Asylum seekers could lose their right to housing and financial support in new crackdown
The Home secretary Shabana Mahmood has vowed to make refugee status temporary as part of system overhaul.
As part of the crackdown asylum seekers could lose their automatic right to housing and financial support and they will need to wait 20 years before they can apply to settle permanently in the country.
It is part of a major overhaul of the immigration system, inspired by the Danish model, and comes as Labour battles to restore public trust in the asylum system to see off the threat of a Reform UK government.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is set to announce ‘sweeping changes’ to the asylum system (Lucy North/PA) (PA Wire)
Rebecca Whittaker16 November 2025 07:12
‘Our generosity is drawing illegal migrants across the Channel,’ says home secretary
“This country has a proud tradition of welcoming those fleeing danger, but our generosity is drawing illegal migrants across the Channel,” home secretary Shabana Mahmood said.
“The pace and scale of migration is placing immense pressure on communities.
“This week, I will set out the most sweeping changes to our asylum system in a generation. We will restore order and control to our borders.”
She also told The Sunday Times newspaper the changes are “designed to essentially say to people: do not come to this country as an illegal migrant, do not get on a boat”.
Rebecca Whittaker16 November 2025 07:16
More than 39,000 migrants have crossed the Channel this year
So far this year, about 39,075 people have arrived in the UK crossing the Channel in small boats, according to the latest Home Office figures.
The arrivals have already passed the number for the whole of 2024 (36,816) and 2023 (29,437), but the number is still below the total at this point in 2022 (39,929).
Rebecca Whittaker16 November 2025 07:18
How does Denmark help refugees?
The package of reforms is said to be inspired by Denmark’s system, which sees refugees given temporary residence permits, typically of two years, with no guarantee of getting a permanent visa.
Ministers have learned lessons from their strict asylum approach, where a government of the same political stripe as Labour has managed to remove incentives drawing people to the country, and has increased deportations of illegal migrants.
Senior Home Office officials went to Copenhagen to learn about the country’s asylum policy earlier this year.
The country has reduced the number of asylum applications to the lowest number in 40 years and successfully removed 95 per cent of rejected asylum seekers.
At the same time, Denmark remains a signatory of the European Convention on Human Rights, an international treaty which has drawn the ire of some on the right of politics, who say it hampers efforts to deport illegal migrants.
Denmark’s tighter rules on family reunions are also being looked at.
Rebecca Whittaker16 November 2025 07:25
