Overview
- Home Office proposals cut initial refugee leave from five years to 30 months, with eligibility for permanent residency extended to 20 years.
- Automatic housing and cash support would end for asylum seekers deemed able to work, with assistance becoming discretionary.
- Refugees seeking faster settlement would need to work or study, and protection would end with return once origin countries are judged safe.
- Officials cite Denmark as the model, and France’s foreign minister said the shift meets European expectations.
- The push follows 39,292 small-boat arrivals since January 1 and growing pressure from Reform UK, while Conservatives dismiss the measures as superficial.