Home secretary prepares major overhaul of asylum rules aimed at ending what she calls the UK’s “golden ticket” for migrants..reports Asian Lite News
The home secretary is preparing to unveil sweeping measures to overhaul the asylum system, setting out plans to end what she has described as the UK’s “golden ticket” for people seeking refuge. Under the proposed reforms, people granted asylum would no longer receive long-term security in Britain and would instead be permitted to remain only on a temporary basis, with their status subject to routine review and removal once their home country is deemed safe.
The package of reforms is modelled closely on the Danish system and is intended, according to officials, to make the UK less of a draw for irregular migration and make it easier for the government to deport those whose claims are rejected or later deemed no longer valid. The new approach would mark a sharp departure from the existing process, under which those granted refugee status typically retain it for five years before becoming eligible to apply for indefinite leave to remain and, eventually, citizenship.
The Home Office said the current arrangement has encouraged increased numbers of asylum claims, drawing people across Europe, frequently through safe countries, and on to perilous small-boat journeys across the Channel. It argues that providing a clear path to settlement has acted as a magnet, pushing up the number of arrivals and overwhelming the system.
As part of the reforms, ministers intend to revoke the statutory legal duty to provide asylum-seeker support, including housing and weekly allowances. The government is expected to seek powers to remove accommodation and financial assistance from individuals who have permission to work and are able to support themselves but choose not to, as well as from those who break UK law.
A government source said the home secretary sees the reforms as being “more than the electoral fortunes of her party”. They added: “This is the last chance for a decent, mainstream politics. If these moderate forces fail, she believes, something darker will follow.” According to the source, she has urged colleagues to accept the scale of the changes, warning those resistant to her approach: “If you don’t like this, you won’t like what follows me.”
The home secretary has described the package as the most extensive reform of the asylum system “in a generation”, insisting it will “restore order and control to our borders”. In an interview with a national newspaper, she said: “I can see – and I know my colleagues can – that illegal migration is tearing our country apart.” Her allies say she believes the current system is being “gamed by those travelling on boats or abusing legal visas”.
Latest figures from the Home Office show 39,075 people have arrived in the UK by crossing the Channel so far this year. This represents a rise of 19% compared with the same point in the previous year and an increase of 43% on the year before that, although the total remains 5% lower than the equivalent period in 2022, which still marks the peak year for crossings.
Government sources have pointed to Denmark as a model for the UK’s proposed approach. Danish authorities remain signatories to the European Convention on Human Rights while having reduced asylum applications to the lowest level in four decades and successfully removing 95% of rejected applicants. Ministers argue this demonstrates that strict controls can be implemented without withdrawing from international human-rights frameworks.
The proposals have prompted fierce political reaction. Shadow home secretary Chris Philp accused the Labour government of having “lost control” of the borders, claiming that illegal Channel crossings have “surged to over 62,000 since the election”. He said some of the measures were welcome but insisted “they stop well short of what is really required and some are just yet more gimmicks – like the previous ‘smash the gangs’ gimmick”.
Philp reiterated his party’s own proposals, saying: “Only the Conservative borders plan will end illegal immigration – by leaving the ECHR, banning asylum claims for illegal immigrants, deporting all illegal arrivals within a week and establishing a Removals Force to deport 150,000 illegal immigrants each year.”
Refugee organisations have also expressed alarm. Enver Solomon, chief executive of the 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.” Charities fear that removing support from asylum seekers deemed capable of working could push vulnerable people into homelessness, exploitation or destitution.
