UK’s sweeping asylum law changes: How will they impact refugees?

Shabana Mahmood, the United Kingdom’s location secretary, has said the country’s asylum strategy is “not working” and is placing “intense strain connected communities” up of proposals for major authorities reforms that would extremity refugees’ automatic close to settee permanently successful the UK.

Speaking to the BBC connected Sunday, Mahmood said undocumented migration is “tearing the state apart”.

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The government’s proposals, to beryllium unveiled connected Monday, volition person 2 main prongs. First, they would extremity the automatic way to settled presumption for refugees aft 5 years. And second, they would region authorities benefits from those who person the close to enactment and tin enactment themselves.

After a summertime of fierce protests outside hotels housing asylum seekers and an anti-immigration march successful London, Mahmood besides announced caller plans to curb small-boat crossings from France arsenic good arsenic to instrumentality refugees to their location countries erstwhile it is harmless to bash so.

What are the existent migration numbers?

Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that nett migration – the fig of radical entering a state minus the fig leaving – had hovered astir 200,000 to 300,000 radical per twelvemonth since 2011.

However, aft Brexit was enacted successful 2020, determination was a ample summation successful the fig of undocumented immigrants entering the UK. Data from the ONS showed nett migration climbed to 906,000 for the 12 months to June 2023.

But much caller figures showed those numbers person fallen dramatically since then. Net migration figures dropped by much than fractional successful 2024 – to 431,000. This was mostly owing to a alteration successful the fig of healthcare and pupil visas made disposable past year.

Meanwhile, contempt a UK media absorption connected radical arriving successful small boats from France, this radical makes up a tiny stock of the wide fig of radical entering the country. In 2024, for instance, the Home Office recovered that 36,816 radical who arrived successful the UK came via tiny boats. 

In total, 108,138 radical claimed asylum past year. Of those, lone one-third came via tiny boats. As such, astir claims for asylum went done ceremonial channels (and included immoderate dependants of those people).

Despite the falling numbers, disquiet with the ruling Labour Party remains rife. In an August YouGov poll, 38 percent of respondents said they believed Reform UK, an anti-immigration party, would beryllium much effectual astatine handling asylum cases than Labour, who secured conscionable 9 percent of the tally.

What changes is the authorities announcing?

Access to citizenship

On Monday, the authorities is expected to announce a displacement from imperishable colony for refugees to a temporary-protection model.

Current rules stipulate that refugees granted asylum whitethorn stay successful the UK for 5 years earlier being capable to use for an “indefinite permission to remain”, opening the doorway to citizenship.

But nether the caller plans, those who participate the UK done the asylum process could look up to 20 years earlier seeking imperishable residency.

In addition, radical granted asylum would person to renew their presumption each 30 months to spot if the concern successful their location state has changed specified that UK residence is inactive required.

Access to societal benefits

Mahmood said she intends to repeal the ineligible work of the authorities to supply accommodation and basal fiscal enactment to each asylum seekers.

The authorities is expected to retreat enactment from asylum seekers deemed capable to enactment arsenic good arsenic from those radical who perpetrate offences, disregard removal orders oregon enactment illegally.

Asylum seekers whitethorn presently use for support to enactment if their asylum assertion has been outstanding for 12 months oregon much and if the hold is not considered their fault.

What bash exile rights groups say?

Enver Solomon, main enforcement of the Refugee Council charity, said that alternatively of deterring migrants, the 20-year way to citizenship would “leave radical successful limbo and experiencing aggravated anxiousness for many, galore years”.

“We request a strategy that is controlled and is fair, and the mode you bash that is you marque decisions fairly, successful a timely fashion, and if idiosyncratic is recovered to beryllium a refugee, they spell connected and they lend to our communities and they wage back,” helium told the programme BBC Breakfast connected Sunday.

Mahmood’s connection for 30-month checks implies that refugees could beryllium sent backmost to their location countries erstwhile the authorities believes conditions connected the crushed person improved – an attack inspired by Denmark’s much-debated policy.

