A new UK refugee sponsorship scheme will allow people who have sought protection in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Egypt, Uganda and Kenya to move to the UK once security checks are completed, according to new Home Office guidance.
Labour is inviting “open border activists” to sponsor refugees to move to the UK, critics have declared. The Home Office insisted voluntary organisations allowed to sponsor arrivals must be “a UK registered charity” and have a “good reputation”, with the ability to provide accommodation.
Community groups to sponsor arrivals
Under the controversial safe and legal route, community groups will be able to sponsor people to move to the UK. This includes charities, universities, faith groups and businesses.
Critics highlighted the huge number of Afghans currently residing in Pakistan, with more than 730,000 registered refugees, as an example of how the scheme could spiral out of control. The UNHCR said there are 225,740 refugees and asylum seekers registered in Malaysia, with around 90% from Myanmar.
Criticism of the scheme
Refugees must be outside of their own country to be eligible, the Home Office said. Robert Bates, Research Director at the Centre for Migration Control, said: “The Shabana-Wave begins. Disaster will ensue. The Home Secretary has given a motivated cabal of open border activist groups, masquerading as charities, the right to bring migrants to Britain.”
The Home Office said the first arrivals are expected next Autumn, with the number set to ramp up to the “low thousands” as illegal migration falls. A cap will be set for each year, although details of the number have yet to be provided.
Government defends the plan
Border Security & Asylum Minister Anna Turley said: “Communities across the country will now be able to welcome refugees fleeing war and persecution – helping them put down roots and rebuild their lives.
“Charities, community groups and universities will be at the heart of these efforts. I look forward to working with those who step forward.”
Under Labour’s new plan, community groups will be able to sponsor people to move to the UK. This includes charities, faith groups and businesses. The Home Office said that around 25% of arrivals will be Afghan women and girls and Palestinians.
Hundreds of people are expected to arrive under the UKRS, which stopped taking new applicants in December 2024, and three new sponsorship routes. The first arrivals are expected to be next year. Most refugees admitted under the UK resettlement scheme will be referred through the UN refugee agency UNHCR, with Palestinians coming through the International Refugee Assistance Project (Irap).
