In the UK there are an estimated 674,000 people who have ‘no recourse to public funds’ (NRPF) because of their irregular migration status, including 106,000 UK born children. This population includes refused asylum seekers, clandestine entrants, and those who have overstayed a visa. There are also an unknown additional number of people with temporary leave to remain in the UK who are subject to the NRPF condition and who are at risk of losing employment as a result of the pandemic. This population is at high risk of poverty and insecurity, but little is known about their experiences during the current pandemic.

Andy Jolly and Dr Bozena Sojka are working with partners from the third sector including Migrants’ Rights Network, Project 17, ASIRT, and the Public Interest Law Centre on a rapid response project to understand and map local authority responses to people who are subject to the NRPF condition during the pandemic. The project is funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and uses an innovative mix of case studies, survey data and welfare diaries to build up a picture of how people with NRPF have been supported during the lockdown.

Download the Local Authority responses to NRPF - Interim findings on Local Authority Responses to people with NRPF during the pandemic