Step 7 · You made it

You've got a positive decision: the 42-day checklist

Congratulations. You now have around 42 days (the move-on period) to leave your Home Office accommodation, and your first Universal Credit payment will arrive in about 5 weeks. Below is what to do day by day, what to bring and what to say.

42days of move-on period — not 28 and not 56

3 daysto apply for Universal Credit — the wait counts from the date you apply

~5 weeksuntil the first Universal Credit payment

30 monthsof status for claims from 2 March 2026

How much time you have. From 9 March 2026 you get about 42 days to move on from the notice of a positive decision (the law still says 28; 42 is current practice). Separately, they must give you at least 28 days' notice that support is ending. If the date falls on a weekend, the next working day counts. Extensions aren't automatic: you have to ask, and they're granted in limited cases. Any materials saying “28 days” or “56 days” are out of date. We don't give immigration advice — for your own case, ask a lawyer registered with the IAA / SRA / BSB.

Day 1. The decision letter

Read the whole letter, find the decision date and count day 42 from it — write it somewhere you'll see it. Make two paper copies and one in the cloud: you'll show the letter to Universal Credit, the bank and the council's housing office. Don't throw away your case papers — you'll need them when you extend your status.

Days 1–3. Universal Credit and advance payment

Apply within the first 3 days: the 5-week wait counts from the date you apply, not from the day you get round to it. Documents: ARC or BRP / eVisa together with your decision letter — they won't accept them separately. An advance payment (an advance on your first payment) must be offered to a refugee making a new claim; if they don't offer it, ask for it yourself. You pay it back from future payments over about two years.

By phone: 0800 328 5644, Mon–Fri 8:00–18:00

“Hello. I’ve just been granted refugee status. I’d like to make a new claim for Universal Credit. I have my Home Office decision letter and my ARC. I’d also like to request an advance payment, please.”

In plain words: you're telling them you've just got refugee status, you want to make a new Universal Credit claim, you have your Home Office decision letter and ARC, and you're asking for an advance payment.

What to have in front of you

Your decision letter (date and case reference).
ARC or eVisa / share code.
National Insurance number — usually already assigned and shown in your status or in the letter ending your support; as a rule you don't need to apply separately.
The address of your Home Office accommodation and the date you can stay there until.

Days 1–3. The council housing department

Go straight away, don't wait for the end of the 42 days. The council must consider your application, but it doesn't have to house everyone: refugee status on its own doesn't create priority need. A single healthy person without children usually doesn't have it. The route is through vulnerability: HIV and the need for uninterrupted treatment, mental health conditions, the effects of torture and persecution, abuse you've lived through. You prove this with documents from your doctor and therapist, and they take weeks to prepare — ask early.

At the housing options office

“Hello. I’ve been granted refugee status. My Home Office accommodation ends on [date]. I’d like to make a homelessness application. I have health conditions — here are letters from my GP and my therapist. Please consider whether I’m in priority need.”

In plain words: you've been granted refugee status, your Home Office accommodation ends on [date], you want to make a homelessness application, you have health conditions and letters from your GP and therapist, and you're asking them to consider whether you're in priority need.

What to bring

Your decision letter and the letter ending your support (with the move-out date).
ARC / share code.
Letters from your GP, HIV clinic, therapist — whatever you have today; you can bring the rest later.
Find your council at gov.uk/homelessness-help-from-council.

Refused, or not sure what happens next — Shelter 0808 800 4444.

Days 4–7. Status, bank, doctor's documents

Create a UKVI account and get your eVisa

Physical cards are no longer issued; your status is digital. The account and access are free: gov.uk — eVisa. In the account you generate a share code for your employer, landlord and bank.

Open a bank account

It's easier with status and a share code. The ARC card isn't proof of identity (the Home Office says so itself), but some banks accept it. Take your decision letter and share code.

At the bank

“Hello. I’d like to open a current account. I have refugee status — here is my share code and my Home Office decision letter. I don’t have a passport. Which documents do you accept?”

In plain words: you want to open a current account, you have refugee status with a share code and Home Office decision letter, you don't have a passport, and you're asking which documents they accept.

Ask your doctor and therapist for letters

From your GP, the HIV clinic, NHS Talking Therapies or your therapist. Say it directly: “I need a letter about my condition for my homelessness application to the council.”

