A collage of asylum seekers who have passed away. There are five men and one woman of various ethnicities. Most of them are smiling at the camera, and a couple people have neutral expressions.

The Home Office does not publish data on the deaths of asylum seekers in its housing...

... despite calls from experts and campaigners to do so. We set out to gather as much information as possible about each of them. Here, we tell their stories.

Mumtaz Khan

Male
/
38
/
Afghan

died on or around:

27/6/2020
6/27/2020

Cause of death:

Suicide

housing provider:

Mears

Location:

North East, Yorkshire and the Humber
,
Sunderland
2020/06
20200627

Mumtaz Khan, 38, from Afghanistan, arrived in the UK in October 2016 but his asylum application was rejected and he exhausted his rights to appeal, according to the Home Office Incident Database - meaning he may have been facing deportation to Afghanistan.

Khan was living in asylum accommodation in Sunderland. Those who knew him said his mental health declined following bad news from the Home Office, documents show. He was staying with a friend in Bristol while visiting his immigration lawyer when he killed himself. He had two children back in Afghanistan, whom he was said to desperately miss.

Sandra Watt, who met Khan through the charity she worked for, described him to The Independent as “generous and giving”. Another friend recalled how he would hand our sweets to children after Eid prayers at the Mosque. 

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Mustafa Dawood

Male
/
23
/
Sudanese

died on or around:

30/6/2018
6/30/2018

Cause of death:

Fall resulting in head injuries

housing provider:

Clearsprings Ready Homes

Location:

Wales
,
Newport
2018/06
20180630

Mustafa Dawood, 23, died as a result of injuries sustained falling through the roof of a car wash as he tried to evade immigration enforcement officers raiding the site.

An inquest jury found the enforcement officers, who were looking for foreign nationals working illegally, contributed to his death. Officers claimed they did not hear the command to stop chasing Dawood, and the inquest jury found they did not have appropriate practical training on pursuit procedure.

Dawood’s cousin Abdalaziz Osman told the BBC: “He was such a friendly, likeable man, willing to live and learn … He was a very special guy. I have never seen a young adult like that."

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Name unknown

Male
/
42
/
Rwandan

died on or around:

15/7/2021
7/15/2021

Cause of death:

Not known

housing provider:

Serco

Location:

Midlands and East of England
,
Derby
2021/07
20210715

This Rwandan man arrived in the UK in 2002 and submitted an asylum claim, according to the Home Office Incident Database.

His file is marked "further subs outstanding" and states he was receiving support under Section 4 of the Asylum Act, which likely means his claim had been refused but he was due to make additional submissions for a fresh claim.

Serco informed the Home Office of the man's death early on 15 July 2021. It is not known how he died and the case is marked as "open".

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Name unknown

Male
/
25
/
Sudanese

died on or around:

19/7/2021
7/19/2021

Cause of death:

Drowning

housing provider:

Mears

Location:

North East, Yorkshire and the Humber
,
Sheffield
2021/07
20210719

This 26-year-old Sudanese man arrived in the UK on 21 June 2021 and submitted an asylum claim the next day.

Home Office records state a Mears housing officer claimed they received an SMS from the man's housemate on 19 July saying he'd drowned while swimming with friends.

Inquiries by the housing officer suggested the man had been feeling depressed and went to see his friends "to improve his mental state".

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Name unknown

Unknown
/
0
/
Nigerian

died on or around:

24/6/2021
6/24/2021

Cause of death:

Birth complications

housing provider:

Clearsprings Ready Homes

Location:

South
,
Portsmouth
2021/06
20210624

The baby of a 40-year-old Nigerian woman died shortly after birth in hospital in Portsmouth due to lack of oxygen on 23 or 24 June 2021, according to the Home Office's Incident Database.

The baby's mother had arrived in the UK in 2017 and submitted a claim for asylum in September 2020, and was awaiting a decision at the time.

Clearsprings Ready Homes staff learned of the death when they carried out a property inspection of the woman's accommodation on 5 July. The case was marked for no further action.

