In October 2020 the Home Office announced changes to the Immigration Rules which made
rough sleeping a ground for refusal or cancellation of non-UK nationals’ leave to enter or
remain in the UK. These changes came into force on 1 December 2020.
This report analyses in detail the new Rough Sleeping Rule and its potential effects. It is based
on research conducted between October 2020 and February 2021, including: a survey of
organisations supporting homeless non-UK nationals; Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
requests; semi-structured interviews with policy experts, homelessness and human-rights
practitioners and homeless non-UK nationals; and desk-based research and analysis.
Image: Cranes over Lairdale Estate by Darkroom Daze
