Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the UK’s refugee system is “broken” and puts “a huge burden on local communities” ahead of the government’s major reforms that would end refugees’ automatic right to permanent residence in the UK.
Mr Mahmoud told the BBC in an interview on Sunday that illegal immigrants were “tearing the country apart”.
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There are two main aspects to the government’s proposals to be announced on Monday. First, it would abolish the automatic path for refugees to reach settled status after five years. And second, it would strip state benefits from people who have the right to work and are able to support themselves.
After a summer of violent protests outside hotels housing asylum seekers and anti-immigration marches in London, Mahmoud also announced new plans to curb small boat crossings from France and return refugees to their home countries when it is safe to do so.
How many people are currently entering the country?
Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that net immigration (the number of people entering the country minus the number of people leaving the country) has hovered between 200,000 and 300,000 a year since 2011.
However, since Brexit was signed in 2020, the number of illegal immigrants entering the UK has increased significantly. Net migration rose to 906,000 people in the 12 months to June 2023, ONS data shows.
However, more recent statistics show that their numbers have declined dramatically since then. Net immigration fell by more than half to 431,000 in 2024. This is primarily due to a decrease in the number of medical and student visas issued last year.
Meanwhile, British media has focused on people arriving by small boat from France, although this group makes up a small proportion of the total number of arrivals. For example, in 2024, the Home Office revealed that 36,816 people arriving in the UK took small boats.
A total of 108,138 people applied for asylum last year. Only a third of these came by small boat. As a result, most asylum applications (including those for dependents) were made through formal channels.
Despite falling numbers, unease about the ruling Labor Party remains widespread. A YouGov poll in August found that 38% of respondents believed that the anti-immigration party Reform UK was more effective than Labor when it came to processing asylum cases, with Labor having just 9% support.
What changes is the government announcing?
Access to citizenship
The government is expected to announce on Monday the move from a permanent to a temporary protection model for refugees.
Under current rules, refugees who are granted asylum can remain in the UK for five years before being able to apply for “indefinite leave to remain”, opening the door to citizenship.
But under new plans, people who came to the UK through the asylum process could take up to 20 years to apply for permanent residence.
In addition, those granted asylum will need to renew their status every 30 months to see if the situation in their home country has changed and they continue to need to reside in the UK.
Access to social services
Mahmoud said he would abolish the government’s legal obligation to provide accommodation and basic financial support to all asylum seekers.
The government is expected to cut off support from asylum seekers deemed able to work, as well as those who commit crimes, ignore eviction orders or work illegally.
Asylum seekers can currently apply for a work permit if their asylum application has been delayed for more than 12 months and the delay is deemed not to be their fault.
What are refugee rights groups saying?
Enver Solomon, chief executive of the charity Refugee Council, said that far from discouraging immigration, the 20-year path to citizenship “leads people feeling lost and experiencing intense anxiety for many years”.
“We need a managed and fair system, and the way to do that is to make timely and fair decisions. If someone turns out to be a refugee, they continue to work and contribute to our communities and give back,” he told Sunday’s BBC Breakfast program.
Mahmoud’s proposal for 30-month checks suggests that refugees could be returned to their home countries if the government determines that the situation on the ground has improved. This is an approach inspired by the much-debated Danish policy.
A study in the Danish Foreign Policy Yearbook found that deterrence had a limited impact on destinations for asylum seekers, while a 2017 study suggested that Denmark’s “negative branding” had reduced the number of destinations for asylum seekers. Application for asylum.
How did others react to this suggestion?
The Oxford University Immigration Observatory said Mr Mahmoud’s review would put Britain’s immigration system among the toughest in Europe, but opposition home secretary Matt Vickers said the government’s new plans to reform the asylum system contained “a lot of trickery”.
He told the BBC that what was needed was “deterrence”. “If people arrived in this country and knew they were going to be turned away, they wouldn’t get on that ship in the first place.”
What other proposals does the UK Government have?
Assess your age using artificial intelligence tools
The government wants to introduce an artificial intelligence-based assessment to determine the age of people entering the country without documents. Ministers said errors in the current system risked adults receiving children’s services and minors being mistakenly treated as adults.
But rights groups warned that automated systems could perpetuate bias and misclassify children as adults, putting them at risk of harm.
Earlier this year, Mr Solomon told the BBC he was “not convinced” that using AI tools was the government’s correct approach to age identification. Concern about children being placed in dangerous situations. He added: [AI] Technology continues to raise serious questions about accuracy, ethics, and fairness. ”
Threat of visa ban for three African countries
The Home Office said visa applications from Angola, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of Congo would be refused unless the governments improved their co-operation with the UK on deporting their nationals.
In a statement, the ministry cited “unacceptably low levels of cooperation and obstructive return procedures” as reasons for the potential penalty.
It said the restrictions would apply “unless we agree to accept the return of criminals and irregular migrants.”
Claims that the right to “family life” will be checked
British media have also reported that the government plans to restrict the way British courts interpret the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) regarding issues related to family life.
Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects the right to family and private life, will be reinterpreted “to better reflect the expectations of the British public”, the government will say.
The new law is likely to clarify that “family relationships” only refers to close relatives such as parents and children, and does not include extended family members.
How will Ukrainian refugees be affected?
Asked about Ukrainians fleeing Russian aggression, Mahmoud said they would still be allowed into the country under a “custom-made system” but would also be expected to return home once the war ends. He emphasized that many arrivals from Ukraine have expressed a desire to return home.
Under the current system, Ukrainian refugees have the right to live in the UK for up to three years, with access to healthcare, education and benefits. Because these visas are temporary, Ukrainian citizens are exempt from most of the new 20-year settlement rules for asylum seekers.
Will there be new authorized routes for asylum seekers to come to the UK?
Apart from Ukrainians, vulnerable people in Afghanistan are provided with legal housing, work, education and access to health care through the UK’s Afghan National Resettlement Scheme.
Additionally, the British National Overseas (BNO) visa gives Hong Kong BNO status holders and their dependents the right to live, work and study in the UK, providing a route to settlement and eventual citizenship.
Mr Mahmoud also told the BBC that new “safe and legal” routes would be introduced to reduce the number of people attempting the dangerous English Channel crossing.
Organizations such as Amnesty International have repeatedly emphasized that restrictive policies and limited visa regimes leave many people with no choice but to attempt to enter the country illegally.
Amnesty International is calling on Westminster to expand legal tools such as resettlement schemes, family reunification and community sponsorship to reduce people smuggling and deaths.
One option would be to allow individuals and charities in the UK to sponsor refugees, following the example of the ‘Ukrainian Homes’ scheme which puts responsibility for housing in local communities.
The purpose of these schemes is to target a limited number of people and give local authorities more control to improve support.
