Accommodation

This page explains how an asylum applicant may qualify for housing provided by the UK Border Agency, and briefly describes what we provide.

If you are homeless or without money to buy food (we call this 'destitute') you may qualify for housing provided by us. If you do, we will give you somewhere to live in a place where suitable housing is available. You will not be able to choose where this is. We will provide transport to take you there.

We provide housing in the following regions of the United Kingdom:

• north west;
• midlands;
• north east;
• Wales; and
• Scotland.

We will not provide housing in London. Very limited housing may be available in the south-east of England. While we are providing your housing, you must stay at the address we give you unless we give you permission to move.

We provide different housing at different stages of your application process. If you qualify for housing when you first make your asylum application, we will place you in what we call initial accommodation, which gives you somewhere to live for the first two or three weeks.

After this you will usually move to different housing. It will normally be in the same region of the country as your initial accommodation, and in the region where your case owner works.

You will not be able to choose where you live if we are providing your housing. If you no longer want us to provide your housing, please tell your case owner.

If you do not stay in contact with your case owner and report to us as you have been instructed, your support may be stopped and you may be detained in a secure centre.