Winter Appeal: ‘I was told I could stay in the UK — then kicked out of my asylum accommodation’

The day Habib received his decision letter granting him refugee status in the UK was one of the happiest of his life. The 29-year-old had fled imminent threats to his life in Afghanistan weeks before the Taliban seized power in 2021, leaving behind his pregnant wife and daughter, and had endured a perilous four-month journey across Asia and Europe. He travelled in trucks and walked across Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Bulgaria, Serbia, Austria, Germany and France. He was shot at by border guards, arrested, imprisoned, released, suffered starvation and ate leaves in a forest to survive, but eventually he got to the UK and claimed asylum.

He was housed by the Home Office in cramped hotel rooms and shared accommodation where he lived in fear of being deported to Rwanda. So when, after two years, he got the refugee status decision letter granting him “permission to stay” in the UK, it was a huge relief. He thought his worries were over and that he could start to rebuild his life and send for his wife and children. “It was a very joyful moment,” he said.