UK government defends plan to limit refugee status

The measures, inspired by Denmark’s strict asylum system, aim to stop thousands of migrants arriving in England from northern France on small boats that are fueling support for the anti-immigrant Reform UK party.

But the proposals are widely seen as an attempt to counter the rise in popularity of the far right. They are likely to be opposed by left-wing lawmakers within Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s embattled Labor government and have already been branded “harsh and unnecessary” by the Refugee Council charity.

Centre-right opposition Conservatives also criticized the measures, with their Home Affairs spokesman Chris Philp saying the government was only “finishing around the edges”.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood responded by telling BBC television that she rejected the idea that the proposals meant Labor was “engaging in far-right talking points”.

“This is a moral mission for me, because I can see that illegal migration is tearing our country apart, it is dividing communities,” he said.

– ‘Block infinite appeals’ –

Currently, those granted refugee status have it for five years, after which they can apply for an indefinite residence permit and, eventually, citizenship.

Mahmood’s ministry, the Home Office, said it would reduce the duration of refugee status to 30 months.

That protection will be “reviewed periodically” and refugees will be forced to return to their home countries once they are deemed safe, he added.

The ministry said it now intended to make people granted asylum wait 20 years before applying to be allowed to live in the UK indefinitely.

He said the reforms would make it less attractive for irregular migrants to come to Britain and make it easier to remove those already in the country.

Mahmood’s reforms will also include new legislation to make it harder for irregular migrants and foreign criminals to use the European Convention on Human Rights to stop deportation, the Home Office announced on Sunday night.

In a statement, Starmer said the reforms would “block endless appeals, stop last-minute claims and increase deportations of those who have no right to be here.”

Asylum claims in Britain are at a record level, with around 111,000 claims made in the year to June 2025, according to official figures.

– Crackdown on profits –

The legal obligation to provide support to asylum seekers, introduced in a 2005 law, will also be revoked, the Home Office said.

This means that asylum seekers will no longer be guaranteed accommodation or weekly financial benefits.

It will become “discretionary,” meaning the government could deny assistance to any asylum seeker who could work or support themselves but did not, or to those who commit crimes.

More than 39,000 people, many of them fleeing conflict, have arrived in small boats this year, more than in all of 2024, but fewer than the record set in 2022, when the Conservatives were in power.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot welcomed the proposals and said asylum seekers were risking their lives crossing the Channel because the conditions they get in Britain “are more permissive”.

“We told the UK that it was necessary to align certain conditions for arriving migrants with European standards,” he said.

However, Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, urged the government to reconsider, warning that the plans “will not deter” crossings.

“They must ensure that refugees who work hard and contribute to Britain can build safe and stable lives and contribute to their communities,” he said.

– The Danish model –

The Labor Party is taking inspiration from Denmark’s coalition government led by the centre-left Social Democrats, which has implemented some of the strictest immigration policies in Europe.

Senior British officials recently visited the Scandinavian country, where successful asylum applications are at their lowest level in 40 years.

Refugees in Denmark are entitled to a one-year renewable residence permit and are encouraged to return as soon as authorities deem their countries safe.

Family reunions are also subject to strict requirements, including a minimum age for both parents, language tests and funding guarantees.

Labor has trailed Reform, led by firebrand Nigel Farage, in opinion polls for most of this year, but its tougher stance on immigration risks losing voters to progressive alternatives like the Greens.

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This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to the text.