The Home Secretary’s asylum reform plans explained – and how it’s similar to the Danish system
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has unveiled a new strategy to “restore order and control” to the UK’s asylum system, taking inspiration from Denmark.
The reforms outlined in the 33-page document titled Restoring Order and Control Ms Mahmood told MPs that the legislation, published on Monday, aims to make Britain a less attractive target for illegal immigrants and simplify their deportation.
Here we look at what’s in the policy document outlining the government’s plans and what is said to have inspired it in the Danish system.
What changes is the government making?
Refugee status will become temporary and subject to review every 30 months under the “basic protection” proposal. Refugees will be deported after the security of their country is ensured. The waiting period for permanent settlement will quadruple to 20 years.
New safe and legal routes are to be introduced to the UK as a way to reduce dangerous journeys by small boats across the English Channel. Those coming to these resettlement routes to work and study may be offered long-term status within 10 years, subject to consultation.
Local communities will be able to sponsor individual refugees in a model similar to the Homes for Ukraine program, where people host those in need in their homes.
Refugees in “essential protection” in the UK will be encouraged to move onto a new “protection work and study” route if they can find an appropriate level of employment or education and pay fees. This way they will be able to achieve reconciliation sooner.
Refugees will not automatically be entitled to family reunification unless they successfully enter the “protection work and study” route and become eligible to sponsor family members who join them in the UK, such as earning a minimum set wage on the same terms as legal immigrants and UK citizens.
The government will repeal the legal duty to provide support to asylum seekers introduced by EU law in 2005. This means housing and weekly allowances will be optional and will no longer be guaranteed for asylum seekers.
Those who have the right to work in the UK and can support themselves but are unable to do so may also be denied housing and benefits due to the change, as can people who break the law. People with income and assets such as cars and e-bikes will need to contribute to their costs.
Deportations to certain countries will continue and refugees may be deported to countries such as Syria. A consultation will also be launched on how to remove families of people who cannot apply for asylum, including children who continue to live in the UK.
Human rights law will be overhauled to prevent it being used to block deportations. New legislation will be introduced to ensure that Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (right to family life) is balanced with the public interest.
Ministers will also work with international partners to reform the ECHR on the use of Article 3 of the treaty, which bans torture and inhuman treatment, which they say allows foreign criminals to remain in the country because of the way it has been interpreted.
Asylum seekers whose requests are rejected will also be limited to making a single objection against their deportation, instead of being able to raise more than one objection on different grounds.
Last-minute appeals will be expedited and deportations of serious criminals will be accelerated by a new independent body.
What is Denmark’s approach to asylum?
The Danish government drastically changed its immigration system in response to the massive influx of people in the 2010s. As a result, asylum seekers can only obtain temporary residence permits for one to two years.
Residency is subject to regular review and can be canceled once the refugee’s home country is deemed safe.
Refugees usually qualify for permanent status after eight years, and to obtain this they must speak Danish fluently and have been employed for several years. There are also additional requirements, including “active citizenship.”
People who are rejected for asylum are required to live in “return centres”, a basic standard of accommodation designed to encourage voluntary return home.
Family reunification is subject to strict tests, including that both the sponsor and the partner must be over 24 years of age to prevent forced marriages.
A controversial policy known as the “jewellery law” allows Danish authorities to seize assets from asylum seekers, including jewelry, to help cover the costs of their stay in Denmark. Assets of “special personal importance” should not be acquired.
Authorities can also demolish and sell social housing in areas where more than 50 percent of residents are from “non-western” backgrounds, under so-called “ghetto law” designed to prevent the formation of “parallel societies”.
The effect of Denmark’s policies has been to reduce the number of asylum applications to the lowest level in 40 years and to remove 95% of rejected asylum seekers.
But it has been criticized as racist by some opponents, and some elements of it have previously been found to have violated human rights law.
The Danish government is led by a political party with a similar philosophy to the Labor Party in the UK. This is seen as a model for a left-leaning administration to crack down on immigrants, assuage voters’ concerns about immigration and defeat political rivals.
