The United Kingdom Home Office has issued new guidance allowing asylum seekers with friends or family in the country to stay with them instead of in Home Office accommodation.
The guidance, published on Wednesday, said the arrangement would not affect the outcome of an asylum application and that eligible asylum seekers would continue to receive weekly financial support for food and other essential items.
“You can stay with friends or family instead of in Home Office accommodation,” the Home Office stated in the four-page leaflet titled Choosing where to stay as an asylum seeker.
It added, “It will not impact the outcome of your asylum application, and if eligible, you will still get weekly money for food and other essential items.”
According to the guidance, asylum seekers may choose to stay with friends or family if they have space to accommodate them.
The Home Office listed some benefits of the arrangement, including living closer to people they know, receiving weekly financial support if eligible, cooking their own food and feeling more at home.
However, asylum seekers who wish to move must follow a specified process before leaving Home Office accommodation.
The guidance requires them to first speak with their friends or family to confirm that they are willing to accommodate them.
“Call Migrant Help on 0808 8010 503 and tell them the address you want to move to,” the Home Office said.
It explained that Migrant Help would submit the request to the Home Office for processing.
“Once you and your friend or family member have provided Migrant Help with all the information required, you must wait for the Home Office to confirm the outcome of your request before moving to new accommodation,” it stated.
The Home Office warned asylum seekers against moving without first notifying Migrant Help, saying doing so could affect their financial support.
“If you move without telling Migrant Help, you could lose your financial support, so it is important you contact them first,” the guidance stated.
The department also said it might be able to assist with the cost of travelling to the new accommodation.
The new guidance forms part of a set of resources published by the Home Office on Wednesday for people seeking asylum in the UK. The resources also cover expected behaviour, child safety, domestic abuse and other issues.
The new guidance comes amid a series of changes to the UK’s asylum and migration system as the government seeks to speed up asylum decisions, increase returns of people with no legal basis to remain and reduce reliance on government-provided accommodation.
Recent measures have included efforts to clear asylum appeal backlogs, agreements aimed at facilitating the return of failed asylum seekers and immigration offenders, and restrictions on some visa routes in response to rising asylum claims.
The government has also been working to reduce its reliance on asylum hotels, which were introduced to accommodate applicants while their claims are being processed.
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