Photo credit: CBS News
The United Kingdom will drastically reduce protections for refugees and end automatic benefits for asylum seekers.
CBS News reports that the Labour government announced new immigration plans on Saturday aimed at reducing irregular immigration and countering the hard right.
The measures, modified on Denmark’s strict asylum system, were announced as Prime Minister Keir Starmer came under pressure from surging popularity for the anti-immigrant Reform Party.
Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood said, “I’ll end UK’s golden ticket for asylum seekers.”
However, the head of Britain’s Refugee Council warned the government that the measures would not deter people from trying to reach Britain, and urged a rethink.
Currently, those granted refugee status hold it for five years, after which they can apply for indefinite leave to remain and eventually become citizens.
Mahmood’s ministry, known as the Home Office, said it would cut the length of refugee status to 30 months. It added that the protection will be “regularly reviewed” and refugees will be forced to return to their home countries once they are deemed safe.
The ministry also said it intended to make those refugees who were granted asylum wait for 20 years before applying to be allowed to live in the UK on a long-term basis. Currently, they can do so after five years.
Asylum claims in Britain are at a record high, with some 111,000 applications made in the year to June 2025, according to official sources.
The Home Office called for new proposals, which Mahmod is due to lay out on Monday.
If approved, the reforms would make it less attractive for irregular migrants to go to Britain, and make it easier to remove those already in the country.
