Overview
- Refugee protection would shift from an automatic five‑year route to 30 months of temporary leave, with a 20‑year wait to apply for permanent residency and returns when countries are deemed safe.
- Automatic housing and cash assistance for asylum seekers would end, with support made discretionary and withheld from those considered able to work or who break the law.
- Shabana Mahmood framed the changes as a deterrent, saying the UK’s generosity had become a “golden ticket” encouraging dangerous journeys across the Channel.
- Official figures show 39,292 small‑boat arrivals since January, surpassing all of 2024, and an 18% rise in asylum claims in 2024.
- The government cites Denmark’s model as inspiration, and UK reporting says many current aid recipients may be unaffected if existing work‑eligibility restrictions remain in place.