Sudanese asylum seekers challenge Home Office rule changes for refugees | Immigration and asylum
Two Sudanese asylum seekers are challenging a central element of Labor’s plans to strip refugees of their basic rights by rejecting the Home Secretary’s charge that they are “asylum seekers”.
Shabana Mahmood has announced plans to halve refugees’ permission to stay in the UK from five years to 30 months. Previously, people could apply for permanent settlement after five years, but refugees will now have to wait 20 years to qualify.
In the first legal challenge against the change, two asylum seekers, both of whom have suffered nightmares and flashbacks of being tortured in their home country, argue that the policy is indirectly discriminatory and will not act as a deterrent for asylum seekers. In 2025, 96% of asylum requests in Sudan resulted in protection being granted.
Mahmut, one policy document The article, published in November 2025 about restoring order and control to the UK’s immigration system, accused even “genuine refugees” of seeking the most attractive places to seek refuge, claiming that many were “shopping” across the continent.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees condemned this policy and issued a statement. expression In response to the home secretary’s announcement in December 2025.
The statement said, “UNHCR is concerned about the government’s plans to reduce the leave period granted to people in need of international protection to 30 months.” “Such a change would impose additional administrative and costly burdens on the asylum system, create greater uncertainty for refugees and negatively impact integration and social cohesion.”
He added that allowing refugees only 30 months at a time could harm their sense of security, belonging and stability.
Reassessing refugees’ right to stay every 30 months, in what the Ministry describes as a means of “basic protection”, would place a heavy administrative burden on the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Those who choose this path will have their refugee status re-evaluated eight times within 20 years in order to qualify for settlement.
Mahmood also restricts refugees’ right to bring immediate family members, such as spouses and children under 18, to join them. Instead, people will have to show they can support their families financially before such get-togethers are approved.
In practice, refugee status is rarely withdrawn once granted. While many refugees want to return home, the conditions that caused them to leave their country often persist for many years, making return very dangerous. Australia previously provided temporary protection to refugees, but later decided to replace this protection with permanent residence permits. Following refugee status reviews in 2024, Denmark withdrew only 48 refugee status grants, while Norway withdrew only 29.
Manini Menon, barrister at Duncan Lewis, who represents two Sudanese asylum seekers who oppose the policy, said: “Our clients have launched a legal challenge against the new policy to grant refugees only temporary status, a cornerstone of its aim to overhaul the asylum system.
“The home secretary’s position is that his policy will deter those arriving in small boats and ensure that only people who genuinely need protection are granted permission as refugees in the UK. Our clients argue that the home secretary’s policy is flawed and discriminatory.
“The evidence from countries such as Denmark and Australia is clear: granting temporary status to refugees will worsen mental and physical ill-health, negatively impact social integration and increase the risk of refugees falling into economic instability and poverty.”
A Home Office spokesman said: “The UK’s asylum system is a relative outlier in Europe. While asylum claims are falling across the continent, they are rising here.”
“That’s why we must combat incentives that draw people into illegal and unsafe routes, including across the Channel. Those facing danger in their home countries will always be provided with protection. But those traveling here illegally will have to do so if they can return home safely.”
“At the same time, we will achieve lifetime settlement rights more quickly by opening new, safe and legal routes into the country for those in need.”
