Refugees Are 'Left Destitute On Our Streets' After Receiving Status, Says Charity

A recent Freedom of Information request, submitted by the refugee charity Care4Calais, exposed the Conservative Government for forcing refugees out of their temporary accommodations and onto the streets.

After having their asylum seeker claims granted and obtaining refugee status, the refugee charity slammed the home office for "telling people – people it has accepted deserve sanctuary here – to leave their housing knowing that they stand no chance of finding work, banking or a job in time, and therefore will be destitute".

Care4Calais criticised the behaviours of former Home Secretary Suella Braverman for worsening the current homelessness crisis.

The government "kicks them out on the street", Care4Calais declared.

Originally, after having their refugee status granted, asylum seekers were given 28 days to receive a residence card, find new accommodation and set up a source of income – often referred to as the 'move on' period.

However, of the catastrophic new strategies that has been recently implemented by the Home Office, is a policy that allows the government to evict refugees from their temporary homes before they have been given their residence cards.

Without a residence card, a person is unable to prove that they have the right to live in the UK. Therefore, the evicted refugees are able to open a bank account, study, work or rent a property.

"The Home Office's abhorrent seven-day eviction policy for some of the most vulnerable among us is the cause of the problem," a spokesperson for Care4Calais said in a statement.

"We have already seen that for so many refugees in this position, the street is the only option, and a tent the one chance of keeping dry," the spokesperson added.

The Freedom of Information request also found 54 "new" refugees, those who have only recently been provided with a refugee or Humanitarian Protection status in the UK, were homeless in the first 10 months of 2023 and after having their asylum application granted.

Norwich City Council said that the figure represents a staggering 86 per cent increase in refugees experiencing homelessness this year in Norwich, compared to the whole of 2022.

"Demand for homelessness assistance has never been greater and local authority homelessness departments are facing a 'perfect storm' of significantly increased demand due to the cost-of-living crises and declining supply, creating enormous pressures," Beth Jones, the Deputy Leader for Norwich City Council explained.

To make matters worse, Jones recognised that, considering the record-breaking UK net migration figures, Norwich City Council expects that "the number of non-UK nationals, particularly refugees, seeking to access to our services is likely to increase".

Pointing the finger at Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his relentless 'stop the small boats' campaign, the Care4Calais spokesperson accused the government of creating additional refugee camps in Calais and Dunkirk "deliberately".

It is "because they simply won't accept that all humans need personal safety and dignity, a roof and food. For them, those things are deserved only by a select few which includes, of course, themselves", the spokesperson argued.

The Chief Executive of Care4Calais, Steve Smith, called the UK's controversial asylum system "broken".

"No one wants to see people who come here for sanctuary, left destitute on our streets, but that is what is happening under this Government," he explained.

Considering the number of homeless children reached an all-time high this year, measuring almost 140,000, Smith recognised that "the burden for this rising crisis should not fall on charities and overstretched local authorities".

The government must "step up, extend the move-on period and remove the barriers – such as the ban on asylum seekers working – that prevent 'new refugees' from being able to secure safe housing", he urged.