Refugees to face longer route to UK settlement rights

London (TIP)- Refugees will have to wait longer than the current five years before they can apply to settle permanently in the UK, under changes the government has said it is planning to the asylum system.
It has also confirmed that the route enabling refugees to automatically bring close relatives to the UK – which was temporarily suspended in September – will be permanently scrapped.
Sir Keir Starmer said the changes will mean “there will be no golden ticket to settling in the UK, people will have to earn it.”
It comes as the prime minister meets leaders at the European Political Community summit in Copenhagen, where he will be discussing ways to tackle illegal migration.
Ahead of that meeting, the prime minister said “fundamental changes” were being made to the asylum system to show that “settlement must be earned by contributing to the country”.
The changes are similar to those already being planned for people arriving in the UK for other reasons, such as on a work visa, many of whom will have to wait 10 years to settle.
Earlier this week, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood set out her plans to make it similarly harder for other categories of migrant to qualify for indefinite leave to remain.
Under the proposals, those wishing to apply will have to learn English to a high standard, have a clean criminal record, and volunteer in their community to be granted permanent settlement status.
Details of the new conditions refugees will have to meet in order to settle in the UK and be accompanied by family members will be set out later in the autumn.
A government source said the UK had been “overly generous” towards asylum seekers and wanted to show “we get it, we will reduce the pull factors.”
But shadow home secretary Chris Philp called the planned changes a “Starmer gimmick” that “will make no difference whatsoever”.
The Refugee Council, a charity, said the government’s approach would not deter people trying to get to the UK but would instead push “more desperate people into the arms of smugglers in an effort to reunite with loved ones”.
The government has been trying to reduce the numbers of people arriving in the UK on small boats crossing the Channel.
On coming to power in July 2024, Labour promised to “stop the chaos” of the “small boat crisis” but numbers remain at high levels.
Currently refugees can apply to settle in the UK – also called indefinite leave to remain – after five years, giving them the right to live, work and study in the country for as long as they want provided they meet certain conditions. Source: BBC