Several undocumented Nigerians and other Africans living in the United Kingdom have reportedly been sleeping in waste bins and on the streets in a bid to evade deportation.
In 2025, the UK government introduced a sweeping immigration policy overhaul tagged ‘Plan for Change,’ triggering widespread fear among migrants without legal status. The policy led to deportations in mid-2025.
The UK Home Office disclosed that 43 asylum seekers and offenders were returned to Nigeria and Ghana on a charter flight.
“Those removed had no right to be in the UK, including 15 failed asylum seekers and 11 foreign national offenders who had served their sentences,” the Home Office said.
The British government added that it would continue tightening immigration rules to reduce net migration, strengthen border controls, and reshape legal immigration around skills and contributions.
Following the policy shift, a viral video obtained by Diaspora Tales showed an African man sleeping inside a waste bin on a snow-covered street in the UK. In the footage, a European man was seen urging him to use a shelter provided by the UK government.
Reacting to the video, Nigerians in the UK who spoke to Diaspora Tales said the fear of being caught, detained and deported had forced many undocumented migrants to abandon their homes and sleep on the streets.
Crimes and homelessness
A resident of Dunstable County, Mrs Gisela Esapa, said many migrants found sleeping on the streets or in waste bins were often involved in crimes or already facing homelessness.
Esapa explained that street homelessness was not limited to Nigerians or migrants alone, noting that Britons and other Europeans also experienced similar conditions. She added that some Nigerians arrived in the UK illegally and later became unemployed and homeless.
The Nigerian woman said those who were mentally unstable and using drugs often turned the streets into homes.
She said, “When I was living in Luton, I saw many people, including Nigerians and Brits, who slept on the streets because they lacked documents such as a Biometric Residence Permit.
“Many migrants lived in Luton, and I saw how they behaved. Some people were afraid to even go to facilities provided by the UK government, thinking they might be arrested, detained, and deported.”
Another Nigerian in London, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said many homeless immigrants were sleeping at train stations.
The source added that illegal migrants would do anything, including sleeping on the streets, to avoid deportation.
‘Not all blacks are homeless’
Meanwhile, a Nigerian resident in Bradford, Maxwell Adeyemi, said homelessness in the UK was not determined by race or nationality.
He explained that unemployment, lack of documentation, and involvement in crime were major factors pushing people into homelessness.
“I am not aware if Nigerians are going through homelessness at the moment, but most homeless people are not even black but Asians and whites from Eastern Europe,” Adeyemi clarified.
Crimes have consequences
The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission said Nigerians experiencing homelessness in the UK were largely facing the consequences of their actions.
Speaking on behalf of NIDCOM, the Director of Media, Public Relations and Protocol, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, said migrants often avoided immigration officials after overstaying their visas and refusing voluntary return.
“They are only facing the consequences of their crimes which is usually overstaying of their visas,” Balogun said.
He added that the commission was not aware of recent cases involving Nigerians sleeping on UK streets.
“We only receive deportees when the governments hosting Nigerians involve us in the deportation of the illegal migrants,” he added.
Diaspora Tales reported that the UK government targets only migrants without legal status, noting that lawful residents who become homeless are still eligible for assistance.
Such support is typically provided by local councils in the form of temporary accommodation, hostels, and shelters.
“There are facilities for people who are homeless to sleep and while some provide food. But the most important thing is that those who are lawful residents in the UK always get help,” Esapa added.
(PUNCH)
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