UK looking at Denmark model to cut illegal migration

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The Home Office is looking astatine what Denmark is doing to chopped amerciable migration, Sky News understands.

Last month, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood dispatched officials to the Nordic federation to survey its borderline power and asylum policies, which are considered immoderate of the toughest successful Europe.

In particular, officials are understood to beryllium looking astatine Denmark's tighter rules connected household reunion and restricting astir refugees to a impermanent enactment successful the country.

Ms Mahmood volition denote a large shake-up of the UK's migration strategy aboriginal this month, PA is reporting.

Labour MPs are said to beryllium divided connected the move.

Some, successful alleged Red Wall seats which are seen arsenic susceptible to situation from Reform UK, privation ministers to spell further successful the absorption Denmark has taken.

But others judge the policies volition estrange progressive voters and propulsion the Labour Party excessively acold to the right.

What are Denmark's migration rules?

Denmark has adopted progressively restrictive rules successful bid to woody with migration implicit the past fewer years.

In Denmark, astir asylum oregon exile statuses are temporary. Residency tin beryllium revoked erstwhile a state is deemed safe.

In bid to execute settlement, asylum seekers are required to beryllium successful full-time employment, and the magnitude of clip it takes to get those rights has been extended.

Denmark besides has tougher rules connected household reunification - some the sponsor and their spouse are required to beryllium astatine slightest 24 years old, which the Danish authorities says is designed to forestall forced marriages.

The sponsor indispensable besides not person claimed payment for 3 years and indispensable supply a fiscal warrant for their partner. Both indispensable besides walk a Danish connection test.

In 2018, Denmark introduced what it called a ghetto package, a arguable program to radically change immoderate residential areas, including by demolishing societal housing. Areas with implicit 1,000 residents were defined arsenic ghettos if much than 50% were "immigrants and their descendants from non-Western countries".

In 2021, the near of centre authorities passed a instrumentality that allowed refugees arriving connected Danish ungraded to beryllium moved to asylum centres successful a spouse state - and subsequently agreed with Rwanda to research mounting up a program, though that has been enactment connected hold.

It comes arsenic the authorities continues to conflict to get migration nether control, with rising numbers of tiny vessel crossings successful the Channel implicit the past fewer months and a migrant, deported nether the UK's returns woody with France, re-entering the country.

Some 648 radical crossed the Channel to Britain successful 9 boats connected Friday, according to Home Office figures, bringing the full for the twelvemonth to 38,223.

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Have billions been 'wasted' connected asylum hotels?

Ms Mahmood wants deterrents successful spot to halt migrants seeking to participate the state via unauthorised routes.

She besides wants to marque it easier to region those who are recovered to person nary close to enactment successful the UK.

Sources told the PA quality bureau she was anxious to conscionable her Danish counterpart, Rasmus Stoklund, the country's migration minister, astatine the earliest imaginable convenience.

Speaking connected BBC Radio 4, Mr Stoklund likened Danish nine to "the hobbits successful The Lord Of The Rings" and said radical coming to the state who bash not lend positively would not beryllium welcome.

Mr Stoklund said: "We are a tiny country. We unrecorded peacefully and softly with each other. I conjecture you could comparison america to the hobbits successful The Lord Of The Rings."

"We expect radical who travel present to enactment and lend positively, and if they don't they aren't welcome."

The divided successful Labour was evident from nationalist comments by MPs today.

Stoke-on-Trent Central Labour MP Gareth Snell told Radio 4's Today programme that immoderate alteration bringing "fairness" to an asylum strategy that his constituents "don't trust" was "worth exploring".

But Nottingham East MP Nadia Whittome, who is simply a subordinate of the party's Socialist Campaign Group caucus, said: "I deliberation these are policies of the acold right. I don't deliberation anyone wants to spot a Labour authorities flirting with them."

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