Overview
- Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced the immediate relaunch of the UK Resettlement Scheme on Monday, reopening a legal route for refugees identified by international partners.
- The scheme will start with an initial intake measured in the hundreds, will be subject to an annual cap, and may expand into the low thousands if irregular migration falls.
- Referrals will be made by UNHCR and IRAP and priority will be given to highly vulnerable cases, with Afghan women and girls and Palestinians expected to make up about one quarter of places.
- New sponsorship channels include a 'named household' model based on Homes for Ukraine, charities and universities sponsorship from October, and an employment sponsorship route planned for spring 2027.
- The package pairs tighter controls on irregular arrivals with security and criminal-record checks for resettled refugees and has drawn sharp criticism from opposition figures who cite family-reunion and national-security risks.