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Name unknown

Male
/
36
/
Salvadoran

died on or around:

7/7/2021
7/7/2021

Cause of death:

Not known

housing provider:

Serco

Location:

Midlands and East of England
,
Coventry
2021/07
20210707

This 36-year-old from El Salvador had arrived in the UK in November 2020 and submitted an asylum claim. He was admitted to hospital on Friday 2 July 2021 after suffering severe stomach ache, according to the Home Office's Incident Database.

He was last seen by Serco staff at his accommodation by the housing officer on the 25 and 28 June, to issue him with some money. On both occasions, the Incident Database states he was up and spending time in the lounge.

Serco staff told the Home Office he was asked if he was well, and that he replied that he was. They also claimed he never mentioned stomach or health issues, the Home Office notes state.

The cause of death isn't noted in the database and the man's case is marked as open.

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Name unknown

Female
/
40
/
Botswanan

died on or around:

27/7/2021
7/27/2021

Cause of death:

Cancer-related

housing provider:

Mears

Location:

North East, Yorkshire and the Humber
,
Leeds
2021/07
20210727

This 40-year-old woman, from Botswana, arrived in the UK on 27 February 2020 and was awaiting an asylum decision when she died.

The Home Office's Incident Database states the woman had been diagnosed with cancer. She was admitted to St James' Hospital, Leeds, at 1am on 27 July 2021. A welfare manager who called the hospital to ask after her was told the cancer was progressing quickly and she was not expected to live long. She passed away the next day.

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Name unknown

Male
/
38
/
Nigerian

died on or around:

4/11/2021
11/4/2021

Cause of death:

Not known

housing provider:

Clearsprings Ready Homes

Location:

South
,
2021/11
20211104

This 38-year-old Nigerian man died at his accommodation. An entry in the Home Office's Case Information Database states he suffered a stroke in July 2019 and was suffering kidney failure and partial paralysis by the time of his death.

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Name unknown

Male
/
80
/
Pakistani

died on or around:

6/8/2021
8/6/2021

Cause of death:

Not known

housing provider:

Serco

Location:

North West
,
Blackburn
2021/08
20210806

This 80-year-old Pakistani man arrived in the UK in August 2007 and his asylum claim had been refused, according to the Home Office Incident Database; but he was being accommodated under Section 4 of the Asylum Act 1999, which allows for temporary support in some circumstances.

He was "known to have health issues" according to the Home Office's Incident Database, and died at the Royal Blackburn Hospital on 6 August 2021.

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Name unknown

Male
/
25
/
Cameroonian

died on or around:

15/11/2021
11/15/2021

Cause of death:

Suicide

housing provider:

Mears

Location:

North East, Yorkshire and the Humber
,
2021/11
20211115

This Cameroonian asylum seeker arrived in the UK in December 2020 on a lorry and filed an asylum claim, Home Office files show. This was undecided at the time he was found dead by suicide in a wood in November 2021. He was 25.

In a Home Office High Profile Notification form, an official wrote that there was evidence the man had previously tried to enter the UK under a different name and, when told he could not enter, said: "Please, I don't want to go back to France, shoot me now." He was placed in detention where he self-harmed by headbutting a wall.

It appears, though, that when the man subsequently re-entered the UK and made an asylum claim, his information in the Home Office's Case Information Database was not called up. Instead a new, separate record was created - meaning his historic comments and self-harm were not available to those responsible for processing his claim or supporting him.

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Name unknown

Female
/
30
/
Zimbabwean

died on or around:

12/8/2021
8/12/2021

Cause of death:

Not known

housing provider:

Clearsprings Ready Homes

Location:

Wales
,
2021/08
20210812

This 30-year-old woman from Zimbabwe arrived in the UK in August 2018 and her asylum claim had been refused, according to the Home Office's Incident Database. Police received a call from residents at the woman's accommodation saying they had not seen her for a week.

Police attended and found the woman dead in her bedroom. A coroner was due to assess the death but the Home Office's Incident Database holds no further details and her case was marked as 'open'.

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Name unknown

Female
/
55
/
Zimbabwean

died on or around:

6/8/2021
8/6/2021

Cause of death:

Covid-19/possible Covid-19

housing provider:

Mears

Location:

Scotland
,
2021/08
20210806

This 55-year-old Zimbabwean woman spent an extended time in hospital after contracting Covid-19, according to the Home Office's Incident Database. Her life support machine was switched off early on 6 August 2021.

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