Following the Danish mannequin: “I will abolish Great Britain’s golden passport for asylum seekers” – London is planning the asylum transition | EUROtoday

Great Britain desires to essentially tighten its asylum coverage following Denmark’s instance and is planning the most important reform in a long time. “I will abolish Britain’s golden passport for asylum seekers,” Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood stated on Saturday.

The focus of the deliberate reform is extra restrictive laws on residence rights and cuts in advantages for migrants. The period of refugee standing ought to be shortened to 30 months. This safety might be “regularly reviewed” and migrants should return to their nations of origin as quickly as they’re deemed secure, the Interior Ministry assertion stated. The division additionally stated it intends to make migrants granted asylum wait 20 years earlier than they’ll apply for long-term residence within the UK.

To date, Great Britain has granted refugee standing for 5 years to asylum seekers who can show that they’re vulnerable to persecution of their house nation. They can then apply for everlasting residency and in the end citizenship.

According to the Interior Ministry, the authorized obligation to assist sure asylum seekers, for instance via housing and weekly funds, can also be to be lifted. The measures will apply to migrants who can work however don’t, in addition to those that break the regulation, Interior Minister Mahmood stated.

The authorities in London desires to make the nation much less engaging for unlawful migrants and make deportations simpler. “This country has a proud tradition of welcoming people in need, but our generosity attracts illegal migrants across the English Channel,” stated Mahmood. The tempo and scale of migration put communities underneath “immense pressure.” The Interior Minister plans to announce additional particulars on Monday.

Significant improve in asylum purposes

Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s authorities is underneath large strain to cut back the variety of migrants within the nation as a consequence of poor ballot numbers. His Labor Party, which has been in energy for a 12 months and a half, is way behind in polls behind right-wing populist Nigel Farage’s Reform UK celebration, which has introduced the difficulty of immigration to the fore.

According to surveys, the difficulty of migration has now changed the economic system as an important concern for voters. In the 12 months to March 2025, 109,343 folks utilized for asylum within the UK. This corresponds to a rise of 17 % in comparison with the earlier 12 months.

With the deliberate tightening, the federal government relies on the Danish mannequin, which is taken into account one of many strictest in Europe. In Denmark, migrants often solely obtain a brief residence allow and must submit a brand new utility when it expires. If the federal government considers their nation of origin to be secure, they are often repatriated. In addition, a 2016 regulation permits authorities to confiscate valuables from asylum seekers to cowl the prices of their upkeep.

Human rights teams and charities criticize the British authorities’s plans. More than 100 British organizations wrote a letter calling on the Home Secretary to finish “the scapegoating and bogus debates that only cause harm.” The British Refugee Council stated refugees come to Britain due to household ties or language expertise, not due to asylum methods.