Migrant Homelessness in the European Union

EUROPEAN RESEARCH CONFERENCEHomelessness, Migration and Demographic Change in Europe

Pisa, 16th September 2011

Interdisciplinary Center 'Sciences

for peace’

Migrant Homelessness in the European Union

Nicholas Pleace

University of York

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Migrant Homelessness Report based on a review conducted for

Homelessness Research in Europe: Festschrift for Bill Edgar and Joe Doherty published in late 2010

Looked at evidence on nature and extent of migrant homelessness since the 2002 Feantsa Conference



Findings Evidence was patchy in 2002 Remained patchy in 2010 Much of what there was centred on small

scale exercises and counts Reports from service providers Though there was some larger scale

research and analysis



Broad Pattern 1 Economic migrants from Eastern EU

member states appearing among people living rough in North Western Europe

Concerns raised by policymakers and service providers, Dublin, Paris, London, Netherlands



Broad Pattern 2 Undocumented migrants from Africa,

Eastern Europe, Russian Federation and South America

Appearing among people living rough in North West Europe

Africans and people from South America appearing at high rates in Spain

Africans appearing at high rates in Italy



North Western EU Numbers of economic and undocumented

migrants among people living rough increasing in North West Europe from before 2002

Changing composition of population of people living rough in some major North West European cities

But numbers relatively very small



Southern EU Numbers of African and other documented

and undocumented migrants among people living rough substantial

Data partial, but numerically more significant that numbers reported in North Western EU



Forms of migrant homelessness Asylum seekers and refugees Failed asylum seekers and undocumented

migrants Women and children from outside EU who lose

immigration status due to gender based violence A10 economic migrants who become homeless Ethnic and cultural minorities who are not recent

migrants



Legal status Legal status is key Illegal presence in a society tends to prohibit

access to much of the welfare system, social housing and sometimes to at least some homelessness services

UK term is ‘no recourse to public funds’ – similar concepts exist elsewhere



Legal status 2 Legal status is important in another sense What a “migrant” is varies between EU member states Sometimes children of migrants born in host country

retain a ‘migrant status’ in some societies (e.g. Germany) but are full citizens in others (e.g. UK):

Migrant homelessness in one context becomes homelessness among specific cultural/ethnic groups of citizens in another

Ambiguities exist in relation to Roma, who while an established population, may have effectively lower legal status in country of origin and in any EU member state they migrate to



Variation and Change Evidence of “early migration” homelessness that

begins to cease once people become established in a society (Spain)

Evidence of uneven experience of homelessness among some established migrant groups (UK, differences in homelessness levels between migrants with Indian and African origin, thought linked to socioeconomic status)



Conclusions Trends do seem to exist Multiple forms of migrant homelessness do

seem to exist But our data are often little more than partial Modes of exit from homelessness not well

understood, to what extent do migrants self-exit over time, to what extent do they leave host country and return to point of origin, to what extent do they become long term homeless?



Difficult questions EU member states cannot “import” social problems

and/or housing need from other societies because it is not financially or politically sustainable

Nor can the more economically prosperous parts of EU provide welfare and housing services to large numbers of citizens

Finding a humanitarian response that allows decent treatment of homeless migrants but that works alongside immigration control is difficult, e.g. operation of supportive repatriation of Poles and other A8 migrants from London

Health & Medicine

Migrant Homelessness in the European Union