32-page paper outlines new basic and temporary 'core protection' offer for refugees
As previewed yesterday, the Government has today outlined sweeping reforms to the asylum system in a new policy paper. The measures will need Parliamentary approval, and while early reaction suggests the Government looks set to face resistance from a number of Labour backbenchers, the Conservatives have indicated they are likely to offer supportive opposition and help pass the proposals, despite insisting they are "nowhere near enough."
Image credit: WikipediaThe 32-page policy paper, Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government's asylum and returns policy, can be read online here or downloaded here.
It sets out what the Government calls a new 'core protection' offer for refugees, moving away from offering permanent protection and towards a more basic and temporary arrangement. The paper says the UK will still meet its international obligations to refugees but it will no longer exceed them.
On the major changes planned to refugee leave and settlement in the UK, the paper states: "Currently, refugees in the UK receive a five-year initial period of leave. In the future this will be reduced significantly. Refugees will instead receive 30 months of leave to remain, which can only be renewed if they are still considered in need of protection. Where protection is no longer needed the person will become liable for removal from the UK. … In the future there will be no path to indefinite settled status in the UK on core protection, until a refugee has spent 20 years in the country, an increase on the current five years. Settlement requirements will be considered in an upcoming consultation on earned settlement, covering both legal and illegal migrants."
The Government proposes introducing a new Protection Work and Study visa route for refugees, aiming to shift them away from long-term dependence on core protection. Under the reforms, refugees who obtain employment or begin study at an appropriate level will be eligible to move onto this route. Those who do so can "earn" settlement more quickly than they would under the standard core protection route, providing an incentive for integration into local communities.
The policy also imposes new restrictions on family reunion. Under core protection, there will be no automatic right to bring family members to the UK. Refugees who transition onto the Work and Study route may become eligible to sponsor relatives, but will be subject to conditions similar to those applying to other legal migrants and UK citizens.
In addition, the Government plans to reduce access to public funds for asylum seekers and refugees. Priority for taxpayer-funded benefits will be given to those who are actively contributing economically, with new criteria and obligations potentially affecting eligibility. A consultation on these changes is expected in 2026.
The statutory duty to provide asylum support, a requirement introduced in 2005 under EU law, will end. In its place, support will become discretionary, reserved for those who genuinely need it and comply with UK law. Asylum seekers who have the right to work will be expected to support themselves, and anyone who has deliberately made themselves destitute could be denied assistance. Support may also be withdrawn from those who break the law or refuse to follow the rules for accommodation, including relocation orders or behaving disruptively in housing facilities. The Government says this approach mirrors systems in Denmark, the Netherlands, and France, and is intended to ensure that assistance is targeted at those who engage constructively with the process.
A tougher approach to failed asylum seekers will be introduced to increase the number of removals. While the paper says that the UK will continue to honour the principle of non-refoulement, it outlines plans to expand the French returns pilot for small‑boat arrivals, resume returns to certain countries such as Syria, and explore the use of safe third-country “return hubs.” Stricter processes for family removals are also planned, including the withdrawal of support where families face no genuine obstacles to leaving. To ensure countries cooperate with returns, the government will continue to negotiate bilateral agreements, as recently signed with Iraq and Vietnam, and may impose visa penalties on countries that fail to take back their citizens, including suspending entry clearance for nationals until they comply.
Major changes are also proposed to streamline and accelerate the asylum appeals process. A new independent appeals body will be established, staffed with professionally trained adjudicators and providing early legal advice to prevent delays. The body will handle all relevant matters in a single appeal, reducing repeated or late claims. Appeals deemed to have low merit or to be used to frustrate removal will be fast-tracked to enforce timely departures.
The reforms will also introduce a single appeal route: if an appeal fails, the claimant will be required to leave the UK. Expedited processes will apply to first-time late claims, high-harm cases, and foreign national offenders. Changes to the Immigration Rules will require failed asylum seekers to follow the same application procedures as other migrants, including paying fees and providing evidence for ECHR claims, closing what the paper calls a 'loophole' that currently allow unlimited Article 8 appeals to delay removal.
Under proposed reforms to human rights law, the Government will limit the use of Article 8 in immigration and asylum cases, placing greater emphasis on the public interest in enforcing Immigration Rules, safeguarding communities, and reducing pressure on public services. It will legislate to define family narrowly, typically to immediate members, and set clear rules for how Article 8 claims can be made, including requiring overseas applicants to act through UK-based relatives. On Article 3, which prohibits torture and inhuman treatment, the Government says that as interpretations have expanded in ways that can prevent the removal of foreign national offenders, it will work with international partners to ensure human rights protections evolve while maintaining the ability to make sovereign migration decisions.
Other reforms proposed in the policy paper include changes to the modern slavery system to prevent misuse of protections by individuals seeking to block removal, including ending reconsiderations for certain countries, improving early disclosure of relevant information, and introducing new legislation to clarify obligations. The Government also plans to streamline deportations, including swift refusal of protection claims deemed unmeritorious, faster removal of foreign national offenders, and new age assessment methods using scientific and AI-based technology.
Accompanying the sweeping reforms, new safe and legal routes will be introduced to allow refugees to come to the UK. The Government says these routes will prioritise those formally referred for resettlement, with a focus on refugee sponsorship, giving communities and voluntary organisations a greater role in supporting refugees as they settle, become self-sufficient, and contribute to local areas. Capped routes will also be established for displaced students and skilled workers. Those arriving on the reformed resettlement routes will be on the ten-year route to settlement, though the paper notes that this will be subject to wider consultation. The Home Secretary said yesterday that the new safe routes will be "modest" at first, but will grow over time.
Justifying the proposals, the Prime Minister said the asylum system is under severe strain, as it was not designed to cope with the significant increase in the movement of people across the globe seen in modern times. In addition, he said the UK needs an approach with a stronger deterrent effect and rules that are robustly enforced in order to reduce Channel crossings. The Home Secretary said rapidly increasing asylum claims and falling removals were placing considerable strain on the country and the taxpayer.
Numerous NGOs working with refugees and asylum seekers have condemned the proposals. Asylum Matters called them an attack on asylum rights that puts the very principles of post-Word War II humanitarian protection under threat. The NGO's Head of Campaigns commented: "Just a week after the Prime Minister expressed fears about racist rhetoric tearing Britain apart, his Government is proposing radical anti-refugee laws that can only be an attempt to placate extremists." Refugee and Migrant Forum Of Essex & London (RAMFEL) said the proposals were cruel, draconian and counter-productive, and they would make people’s lives worse whilst failing to achieve their goal.
In a statement published yesterday in response to the Home Secretary's preview of the reforms, Asylum Aid said: "These new measures will not deter people seeking safety from coming to the UK but will instead significantly harm the mental health and social integration of those recognised as needing protection in this country. These are men, women, children and families who have fled war, conflict, torture, trafficking, persecution and extreme cruelty. At a point when they most need safety and security, they will be left in a state of ongoing limbo and anxiety about being removed from the country, even once they have been recognised as refugees, and made to wait for over twenty years before they can settle here."