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Home Office publishes guidance that puts rough sleepers at risk of deportation

New guidance has been issued by the Home Office outlining the circumstances under which non-UK nationals sleeping rough could have their permission to remain in the UK refused or cancelled.

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Crisis has branded new guidance outlining how non-UK nationals sleeping rough can have their permission to remain in the UK refused or cancelled as “inhumane” @Crisis_UK #UKhousing

The move has previously been widely criticised by the homelessness sector and Crisis reacted to the new guidance by branding the rules “inhumane”.

In October last year the government announced plans to introduce a new law as part of its post-Brexit immigration plans that would mean people with a history of rough sleeping could have their right to remain in the UK cancelled or refused.

The law came into force in December, but Crisis said the lack of guidance meant that the policy has not been put into practice until now.

The new guidance states that the policy should be used only in cases where someone “has repeatedly refused suitable offers of support and engaged in persistent anti-social behaviour”.


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However, Crisis said the mere existence of the rule will prevent “non-UK nationals in vulnerable circumstances” from seeking support.

It comes two years after it was first revealed that the Home Office was working with some homelessness charities to collect information about rough sleepers that could lead to their deportation.

Liberty Investigates, a journalism unit of the human rights organisation Liberty, recently revealed that the programme had been quietly relaunched by the Home Office.

In the new guidance, the Home Office said that the new immigration rules are “not intended to criminalise rough sleeping or to penalise those who inadvertently find themselves temporarily without a roof over their head”.

“Instead, the rule will be applied to those who refuse to engage with the range of available support mechanisms and who engage in persistent anti-social behaviour,” the guidance states.

Jon Sparkes, chief executive of Crisis, said: “Everyone in our society should have a safe place to live and shouldn’t face punishment for experiencing homelessness. This policy completely goes against this – it is inhumane and its mere existence will make non-UK nationals in vulnerable circumstances fearful of asking for the support they need to help them off the streets. To be clear, we do not accept this policy and urge authorities not to use these powers in any circumstances.

“We know that the avenues of support outlined in the guidance, such as specialist immigration advice, are already in very short supply in many areas across the country. The guidance itself acknowledges how few support options are available for people in this situation and we know from our own services that this leaves people trapped sleeping rough with no way out.

“​We urgently need to see a clear, national strategy from the government to end rough sleeping and homelessness. The focus must be on providing the right support for people on our streets – this means a safe place to stay, immigration advice and employment support so that everyone can leave homelessness behind for good.”

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