THE HOME Secretary is announcing the biggest shake-up of Britain’s asylum system in decades – with a hard-hitting package aimed at cutting arrivals and speeding up removals.
Here is a look at all the measures included in the Danish-inspired immigration crackdown.
Shorter Refugee Status & Tougher Path to Settlement
Refugee status will be drastically cut back.
People granted protection will receive only 30 months of leave instead of five years, and settlement will be possible only after 20 years.
Anyone wanting to bring family to Britain will need to move onto a new “work and study” route instead of relying on long-term protection.
Stricter Asylum Support & End of Hotels
The automatic duty to house and fund asylum seekers will be scrapped.
Support will become discretionary and tied to strict rules, with anyone who can work, has assets or refuses instructions set to lose help.
Under new powers, asylum seekers with jewellery, cash, cars or other valuables will have them seized and used to pay towards their accommodation and living costs.
The Home Secretary will also press ahead with shutting all asylum hotels and moving people into larger accommodation sites such as former military bases.
Crackdown on Illegal Working
Illegal working enforcement will be accelerated.
Raids and employer penalties will increase, gig-economy platforms will be forced to run tougher checks, and every foreign worker will need a digital ID by the end of Parliament.
Faster and Wider Removals, including Families
Families whose asylum claims are rejected will be offered help to return voluntarily but will be deported as a unit if they refuse.
The UK will also resume removals to places where conditions have changed, including Syria, and explore using “return hubs” in safe third countries.
Ministers will also trial higher cash incentives than today’s £3,000 payments to encourage more migrants to leave voluntarily before expensive enforcement kicks in.
New One-Shot Appeals System and Human Rights Crackdown
The appeals system will be replaced with a faster, single-appeal model.
A new appeals body will decide cases quickly, late claims will be restricted, and weak cases will be refused after one interview.
Late claims will be heavily restricted, including tighter rules on Article 8 family-life pleas often used at the last minute to block removals.
Ministers will also push for international reform of Article 3, aiming to narrow the grounds that prevent the UK from returning people to more countries.
New Capped ‘Safe and Legal’ Routes
Community sponsorship will be the main doorway for refugees, with strict limits based on what local areas can handle.
There will also be capped routes for displaced students and skilled refugees so people have alternatives to illegal entry.
Visa Curbs
Shabana Mahmood will ban three countries from accessing UK visas if they fail to take back illegal migrants.
Three African countries, Angola Namibia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, will face visa sanctions, blocking their tourists, VIPs and business people from travelling to Britain if they do not cooperate more on the removal of illegal migrants.
