Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has launched a significant overhaul of Britain's asylum system, detailing measures designed to reduce small boat crossings and increase removals of failed asylum seekers.
Ending Permanent Protection for Refugees
The cornerstone of Labour's 33-page "Restoring Order and Control" document involves making refugee status temporary rather than permanent. Currently, refugees receive five years' initial leave, but this will be slashed to just 30 months with mandatory reviews at each interval.
Critics argue this punitive approach targets even those with genuine asylum claims. Zeena Luchowa, chair of the Law Society's immigration law committee, described the changes as "perverse, unreasonable and punitive on individuals who are genuinely seeking asylum."
Migration expert Peter Walsh from Oxford University noted the policy appears modelled on Denmark's system, where few refugees actually face removal after review. "A cohort of 30,000 Syrians have received refugee status there but only a few hundred have been removed," he observed.
Escalating Family Removals and Cutting Support
In a major policy shift, the government will remove families including children whose asylum claims have been refused. The Home Office is specifically targeting approximately 700 Albanian families who have remained after their claims were rejected.
Families will be offered financial support to return voluntarily, but those refusing will face enforced removal and have welfare payments terminated. The government will consult on removing support from families without genuine obstacles to leaving.
Walsh compared this approach to hardline policies seen in the United States under Donald Trump, representing a significant departure from current practice where failed asylum families often remain in government accommodation receiving £49 weekly support.
Axeing Legal Support Obligations
The government will revoke the legal requirement to support destitute asylum seekers, restoring discretionary powers instead. This obligation originated from EU law in 2005, which Britain no longer follows.
Those with right-to-work status who could support themselves will be denied assistance, including people who initially entered on work or student visas before claiming asylum. Support will also be withdrawn from those working illegally, committing crimes, or non-compliant with deportation orders.
Redefining Family for Asylum Claims
Labour promises legislation ensuring the right to family life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights applies only to immediate family. However, legal experts note courts already rarely accept claims beyond immediate relatives.
Barrister Sam Fowles explained: "Courts pay attention to real family bonds, not what is written on a piece of paper. So if you want to claim the right to family life based on someone outside your immediate family, you would have to show with evidence that those bonds are really close familial ones."
The comprehensive reforms signal Labour's determination to tackle irregular migration while facing criticism from human rights advocates who fear genuine refugees will suffer under the new regime.
