Refugees, Homelessness and the ‘Move-On’ Process

Abstract

In the UK, there are significant gaps in our understanding of the systems, processes and procedures that govern access to housing among refugees. Responding to these gaps, this paper presents research findings that offer insights into the institutional coordination of homelessness and housing insecurity in the lives of newly granted refugees navigating the ‘move-on’ process in Wales. Drawing on data from focus groups, peer research, practitioner interviews, observation and text analysis, this paper takes an approach informed by Institutional Ethnography (IE) to examine the gaps between refugees’ lived experiences of homelessness and housing precarity and what is happening institutionally in terms of homelessness prevention and response. In doing so, this paper shows the ‘move-on’ process to be a disruptive mechanism of forced displacement into homelessness and precarious housing. Meanwhile, the institutional preoccupation with private rented sector solutions shifts the focus away from what is politically ‘off the table’ for newly granted refugees in terms of state homelessness response. Ultimately, this paper calls for a reframing of homelessness prevention strategies to account for the institutional processes that variably condition refugee displacement following a grant of status in the UK.