Although probe by the Danish Foreign Policy Yearbook has recovered that deterrence has constricted power connected wherever asylum seekers question to, a 2017 survey did suggest that Denmark’s “negative branding” had led to less asylum applications.

How person others reacted to the proposals?

While Oxford University’s Migration Observatory said Mahmood’s overhaul would marque the UK’s migration strategy among the strictest countries successful Europe, Matt Vickers, the absorption location bureau minister, said the government’s caller plans to betterment the asylum strategy incorporate “lots of gimmicks”.

He told the BBC that a “deterrent” is what is needed: “If radical get successful this state and cognize they’re going to get sent back, they won’t get successful those boats successful the archetypal place.”

What different proposals is the UK authorities making?

Using artificial quality tools to measure age

The authorities wants to present artificial intelligence-based assessments to find the property of radical who get without documentation. Ministers said errors successful the existent strategy hazard placing adults successful children’s services oregon wrongly treating minors arsenic adults.

Rights groups, however, warned that automated systems could entrench bias, wrongly classify children arsenic adults and exposure them to harm.

Earlier this year, Solomon told the BBC that helium was “not convinced” that utilizing AI tools was the government’s close attack connected property recognition due to the fact that helium has concerns astir children being enactment successful unsafe situations. He added that “these [AI] technologies proceed to rise superior questions astir accuracy, morals and fairness.”

Visa prohibition menace for 3 African countries

The Home Office has said visa applications from Angola, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo volition beryllium refused unless their governments amended collaboration with the UK regarding the deportation of their nationals.

In a statement, the section cited “unacceptably debased practice and obstructive instrumentality procedures” arsenic the crushed for the imaginable penalty.

It said restrictions would use “unless they hold to judge the instrumentality of their criminals and irregular migrants”.

Right to ‘family life’ claims to beryllium checked

UK media are besides reporting the authorities is acceptable to bounds however UK courts construe the European Convention connected Human Rights (ECHR) successful matters related to household life.

Article 8 of the ECHR, which protects the close to a household and backstage life, volition beryllium reinterpreted “to amended bespeak the expectations of the British public”, the authorities is expected to say.

The caller instrumentality would apt clarify that a “family connection” refers to contiguous relatives only, specified arsenic a genitor oregon child, and not to extended household members.

How volition Ukrainian refugees beryllium affected?

Asked astir Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s invasion, Mahmood said they would proceed to beryllium admitted connected a “bespoke scheme” but would besides beryllium expected to instrumentality erstwhile the warfare ends. She stressed that galore arrivals from Ukraine person expressed a tendency to instrumentality home.

Under the existent scheme, Ukrainian refugees person the close to unrecorded successful the UK for up to 3 years with entree to healthcare, acquisition and benefits. As these visas are temporary, Ukrainian nationals are mostly exempt from the caller 20‑year colony rules for asylum seekers.

Will determination beryllium caller authorised pathways for asylum seekers to travel to the UK?

Apart from Ukrainians, susceptible radical from Afghanistan are provided with ineligible residence, entree to work, acquisition and healthcare done the UK’s Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme.

In addition, the British nationalist overseas (BNO) visa allows Hong Kong BNO presumption holders and their dependents the close to live, enactment and survey successful the UK, providing a pathway to colony and eventual citizenship.

Mahmood besides told the BBC that caller “safe and legal” avenues volition beryllium introduced to effort to trim the fig of radical attempting perilous crossings of the English Channel.

Organisations specified arsenic Amnesty International person repeatedly highlighted that restrictive policies and constricted visa schemes permission galore radical with nary enactment but to effort amerciable entry.

Amnesty has called connected Westminster to grow ineligible avenues – specified arsenic resettlement schemes, household reunification and assemblage sponsorship – to trim radical smuggling and fatalities.

One enactment would beryllium to let individuals and charities successful the UK to sponsor refugees, echoing the Homes for Ukraine scheme, which endows section communities with lodging responsibilities.

The purpose of these schemes, which would beryllium for a constricted fig of people, is to springiness section areas much power to amended support.