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UK Unveils Denmark-Style Asylum Overhaul With 30-Month Status and 20-Year Path to Permanence

The government says the redesign will deter Channel crossings, with full details to be presented to Parliament today.

Overview

  • Refugee protection would be limited to 30 months with regular reviews, requiring returns once origin countries are declared safe.
  • Access to long‑term residence would move from five years to a 20‑year route, and automatic housing and weekly payments would be withdrawn for those able to work or who break the law.
  • Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood is due to outline what the Home Office calls the biggest asylum rewrite in decades in a Commons statement.
  • The plan is explicitly modeled on Denmark’s deter‑and‑return approach to ease deportations and curb small‑boat arrivals, after record UK asylum claims of roughly 109,000–111,000 in the past year.
  • Reaction is mixed: more than 100 UK NGOs and the Refugee Council criticized the measures, while France’s foreign minister publicly welcomed tougher UK reception rules.