Campaigns

Right now, people seeking asylum in our country are banned from working. This means they are unable to support themselves or their families, often forced to live in poverty and isolation.

This unjust policy not only worsens the quality of life of people seeking asylum but also wastes potential. It prevents them from contributing to society, integrating into their communities and building independent, fulfilling lives. This 2025 report details why people seeking asylum should be granted the right to work. 

We believe that people seeking asylum should be allowed to work if they’ve been waiting six months or more after submitting their claim or further submission. This right should not be limited by the shortage occupation list.  

It’s time for a fairer, more humane system which gives people the chance to rebuild their lives with purpose and hope.

We are proud members of Together With Refugees, a coalition of national and local organisations, refugees living in Britain, and individuals who support the plight of people fleeing war, persecution or violence. The Fair Begins Here campaign advocates for the creation of a new plan for refugees that:

• Defends the human right to seek asylum
• Establishes a welcoming asylum system which ensures fair and rapid decisions on refugees’ applications
• Offers refugees the chance to rebuild their lives by assisting them in settling in a safe and supportive community
• Pushes for stronger global cooperation to address the root causes of displacement and offer safe and legal routes to protection

Refugees are being failed by Britain’s chaotic and heartless refugee policies and now is our chance to show the government that we, along with 80% of the British public, want an asylum system that is well managed, fair and compassionate.

To get involved, you can use this toolkit to contact your local MP and let them know why they should support #FAIRBEGINSHERE.

Transition Hotels

At the end of March 2025, over 32,000 people seeking asylum were staying in around 250 hotels across the UK. While a person’s asylum claim is being processed, they often live in hotels rather than in accommodation in the community, as was once the case. 

Why are the hotels unsuitable?

Refugee Action’s 2024 investigation into the hotel conditions concluded that individuals placed in hotels reported that they were forced to live in cramped and filthy conditions, the food provided was low quality, sometimes rotten or mouldy, and suffered physical and mental health problems. Individuals are also kept in hotels indefinitely, meaning that they are left in limbo while they are waiting for a decision on their asylum claim,  

Missing unaccompanied children 

We are hugely concerned by reports of children going missing at hotel accommodation for unaccompanied children. A report by UCL and ECPAT UK has revealed that dozens of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children went missing from Home Office‑run hotels between 2021 and January 2024, with 118 still unaccounted for as of March 2024. The study concludes that these hotels, intended as short-term emergency shelters, instead became high‑risk environments for trafficking, contradicting Home Office assertions that the children weren’t exploited. Experts warn the very protections meant to safeguard the children, like frequent check‑ins, actually drove them away, making them more vulnerable to exploitation.  

How you can help

We encourage you to sign this petition here, which advocates to end the use of unsafe hotels and barges to house people seeking asylum, transfer asylum housing from private companies to local councils or charities, invest in community-based accommodation and build social housing for all, and to let people seeking asylum work while their claims are processed. 

 Immigration Detention 

Immigration detention centres exist all over the UK. Many individuals are locked up in prison-like conditions with no recourse to legal oversight and no indication of how long they will be locked up. The UK remains the only country in Europe without a time limit on detention. Detention is intended as a resource for those awaiting deportation, but its use in the UK includes detention of people later released back into the community. As of June 2024, around 1800 people were in immigration detention

A 28-day time limit on detention must be imposed and enforced across the UK, in line with other European countries.

We reject the use of detention for those seeking asylum and support the use of alternative community-based models. Read more about those here.