Asylum in UK to be made temporary under Home Secretary’s plans

Those granted asylum in the UK will only be allowed to stay temporarily under a policy shift the Home Secretary will announce next week.

Shabana Mahmood will lay out reforms modelled on the Danish system on Monday which aim to make the UK less attractive for illegal immigrants, and make it easier to deport them.

Refugee status will become temporary and subject to regular review under the planned changes, which will see refugees removed as soon as their home countries are deemed safe.

Under current rules, those granted refugee status have it for five years and can then apply for indefinite leave to remain and get on a route to citizenship.

An ally of the Home Secretary said: “Today, becoming a refugee equals a lifetime of protection in Britain.

“Mahmood will change that, making refugee status temporary and subject to regular review. The moment your home country is safe to return to, you will be removed.

“While this might seem like a small technical shift, this new settlement marks the most significant shift in the treatment of refugees since the Second World War.”

In a video posted on X on Friday, Ms Mahmood described her plans, to be announced to MPs on Monday, as “the most significant changes to our asylum system in modern times” and pointed to rising numbers of asylum claims in Britain while numbers fall across Europe.

She said the previous government had had “years to tackle this problem” but had “wasted” time and money on the £700 million Rwanda scheme.

But under Labour, she said, there had been “record levels” of immigration raids and arrests, and that nearly 50,000 people with no right to be in the UK had been returned.

Migrants continued to arrive in the UK after crossing the English Channel on Friday.

Photographs show men, women and children being brought to shore in Dover, with one man sitting at the port in a wheelchair.

Some 39,075 people have arrived in the UK after making the journey so far this year, according to the latest Home Office figures.

The arrivals have already passed the number for the whole of 2024 (36,816) and 2023 (29,437), but the number is still below the total at this point in 2022 (39,929).

Meanwhile, the Government’s pilot scheme with France aimed at deterring people from making the dangerous crossing, has removed 113 people to the continent since it was introduced in August, while 92 have arrived in the UK under the deal’s approved safe route.

Other changes expected to be announced on Monday include requiring judges to prioritise public safety over migrants’ rights to a family life, or the risk that they will face “inhuman” treatment if returned to their home country, the Telegraph has reported.

Denmark’s tighter rules on family reunions are also being looked at.

Some research has suggested that deterrence policies have little impact on asylum seekers’ choice of destination, but a 2017 study said Denmark’s “negative nation branding” had proved effective in limiting asylum applications.

The number of asylum applications in the UK is at a record high, as latest Home Office figures show 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025.

This is the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.

Enver Solomon, chief executive of Refugee Council said: “These sweeping changes will not deter people from making dangerous crossings, but they will unfairly prevent men, women and children from putting down roots and integrating into British life.

“Refugee status represents safety from the conflict and persecution that people have fled.

“When refugees are not stuck in limbo, they feel a greater sense of belonging, as full members of their new communities with a stable future for themselves, their children and generations to come.

“We urge the Government to rethink these highly impractical plans, which will also add to the backlog and chaos that the Home Office is tackling.

“Instead, they should ensure that refugees who work hard and contribute to Britain can build secure, settled lives and give back to their communities.”