Evaluation of the initiatives to enhance the move on process

Product Description

The move on period supports asylum seekers granted leave to remain as they transition from asylum support to mainstream support services. The move on period was temporarily extended to 56 days under a pilot which was launched in December 2024 and ended (for single adults) in September 2025. Prior to the pilot, asylum seekers granted leave to remain were given 28 days to move on from the date they received their Asylum Support Discontinuation Letter (ASDL). Alongside this, 2 additional initiatives were introduced:

• deployment of Asylum Move on Liaison Officers (AMLOs) in select local authorities (LAs)
• recognition payments (£2.8 million) to LAs most affected by increased asylum decisions

Separately, UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) rolled out eVisas, replacing physical documents with digital immigration status records.

The Home Office commissioned the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) and Fortia Insight (formerly Strategy, Economics and Policy at RSM UK) to evaluate these initiatives, focusing on implementation, early impacts and value for money (VfM). The evaluation reflects primary data collection from April to September 2025, when the pilot of the extension to 56 days ended (for single adults). The 56-day period was retained for families, pregnant women, individuals aged 65 and over, and for those with a disability as defined in the Equality Act 2010. Throughout the report, for ease of reference, our research participants who have lived experience of move on are referred to as newly-recognised refugees or ‘refugees’. However, not all may have been granted a status of ‘refugee’ and may have another form of leave to remain.