Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has unveiled a series of sweeping changes aimed at addressing illegal immigration, described as the most significant overhaul “in modern times.”
The proposed measures, drawing inspiration from Denmark’s center-left government’s more stringent approach, would render refugee status temporary, streamline the appeals process, and potentially impose visa restrictions on countries obstructing returns.
Here’s a breakdown of the key proposals:
Individuals granted asylum in the UK would receive temporary residency permits, subject to review every 30 months.
This provision would allow for the repatriation of individuals to their country of origin if deemed “safe.”
The policy mirrors a system in place in Denmark, where refugees are granted two-year permits requiring renewal upon expiration.
The government asserts that it has already initiated efforts to support voluntary returns to Syria, following the decline of the Assad regime.
Consideration will now be given to initiating forced returns to Syria and other nations to which removals have been infrequent in recent years.
The qualifying period for refugees to apply for permanent residency or indefinite leave to remain would be extended from five years to 20 years.
Concurrently, the government intends to establish a new “work and study” visa pathway, encouraging refugees to secure employment or pursue educational opportunities to facilitate a quicker transition to settlement.
Only individuals within the work and study stream would be eligible to sponsor family members to join them in the UK.
The Home Secretary is also proposing the elimination of multiple appeals in asylum cases, replacing it with a single, comprehensive appeal process wherein all grounds must be presented simultaneously.
An independent appeals body, staffed by trained adjudicators and supported by early legal counsel, would be established.
This shift would necessitate legislative changes to the application of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) concerning the right to family life in migration court cases.
In the future, only immediate relatives, such as children or parents, would be permitted to remain in the UK.
Increased emphasis would be placed on the public interest in removing foreign offenders and individuals who have entered the country illegally.
The government also intends to narrow the scope of Article 3 of the ECHR, which prohibits inhuman or degrading treatment.
Ministers argue that the current interpretation of the law permits multiple appeals against asylum refusals, including instances where serious criminals have had their deportation blocked due to unmet healthcare needs.
The Modern Slavery Act would be strengthened to curb last-minute trafficking claims used to halt removals by requiring asylum seekers to disclose all relevant information early. Any information disclosed later would be treated as less credible.
Mahmood will revoke the legal duty to provide asylum seekers with support, ending guaranteed housing and weekly pay.
Support would still be available for “those who are destitute” but will be withheld from those with permission to work who do not, and from people who break the law or defy removal directions.
Those who “have deliberately made themselves destitute” will also be denied support.
Under the proposals, asylum seekers with assets would be required to contribute to the cost of their accommodation, mirroring Denmark’s policy where asylum seekers are obligated to use savings to pay for their accommodation and authorities have the power to seize assets at the border.
UK Home Office sources have clarified that sentimental items such as wedding rings would not be confiscated, but Home Office Minister Alex Norris has suggested that cars and e-bikes could be targeted.
The government has previously pledged to end the use of hotels to hold asylum seekers by 2029, which official figures show cost the government £5.77m per day last year.
The government is also consulting on plans to end the current system where families whose asylum claims have been refused continue receiving housing and financial support until their youngest child turns 18.
Ministers say the current system creates a “perverse incentive” to remain in the UK without status. Instead, families will be offered financial assistance to return voluntarily, but if they refuse, enforced removal will follow.
In conjunction with stricter access to refugee status, the UK would establish new legal pathways to entry, with an annual cap on numbers.
These changes would enable volunteers and community organizations to sponsor individual refugees, mirroring the “Homes for Ukraine” initiative where Britons hosted Ukrainians fleeing the war.
The government will also expand the work of the Displaced Talent Mobility pilot, set up in 2021, to encourage businesses to sponsor at-risk people from around the world to come to the UK to help fill skills gaps.
The Home Secretary would set an annual cap on arrivals through these routes, based on local capacity. However, those arriving through legal channels would be placed on a streamlined ten-year path to settlement.
Visa penalties would be applied to countries that fail to cooperate with return policies, including an “emergency brake” on visas for countries with high asylum claims until they take back its citizens who are in the UK illegally.
The UK has already identified three African countries which it plans to penalise if their governments do not improve co-operation on removals.
The governments of Angola, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of Congo will have a month to start co-operating before a sliding scale of sanctions are imposed, the Home Office said on Monday.
The government is also planning to roll out new technologies to strengthen enforcement.
Trials of AI-driven technology to verify the age of asylum seekers, particularly those claiming to be children, will be rolled out more widely.
Alongside this, the government plans to introduce a digital ID by the end of Parliament. This will allow more accurate right-to-work checks by employers and make it harder for illegal workers to use fraudulent documents, the government argues.
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Under the plans, refugee status will become temporary and new capped “safe and legal routes” into the UK will be created.
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