How the UK and Denmark’s immigration policies compare

1 month ago 21

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has announced arguable plans for the UK to clasp a “Denmark-style” asylum system, aimed astatine making Britain little charismatic to amerciable immigrants and making deportations easier.

The hardline "zero asylum seekers" attack taken by Danish premier curate Mette Frederiksen successful 2019 was antithetic for a centre-left party.

But her Social Democrats gained seats astatine the 2022 election, portion the populist right-wing Danish People's Party finished twelfth - having been 2nd successful 2015 and 3rd successful 2019.

With Nigel Farage's Reform UK presently starring comfortably successful nationalist polls, you tin ideate wherefore Labour are funny successful what Ms Frederiksen is selling.

But however comparable are Denmark's migration challenges to those successful the UK, and what lessons tin we gully from them?

Reducing request - Danish asylum claims falling

The astir evident quality betwixt Denmark and the UK is that Denmark is importantly smaller. Its colonisation of 6 cardinal is not overmuch much than that of Yorkshire's. So it makes consciousness that it besides has importantly less asylum seekers than Britain.

The fig of asylum claims per idiosyncratic has been akin historically, however.

In the 2 years earlier Ms Frederiksen was elected premier minister, Denmark received an mean of 57 applications per 100,000 people, portion the UK averaged 55.

Since then, the UK fig astir trebled to 145, portion the Danish fig fell by a third.

The Danish communicative breaks the inclination from the remainder of Europe, wherever the fig of asylum applications to each EU countries roseate by 2 thirds implicit the aforesaid period.

Danish migration experts accidental this is not a coincidence, but the effect of Ms Frederiksen's policies.

"The numbers person fallen due to the fact that Denmark is not a welcoming place," Michelle Pace, Professor successful Global Studies astatine Roskilde University successful Copenhagen, told Sky News.

"That has been made perfectly wide by the Mette Frederiksen authorities and the erstwhile authorities earlier hers," she added.

In contrast, Mihnea Cuibus, a researcher astatine Oxford University's Migration Observatory, told Sky News that the UK is typically viewed arsenic an charismatic state for migrants.

"There's this consciousness among radical that the UK is simply a harmless and welcoming place", helium said, besides listing respective different factors drafting radical to the UK, including the English language, existing networks of friends and family, and democracy.

Small boats vs visa overstayers - the routes taken to Denmark and Britain

Much of the governmental attraction astir amerciable migration successful the UK is dedicated to those crossing the Channel from France connected tiny boats. A full of 190,000 radical arrived via this way since 2018, including astir 40,000 successful 2025 alone.

In Denmark, 4 successful 5 amerciable migrants identified successful the state are radical who antecedently had legitimate, time-limited visas, but stayed successful the state longer than they should have.

That sounds similar it mightiness beryllium a important divergence from the UK's system, but possibly not arsenic overmuch arsenic you would think.

New UK information connected this portion of the strategy hasn't been published since 2020. But successful the 4 years anterior to that, 250,000 radical were identified arsenic imaginable visa overstayers - importantly much than the fig to person arrived connected tiny boats.

Mr Cuibus said determination is simply a large spread successful the data, making trends harder to track.

"The lone hard information that we person are connected failed asylum seekers", helium said.

"We cognize that astir fractional of the radical who've been rejected for asylum successful the past 20 years are inactive successful the country".

How applications are handled

As good arsenic attracting less asylum claims, Denmark is besides present much apt to accidental "no" to claims than the UK has been, a reversal of the inclination done astir of the 2010s.

That appears to beryllium due to the fact that the UK has go little apt to garbage applications successful the past fewer years, alternatively than a large spike successful Danish rejections. Both the UK and Denmark granted asylum to ample numbers of radical from Ukraine during this period.

Mr Cuibus told Sky News that betwixt 2020 and 2023, the UK had immoderate of the highest rates of granting asylum successful Europe.

The changes Denmark introduced to its asylum argumentation betwixt 2015 and 2019 did not importantly summation refusals connected asylum applications, but alternatively made it harder for asylum seekers to enactment successful the state long-term.

The state besides passed measures intended to marque applying for asylum much difficult, specified arsenic restricting household reunification and threatening to confiscate valuables, which besides contributed to deterring radical from arriving successful the archetypal place.

