Homelessness Escalations Service (HES): how it can help immigration applicants facing homelessness
When someone’s immigration status is unresolved, homelessness risk can escalate quickly. Local authorities and support providers often need clarity on a person’s “permission to stay” before they can confidently assess eligibility for housing assistance, benefits, or other support. Delays in Home Office decision-making can therefore translate into time on the street, sofa-surfing, or unsafe temporary arrangements.
The Home Office’s Homelessness Escalations Service (HES) is designed to address that gap. It is a dedicated route for charities, legal representatives, and local authorities to request prioritisation because of homelessness risk.
What the HES is (and who it is for)
The HES supports non-UK nationals who are homeless, rough sleeping, or at imminent risk of homelessness. It provides two practical functions: (1) confirming whether a person has permission to stay, and (2) escalating/progressing outstanding applications that have already been submitted to the Home Office.
The user agreement is aimed specifically at “HES users” (charities, legal representatives, and local authorities) and explains how referrals are processed and what the service will—and will not—do.
The HES can assist in several ways:
- Faster clarity on immigration status (often within one working day)
Where there is no open application, HES can confirm whether the person does or does not hold permission to stay and aims to provide immigration status information “within one working day.” This can be crucial where a council or support service needs an immediate status check to determine what support can lawfully be provided.
- Prioritisation requests for existing Home Office applications
If there is an ongoing application for permission to stay, HES can contact the relevant Home Office team and request progression/prioritisation due to the risk presented by homelessness. The user agreement is clear that HES is not a caseworking function and does not influence the outcome—its purpose is to reduce risk by seeking a decision sooner. For applicants who may become eligible for public funds following a grant of permission to stay, a faster decision can be the difference between accessing accommodation and remaining destitute for a longer period of time.
- Clear signposting when there is no status and no open application
Where HES identifies no permission to stay and no open Home Office application, the process includes issuing correspondence explaining this position and (where appropriate) signposting to further actions.
- A practical route for organisations supporting people who qualify for public funding but cannot prove it
The government’s HES guidance explicitly notes that the service can identify non-UK rough sleepers who qualify for public funding based on immigration status but are unable to prove it.
What the HES will not do (important expectations to set)
For clients in crisis, it is essential to understand HES’s limits:
- HES does not decide applications and does not provide immigration advice.
- Escalation does not guarantee an immediate decision; waiting times vary across teams.
- Escalation does not guarantee a positive outcome, decisions are made by the relevant Home Office team.
- HES cannot review or “intervene” in an outcome—challenges must go back to the decision-making unit.
- HES does not provide status documents or decision letters; these must be obtained from the relevant Home Office route/team.
How a referral works (and how to make it effective)
A referral is appropriate where the person is a non-UK national who is homeless/rough sleeping/imminently at risk, and either (a) their status is unknown/cannot be evidenced to access support, or (b) they have no permission to stay but have an open application or appeal lodged.
For legal representatives and charities, a signed letter of authority is required; referrals without it may be rejected.
The minimum information required includes confirmation and details of homelessness risk, identity details, a clear request (status check vs. open application check vs. prioritisation), and any urgency factors. Referrals are submitted to [UKVIHomelessnessEscalations@homeoffice.gov.uk].
Template Letter for Charities:
APPLICATION REFERENCE (UAN etc)
Homelessness Escalations Service
BY EMAIL ONLY: UKVIHomelessnessEscalations@homeoffice.gov.uk
[DATE]
Dear Sirs,
RE: HES PRIORITISATION REQUEST – LEAVE TO REMAIN – [CURRENTLY HOMELESS]
APPLICATION FOR LEAVE TO REMAIN
NAME, COUNTRY, DOB
We write on behalf of [NAME] in relation to his immigration matters. Please find attached a signed form of authority.
Background
Mr [NAME] submitted an online application for leave to remain on [DATE] and attended his biometric appointment on [DATE] at the [PLACE] Service Centre.
[Provide brief background details of the Applicants living situation.]
HES User Agreement
The guidance, User agreement: Homelessness Escalations Service [31 December 2024] states:
For those non-UK national rough sleepers with an ongoing application for PTS the HES team will request for the case to be expedited due to the risk presented by their situation.
…
What does the HES do?
The HES provides immigration status information and an escalation service designed to help non-UK national rough sleepers, (or those at imminent risk of such) to access services and support to which they are entitled (where they are granted PTS), or otherwise to allow those supporting them to decide what actions to take in the full knowledge of their immigration status. Following referrals from HES users, the actions taken by HES staff fall into two key parts:
The HES will identify whether the individual has an ongoing or outstanding immigration application and contact the appropriate department within Migration and Borders to request progression and prioritisation.
…
The HES does not have a caseworking function. It does not consider applications itself and users should understand that arranging for immigration cases to be prioritised will not influence the outcome of the application. The purpose is to reduce the risks to non-UK national rough sleepers, the homeless and those at imminent risk of becoming homeless, who may be unable to access services whilst their application is in progress by seeking to make a decision on their application sooner. Case outcomes will not be altered by use of the HES and the HES should not be used to challenge a decision made on a client’s application.
…
The focus of the HES is on safeguarding and to enable eligible individuals to promptly access the support to which they are entitled.
Representations
[Details about applicants living situation illnesses, vulnerabilities, reliance on food banks etc. For example:
Mr [NAME] is currently homeless and/or at imminent risk of homelessness. When he cannot access a charity shelter placement at night, he sleeps in train and bus stations. Charity homeless shelters are closed during the day, leaving him street homeless until they reopen each evening.
Mr [NAME] is [70+] years old. Given his age, the cumulative impact of daytime exposure to cold and rain and the necessity of sleeping rough when no placement is available has been detrimental to his physical and mental health.]
We respectfully ask the HES team to request that the relevant Home Office case working team expedite a decision on Mr [NAME]’s pending leave to remain application. This is in line with HES’s safeguarding duty to ensure that eligible individuals can promptly access the support to which they are entitled.
Please find enclosed the following documents in support:
- Signed Consent Form
- Proof of outstanding immigration application: [Document Checklist / Application form etc]
- [Proof of Homelessness:
- Letter from Shelter/Charity
- Letter from Foodbanks
- Letter from Social Services]
- [Medical evidence – if relevant ]
If you require any further information or documentation in support of this request, please do not hesitate to ask.
Yours faithfully,
—
Please contact our team if you need further information.
(General information only. This article and template letter does not constitute legal advice.)
This information was correct at the date of publishing.
