Refugees established in UK may have to return if home countries become safe | Immigration and asylum

Refugees, including Ukrainians, who have established homes and families in the UK will still have to return if their home country becomes safe, the home secretary has said.

The asylum system is “out of control and putting huge pressure on communities”, Shabana Mahmood said, as she announced plans to end permanent status for refugees who must re-apply every two-and-a-half years to stay in Britain.

Mahmood will also announce on Monday that those granted asylum can be returned to their home countries if they are deemed safe, a policy modeled on Denmark’s controversial system.

Refugees are currently granted protection for five years, after which they can apply for indefinite leave to remain, which offers a route to British citizenship.

Mahmood’s changes would also include people arriving illegally having to wait 20 years before they can apply for permanent settlement. This is expected to apply to newcomers only.

He rejected accusations that the government was using the language of the far right when promoting policies. “I am also the child of immigrants. My parents came to this country legally in the late 60s and 70s. Immigration has certainly touched my experience as a Brit, and also that of thousands of my constituents,” he said.

“This is a moral duty for me, because I can see illegal immigration tearing our country apart. It’s dividing communities. People can see great oppression in their own communities, and they can also see a broken system where people can break the rules, abuse the system and get away with it.”

Speaking to the BBC on Sunday, Mahmood said there may be different approaches depending on the circumstances. “What the new reforms will do is change the generations-old assumption that shelter provided to refugees can very quickly lead to permanent settlement and all the rights that come with it,” he said.

“If you are working and contributing, you will be able to reach an agreement sooner… And the integrity of this package will promote fairness and contribution.”

He said Ukrainians came to the UK under a different system, but it was still a temporary arrangement. “In fact, they are not considered refugees under normal circumstances. This is a program specifically designed for Ukrainians, I am very proud that this country has done this and we will always fulfill our obligations under this plan.

“And of course the wish of most Ukrainian individuals is that one day they will return to Ukraine after the conflict is over.”

Mahmood said some of the rules had led to anti-social behavior and a system where asylum seekers had greater access to protected housing, such as council housing, than British citizens. About 10 percent of people at the shelter have the right to work, but they are not required to, but that will change, he said.

“There’s also no expectation that people have to follow the rules to maintain their asylum shelter. There’s also no expectation that if you break the laws of this country, you’ll lose your shelter,” he said.

“This actually puts these individuals in a better position than most British citizens in social housing in this country, and I think it’s fair to say that we will now expect people to abide by the laws of the land, to follow the rules, to do what they are asked to do.

“And if they can work, and there are few people who have the right to work, but if they can work, they should work and support themselves.”

The home secretary plans to change laws guaranteeing housing and financial support to asylum seekers who would otherwise remain destitute.

The government said the aid would become voluntary, meaning those who are able to work or have assets could be denied aid.

Mahmood described the package of proposals as “the most comprehensive reforms to combat illegal immigration in modern times” and designed to “restore control and fairness in the system”.

Around 100,000 people receive asylum support in England, the vast majority of whom are housed by the state. Nearly a third remain in hotels, although Labor has pledged to end the practice by 2029.

Approximately 8,500 people staying in shelters have the right to work because they entered the country with a visa and later requested asylum.

Visa-free people whose claims are still outstanding after one year through no fault of their own are sometimes allowed to work in paid work, but this only occurs in a limited number of areas where there is considered a significant shortage of suitable candidates.

The Home Office also announced overnight that artificial intelligence would be used to assess the ages of immigrants arriving illegally, saying a flawed system meant those claiming to be underage or wrongly classified as adults were putting children at risk.

The facial age estimation technology has been trained on thousands of images, but is likely to raise concerns from immigrant rights groups that it could wrongly classify children as adults and put them in danger.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs said the technology was more accurate and cost-effective than other methods.