Individuals who are granted asylum in the UK will only be permitted to stay temporarily, as part of a policy shift that the home secretary is expected to announce next week
Shabana Mahmood will outline reforms modeled after the Danish system on Monday, with the aim of making the UK less attractive to illegal immigrants and facilitating their deportation.
Under the planned changes, refugee status will become temporary and will be regularly reviewed, allowing for the removal of refugees as soon as their home countries are considered safe.
Currently, individuals granted refugee status have it for five years and may then apply for indefinite leave to remain, potentially leading to citizenship.
An ally of the home secretary told PA News Agency: “Today, becoming a refugee equals a lifetime of protection in Britain.
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“Mahmood will amend that by making refugee status temporary and subject to regular review. Once your home country is safe to return to, you will be removed.
“While this might seem like a small technical shift, this new settlement represents the most significant change in the treatment of refugees since the Second World War.”
In a video posted on X on Friday, Ms. Mahmood described her plans, to be announced to MPs on Monday, as “the most significant changes to our asylum system in modern times” and highlighted the increasing number of asylum claims in Britain while numbers decline across Europe.
She stated that the previous government had “years to tackle this problem” but had “wasted” time and money on the £700 million Rwanda scheme.
However, under Labour, she said there had been “record levels” of immigration raids and arrests, and nearly 50,000 people without the right to remain in the UK have been returned.
Migrants continued to arrive in the UK after crossing the English Channel on Friday. Photographs show men, women, and children being brought to shore in Dover, with one man sitting at the port in a wheelchair.
According to the latest Home Office figures, 39,075 people have arrived in the UK after making the journey so far this year.
The number of arrivals has already surpassed the total for the entirety of 2024 (36,816) and 2023 (29,437), but remains below the total at this point in 2022 (39,929).
Meanwhile, the Government’s pilot scheme with France, aimed at deterring individuals from making the dangerous crossing, has removed 113 people to the continent since its introduction in August, while 92 have arrived in the UK through the deal’s approved safe route.
Other changes expected to be announced on Monday include requiring judges to prioritize public safety over migrants’ rights to a family life, or the risk of facing “inhuman” treatment if returned to their home country, according to the Telegraph.
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Denmark’s stricter rules on family reunions are also under consideration. Some research suggests deterrence policies have little impact on asylum seekers’ destination choices, yet a 2017 study indicated that Denmark’s “negative nation branding” was effective in limiting asylum applications.
The number of asylum applications in the UK is at a record high, with recent Home Office figures showing 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year up to June 2025. This is the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
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