Britain tightens asylum and immigration policies

The British government said it will make refugee status temporary and quadruple the waiting period for permanent residency to 20 years, in the biggest overhaul of policy for asylum seekers in modern times.

The Labor government is working to tighten its immigration policies, especially regarding the illegal crossing of small boats from France.

The Ministry of the Interior said in a statement that, as part of these changes, the legal duty to provide support to some asylum seekers, including housing and weekly benefits, will be abolished.

The ministry added that these measures will apply to asylum seekers who are able to work but choose not to do so and to those who violate the law.

She stated that priority in obtaining taxpayer-funded support will be for those who contribute to the economy and local communities.

The Home Office also said that refugee protection would now be “temporary, subject to periodic review and rescind” if refugees’ countries of origin became safe.

“Our system is very generous compared to other European countries, where a person automatically becomes settled in the country after five years. We will change that,” Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood told Sky News on Sunday.

She added that under the changes, refugee status will be reviewed every two and a half years, as part of a “much longer path of 20 years before permanent settlement in this country.”

The Minister stated that on Monday, she would provide more details about these procedures, including a declaration regarding Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Opinion polls indicate that immigration has overtaken the economy to become voters’ top concern.

109,343 people applied for asylum in the United Kingdom until March 2025, an increase of 17 percent on the previous year, and six percent above the peak recorded in 2002 of 103,081 asylum applications.