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The problem

The Destitution Trap: read our in-depth report

Why destitution isn't working

Forced into destitution

Under the present system, financial support and accommodation for asylum seekers is currently cut off 21 days after a final claim for asylum has been refused.

Inhumane

Refused asylum seekers in our towns and cities are being reduced to penniless poverty.

Ineffective

Our research found that far from encouraging asylum seekers to return to their countries of origin, destitution made return less likely.

Why can't they go home?

In practice it is extremely difficult to forcibly remove people to countries where there are serious safety concerns, difficulties in obtaining travel documents or where there is no functioning airport.

Refugee Action believes it is vital that the government maintain contact with refused asylum seekers and that financial support should continue until their cases can be resolved.

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Who becomes destitute?

Lilian

Sara

Ibrahim

Who becomes destitute?

Lillian was involved in political opposition to an unstable, oppressive regime. She fled to the UK after her fellow activists were beaten by the police, and claimed asylum.

Her application for asylum was refused; the Home Office didn’t dispute her evidence but said she was not senior enough in the opposition movement to be under personal threat if she went back.

The UK recently described the human rights violations in her country as ‘grotesque’. She is committed to rebuilding her country once the regime falls, but believes that she would be arrested if she returns there now and has remained here.

Refugee Action and the Still Human Still Here coalition believe that it does not make sense to make people like Lillian destitute when they clearly cannot return. Why not give those who cannot return to dangerous countries temporary status and allow them to work until it is safe to return?

Who becomes destitute?

Sara was 26 when she came to the UK and claimed asylum having come from deeply impoverished circumstances.

Her life was not at immediate risk in her home country. Her asylum claim was rejected but she is not a priority for forced removal and the Government believes she should return of her own accord. So far she has chosen to live destitute in the UK.

Despite Sara’s desperate circumstances in her home country, Refugee Action and Still Human Still Here recognise that a process of identifying people who need protection here will also identify those who do not.

However, making people destitute has been shown to be ineffective in encouraging people to leave. A voluntary sector caseworker working closely with Sara from the start of the process could help her make an informed and genuinely voluntary decision to leave safely and with dignity.

Who becomes destitute?

Ibrahim was an opposition activist in Darfur. He fled after experiencing violent attacks on his family and threats by armed men because of political activities at the university where he worked. His pregnant wife was beaten so badly she lost their baby and his sister was raped in front of him.

He arrived in the UK and had his initial asylum claim refused for lack of evidence after receiving poor legal advice. He was destitute and chose to sleep in railway stations and on the streets rather than return to Sudan. Months later he got proper legal advice, put in a fresh claim and was granted refugee status.

Refugee Action and Still Human Still Here believe that some people have protection needs that are not met straightaway by the asylum system. In the absence of a perfect system people should not face destitution in the UK at any stage in the asylum process.

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The Destitution Trap

Our report The Destitution Trap is the first in-depth national survey on destitution among asylum seekers.

The government’s policy on refused asylum seekers does not work and is forcing thousands into abject poverty and mental suffering.

Download the report

Full report (1.8 mb)
Briefing (1 mb)
Executive Summary and Recommendations

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Refugee Action and Still Human Still Here are calling for the government to:

Ensure that refused asylum seekers remain on the same financial support and accommodation as during the asylum process until their situation is resolved.
Grant temporary, renewable permission to stay in the country that allows refused asylum seekers, who cannot safely be returned to their countries of origin within six months, to stay in the UK, to work and to access medical care.
End the long-term limbo of refused asylum seekers still in the UK after several years, by granting them permission to stay in the country, as well as the right to work, to claim benefits and access medical care.
Ensure that the government’s asylum case-workers build in anti-destitution support measures as part of the so-called 'New Asylum Model' where cases are managed from beginning to end.

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