Sending radical home

It's 1 happening rejecting radical claiming asylum, but it's different making definite those radical permission safely and legally.

One of the mechanisms that protects migrants from unsafe removal is the European Convention connected Human Rights (ECHR), which the UK - and Denmark - is signed up to, but which Reform accidental they would permission if they triumph power.

One cardinal portion of Ms Mahmood's plans is to alteration however the ECHR is interpreted successful migration tribunal cases.

It would mean that lone radical with contiguous household successful the UK - for example, a genitor oregon kid - tin reason that their "right to household life" would beryllium breached by being deported.

Denmark has had greater occurrence than its European neighbours astatine removing radical it has decided should leave. Between June 2021 and June 2025, 46% of the 10,000 radical it ordered to permission did so.

That's a importantly higher proportionality than the EU mean of 21% - 400,000 radical were returned, of the 1.9 cardinal that were ordered to leave. The equivalent rates for France and Germany were 8% and 28% respectively.

The UK does not cod comparable information connected the fig of radical ordered to leave, but it has returned 86,000 radical implicit a akin clip play - much than immoderate different European country.

That fig has been climbing successful the past 2 oregon 3 years, but it is inactive 25% little than it was successful the aboriginal 2010s.

Voluntary vs enforced returns

Denmark's asylum seeker removal argumentation relies astir wholly connected "voluntary returns", alternatively than those "enforced" by authorities.

In the UK, the proportionality of voluntary returns has been steadily rising, but it is inactive utilized for less than fractional of migrants who permission the UK.

"There are rather a fewer reasons for governments to similar voluntary returns," Mr Cuibus explained.

"The main crushed wherefore the Home Office started shifting distant from enforced returns much towards voluntary returns... is money."

"We don't truly cognize precisely what the costs are close now, but we had immoderate estimates from backmost successful 2013. And astatine the time, those were estimating that an enforced instrumentality outgo astir £15,000 per person, compared to astir £3,000 for a voluntary return.

"There's the humanitarian broadside arsenic well. Enforced returns are not precise pleasant things to either spell done oregon ticker oregon person to enforce", helium said. "There is simply a large request for restraints, trained personnel".

Individuals who are refused for asylum tin use to the Danish authorities for the equivalent of respective 1000 pounds successful enactment to voluntarily instrumentality to their state of origin, according to the Danish Return Agency's website.

While inactive perchance cheaper for the authorities than an enforced return, it's not ever fashionable politically arsenic it tin beryllium seen to beryllium rewarding illegality.

There has besides been disapproval of immoderate of the methods utilized by Denmark to promote radical to leave.

Asylum seekers who find their claims rejected tin beryllium enactment successful "departure centres", prison-like facilities designed to promote their voluntary deportation.

In 2024, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture criticised 1 of these facilities for their "carceral environment".

Denmark's parliamentary ombudsman described conditions astatine different arsenic "very burdensome and restrictive for living" and "marked by brutalisation".

Michelle Pace, a prof from Roskilde University, said Denmark's policies are a usurpation of planetary humanitarian law.

"Denmark prides itself connected this antagonistic branding, which is based connected highly harsh rhetoric, an utmost prime of words", said Pace, referring to immoderate of Denmark's much arguable migration policies specified arsenic the "jewellery law", which allows the authorities to prehend asylum seekers' assets, including their jewellery, to money their enactment successful the country.

"It's violating its commitments internationally according to the Geneva Convention of 1951, which ironically Denmark was the archetypal to sign", she said.

Ms Pace warned that the UK should look to different European migration models, similar Spain's, which she argues is little xenophobic and much forward-thinking.

"In the Spanish case, they looked successful presumption of a agelong duration and said, okay, we person a debased commencement rate. We're going to person a immense shortage of labour successful the adjacent 20 to 50 years.

"How tin we marque a ineligible pathway that is harmless for radical to travel here, physique a beingness that is legal, that is safe, that is structured, that is organised?"

The Data x Forensics squad is simply a multi-skilled portion dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise information to archer data-driven stories. We harvester accepted reporting skills with precocious investigation of outer images, societal media and different unfastened root information. Through multimedia storytelling we purpose to amended explicate the satellite portion besides showing however our journalism is done.

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