Days 8–14. Work, loan, food

Work — no restrictions

From the day you get status. You show your employer your share code. Start looking now: your first wage won't arrive straight away either.

Interest-free loan (integration loan)

£100–£500 for one person, up to £780 for a couple. For a deposit, rent, things for the home, training. It's given once in a lifetime — decide when you need it most. Apply at gov.uk/refugee-integration-loan.

Food bank

With a voucher from your GP, Citizens Advice or a charity. In the transition month this is normal. Say: “Could you refer me to a food bank, please?”

Days 15–42. See it through

Days 15–28

Check your Universal Credit online account to see whether your documents were accepted, and don't miss your appointment at the jobcentre.
Take the council the doctor's letters you didn't manage to bring on your first visit.
Look for housing at the same time: you show the landlord your share code.

Days 29–42

No decision from the council and nowhere to live — Shelter 0808 800 4444; for LGBTQI+ people — Micro Rainbow 0800 358 5851.
Extending the 42 days isn't automatic: if you have grounds, ask the Home Office in advance, not on the last day.

Money after status — in short

You can scroll the table sideways.

What	How it works
Universal Credit	Apply straight away. First payment in about 5 weeks, then monthly on the same date. Phone 0800 328 5644
Advance payment	An advance on your first payment. Refugees must be offered it. Paid back from future payments over about two years
Interest-free loan for refugees	From £100 to £500 for one person, up to £780 for a couple. No interest. Once in a lifetime
Food bank	With a voucher from your GP, Citizens Advice or a charity
Work	From the day you get status — no restrictions. You show your employer your share code
Refugee travel document	Around £102 for an adult, valid until the end of your leave. You can't travel to the country you fled

How long your status lasts and what happens with family

30 months

For claims made from 2 March 2026, refugee status and humanitarian protection are usually granted for 30 months, not five years. For earlier claims — usually at least five years. Extend in advance; when you extend, they check whether the situation in your country has changed. So don't throw away your case papers and keep gathering information about your country.

Family reunion is closed

For new applications — since 4 September 2025, the route is under review. Your partner and children can't come through it; what's left is the general family route — paid, with financial requirements. Check GOV.UK before making any plans and don't pay anyone who promises to "bring your family over" right now.

Questions people ask in the first week

I wasn't offered an advance payment. What do I do?

Call 0800 328 5644 (Mon–Fri 8:00–18:00) and say: “I’m a refugee with a new Universal Credit claim. I’d like to request an advance payment.” They must offer it to a refugee.

I don't have my eVisa yet. Will they accept my Universal Credit claim?

Yes — your ARC together with the decision letter. Together is the point: one without the other won't be accepted. Set up your UKVI account in the first week.

The council said I'm not in priority need. Is that the end?

Refugee status by itself doesn't create priority need. If you have HIV and are on treatment, mental health conditions, the effects of torture or violence you've survived — bring letters from your doctor and therapist and ask for a review. Call Shelter on 0808 800 4444: they'll explain what to write.

Things got hard after the positive decision. Is that normal?

Yes — for many people it hits precisely after the decision. NHS Talking Therapies — you can refer yourself. For severe trauma: Freedom from Torture 020 7697 7777, Helen Bamber Foundation 020 3058 2020. Just to talk — Samaritans 116 123.

Qadam London

How Qadam London can help

We'll go through this checklist with you day by day and work out your day 42.
We'll tell you who to ask for which letters for the council, and how to word them in English.
We'll put you in touch with people who've been through this month.

Free step-by-step plan Write to us

Where to get help

Useful phone numbers at this stage

Nowhere to live
0808 800 4444Shelter. Free advice on housing and your council application.
Mon–Fri 8:00–17:00
Help for refugees
0808 196 7272Refugee Council. Referral to a lawyer, helpline in several languages.
Free
Housing for LGBTQI+ people
0800 358 5851Micro Rainbow. Housing and support programmes.
Free
Struggling and no one to talk to
116 123Samaritans. You can call in any state.
24 hours, free
Survivors of torture: therapy
020 7697 7777Freedom from Torture. You can contact them yourself.
Self-referrals accepted
LGBTQ+ support line
0800 0119 100Switchboard. Talk about anything: coming out, loneliness, fear.
Daily 10:00–22:00

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