The UK government has announced one of the toughest asylum and immigration overhauls in modern history, aiming to curb illegal arrivals and counter the growing influence of the Reform UK party.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood revealed that refugee status will now be temporary, and deportations of illegal arrivals will be accelerated. She also outlined plans to reinterpret the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in UK courts, giving the government more power to decide who can stay.
factor,”Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the current asylum system acts as a “pull factor”, allowing more people to attempt dangerous crossings and overwhelming existing structures.
Major Shifts in UK Asylum Policy
The Labour government plans to quadruple the residency requirement for refugees seeking permanent settlement—from five years to 20 years.
Additionally, the UK warned it may impose visa bans on Angola, Namibia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo if they refuse to accept deported migrants or criminals.
Immigration has become a defining political issue in Britain, particularly with the continued arrival of small boats from France. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has used the crisis to drive his party to strong polling numbers.
However, several lawmakers—both Conservative and Labour—criticized the proposed measures. Some argue the plan could divide communities, while Reform figures claim the reforms won’t go far enough to truly stop illegal arrivals.
Migration by the Numbers
- ending in109,343 asylum applications were filed in the year ending March, up 17%.
- The UK still receives fewer asylum seekers than France, Germany, Italy, or Spain.
- Most migrants arrive legally, with net migration dropping from a record 906,000 (2023) to 431,000 (2024) due to stricter rules.
Mahmood Warns of Rising Tensions
Mahmood defended her proposals, saying Britain remains a welcoming country but cannot allow extremists to exploit weaknesses in the system. She argued that protests near migrant accommodations show how “dark forces” are inflaming division.
Her reforms seek stricter interpretations of Article 8 (family life) and a review of Article 3 (prohibits torture), saying current definitions make deportations too easy to block.
Although Labour refuses to leave the ECHR—unlike Reform UK or some Conservatives—human rights groups condemned the plans, calling them harmful to vulnerable people
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