits?
You have the right to get free advice and information from your local council (or an organisation
they have commissioned to provide it) to help you if you are homeless, or if you are threatened with
homelessness within 56 days. This advice must meet any special needs you may have that arise because
you: are a care leaver, a former member of the regular armed forces, a victim of domestic abuse,
leaving hospital, leaving detention (prison or similar institution), suffering from a mental illness
or impairment, or if you are a member of any other group that the authority has identified as being at
particular risk of homelessness.
If you made a successful claim for asylum.
Even though you may have limited leave to remain in the UK, you have the right to apply for an allocation of housing from the council or from a housing association, to get help if you are homeless and to claim universal credit or housing benefit to help pay
your rent. You should be offered a tenancy on the same terms as any other applicant, even if you are
waiting to renew your leave or it is due to run out soon. You can also apply for private rented housing: in England
where there are 'right to rent' checks,
the landlord will need to see the documents proving your status, and if you have limited leave the
landlord will need to see your renewed documents when renewing the tenancy.
The Home Office provides a welcome guide for new refugees, in various languages, that explains housing rights and other issues.
If you have been granted indefinite or limited leave as a stateless person you can apply for private rented housing in England or Wales (but in England your landlord will need to see your documents) and you can also:
- claim universal credit or housing benefit to help pay your rent; and
- apply for housing from the council or a housing association and get help if you are homeless.
What about your family members?
If you are an asylum seeker or a refused asylum seeker, you can apply for support and accommodation for your husband/wife/civil partner and children if they are living with you.
If you have refugee status, your partner and children can apply for leave to join you, as long as you started your family before you left your home country. If they are granted ‘family reunion leave’:
- they are eligible housing and homelessness assistance after they have been resident in the UK for three months
- during the three-month qualifying period they are disregarded in your homelessness application, but are counted in your application for housing, including any priority given to your household for being homeless
- if you are claiming universal credit (UC) or state pension credit (SPC) you will not get an allowance for your partner during the first three months after their arrival, but you will get an allowance for each child in SPC or up to two children in UC, and
- you are all eligible to rent a home from a private landlord but in England the landlord will need to see documents proving the status of every adult in the household and will need to see them each time your status is renewed.
If your relationship with the partner or child began after you left your home country to claim asylum, your family members can apply to join you, but the conditions of their leave will not allow you to include them in your application for housing or claim for benefit. You and your family can apply for a rented home from a private landlord, but in England your landlord will ask to see your documents.
See also:
