Record number of refugees face homelessness in UK, warns charity

By Aysu Bicer

LONDON (AA)— Thousands of people in the UK’s asylum and immigration system are being pushed into homelessness and destitution as a direct result of increasingly punitive government policies, according to new data from NACCOM’s latest annual survey.

NACCOM is the national charity of 140 frontline refugee and migrant organizations.

The network’s annual briefing reveals record levels of homelessness among people with insecure immigration status during 2024–25.

NACCOM’s frontline members accommodated 4,434 people over the year, the highest figure since records began in 2013, while 829 people were sleeping rough at the point they accessed services.

Nearly two-thirds (65%) of member organizations reported that the transition to digital-only eVisas contributed to the risk of homelessness, making it more difficult for people to access Universal Credit or find work and housing.

Despite being entitled to state support, 2,008 refugees were accommodated by the network, a 106% rise on 2022/23, the report added.

While 71% of respondents said a temporary extension of the refugee move-on period to 56 days helped reduce homelessness risk, this measure ended in September, returning the window to 28 days.

NACCOM also highlighted the impact of No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) conditions, with 1,509 people supported across the network, including 912 refused asylum seekers who are considered “appeal rights exhausted.”

Demand for legal advice rose sharply, but 64% of charities providing advice said they were unable to keep up.

NACCOM Director Bridget Young said: “Our survey findings paint a bleak picture of a continuing crisis with no end in sight. Successive governments have expanded the hostile environment through constant, reactive policy changes that make it easier for people to fall into destitution and homelessness, and harder to find a way out. Any cross-government strategy to end homelessness will fail unless it tackles these structural barriers.”

The survey period also coincided with a “terrifying summer of rioting organized by the far right,” with organizations reporting threats to staff and those they support.

Young said NACCOM members have still “supported more people than ever… showing an unwavering commitment to offering stability, dignity, and support to those forced into homelessness and destitution by immigration policy.”