The Home Secretary is set to announce a series of changes to the way Britain grants asylum to those fleeing conflict and hardship abroad
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is set to announce what she describes as “sweeping reforms” to the UK’s asylum system. In a statement in the House of Commons on Monday, Ms Mahmood will detail a revamp of how Britain offers sanctuary to those escaping conflict and hardship abroad.
The proposed changes aim to make the UK less appealing for illegal migrants and facilitate their removal from the country. Many of the measures have already made it into the public domain via briefings to newspapers. Below we detail what the Home Secretary is anticipated to announce as the Labour Government’s new approach, and what elements of the Danish system may have inspired it.
What changes are the UK Government making?
Ms Mahmood plans to abolish the legal obligation to provide support for asylum seekers, a duty introduced in 2005 via EU law. This means that housing and weekly allowances will no longer be guaranteed for asylum seekers.
Those who have the right to work in the UK and can support themselves, but choose not to, could also lose access to housing and benefits due to this change, as could individuals who break the law.
Refugee status will become temporary and subject to regular review. Refugees will be deported as soon as their home countries are deemed safe. The wait for permanent settlement will be extended fourfold to 20 years.
New safe and legal routes to the UK will be established as a way to reduce dangerous journeys in small boats across the English Channel.
Local communities will have the opportunity to sponsor individual refugees, in a scheme similar to the Homes for Ukraine initiative, where people opened their homes to those in need.
What’s Denmark’s stance on asylum?
In response to a significant influx of individuals throughout the 2010s, the Danish government drastically altered its migration system. Consequently, asylum seekers can only secure temporary residence permits for one to two years.
Residency is subject to regular assessment, and can be withdrawn once a refugee’s home country is considered safe. Typically, refugees are eligible for permanent status after eight years, but to achieve this they must speak fluent Danish and have held a job for several years. Additional requirements include demonstrating “active citizenship”.
Those denied asylum are required to reside in “departure centres”, a basic standard of accommodation designed to encourage voluntary return to their home country. Family reunification also faces stringent tests, including that both a sponsor and their partner must be over 24 years old, in an effort to prevent forced marriages.
A contentious policy known as the “jewellery law” allows Danish authorities to seize assets from asylum seekers, including jewellery, to help cover the costs of their stay in Denmark. Assets of “special personal significance” should not be confiscated.
The authorities also have the power to demolish and sell social housing in areas where more than 50% of residents are from a “non-western” background, under a so-called “ghetto law” designed to prevent the formation of “parallel societies”. The impact of Denmark’s policies has been to reduce the number of asylum applications to the lowest number in 40 years, and remove 95% of rejected asylum seekers.
However, it has been criticised by some opponents as racist, and elements of it were previously found to have breached human rights law.
The Danish government is led by a political party which has a philosophy similar to Britain’s Labour Party. It is seen as a model for how a left-leaning administration can implement an immigration crackdown, placate voters’ concerns about migration, and defeat political rivals.
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