The dataset deposited include 83 in-depth interviews that were conducted with refugees across the UK: Glasgow, Cardiff, Manchester and London. Detailed migration histories were collected from 83 refugees living in the UK and explored issues including arrival to the UK, experiences of the dispersal process, opinions and experiences of place, integration and citizenship. There are 81 word files of individual interviews and one word file which contains the transcripts of a joint interview with two different individuals.Since 2000 the UK has operated compulsory dispersal, a policy designed to ‘spread the burden’ of housing asylum seekers who require accommodation across the UK and discourage long-term settlement in London and the South East. To enhance understanding of refugee integration in the UK, this research focuses on the onward migration decisions of those who were dispersed and later granted refugee or humanitarian protection status. To date, much of the dispersal literature has critiqued the policy and focused on the negative outcomes for individuals removed from their networks. This project fills a knowledge gap surrounding the onward migration decisions and integration outcomes of refugees who were dispersed as asylum seekers in the UK. In this two-year (2012-2014), ESRC-funded project, we mapped the geography of onward migration amongst refugees dispersed across the UK as asylum seekers. We then explored the main factors that influence refugees' decision to stay in a town or city or move on and considered how this affects the process of integration. And finally we examined policy implications for different levels of governance, service providers and the voluntary sector, in terms of the long-term impact of UK dispersal policy upon refugee onward migration and integration.

The dataset deposited include 83 in-depth interviews that were conducted with refugees across the UK: Glasgow, Cardiff, Manchester and London. One-third of the sample was recruited through snowballing techniques with the rest recruited through Refugee Councils, Refugee Action and several different refugee community organisations (RCOs). Interviews typically lasted one to two hours and were transcribed verbatim. Interviews were anonymous and pseudonyms are employed. In the transcripts deposited, certain data has been redacted to protect vulnerable individuals and anonymity (e.g. detailed locational information). The project Principal Investigator (Emma Stewart) had the main responsibility for the development of the dataset. The project Research Associate (Marnie Shaffer) conducted all of the in-depth interviews and transcriptions.