Under new government plans revealed by Prime Minister Keir Starmer today [2nd October], asylum seekers in the UK will no longer automatically be given settlement and family reunion rights.
The move is part of the government’s efforts to tackle illegal small boat crossings, aiming to combat the “pull factors” that are attracting large number of migrants to the UK via irregular routes.
Over the last seven days [to 2nd October] over 2,000 migrants have arrived in the UK on small boats.
According to Prime Minister Keir Starmer: “The current system is not fit for purpose.”
The planned changes will make the route to settlement for asylum seekers longer, scrapping the current system under which migrants can apply for indefinite leave to remain (permanent residence) after five years.
Keir Starmer said that under the new asylum system: “Settlement must be earned by contributing to our country, not by paying a people smuggler to cross the channel in a boat.”
“There will be no golden ticket to settling in the UK, people will have to earn it.”
The Prime Minister also stressed the UK’s continued commitment to “welcoming genuine refugees fleeing persecution” as part of the UK’s “tolerant and fair approach to migration.”
In her speech to the Labour party conference on Monday [29th September] in Liverpool, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced the government’s plan to introduce a contribution-based settlement model for migrants.
The plan will require migrants to be lawfully resident in the UK for 10 years before being eligible to remain indefinitely, doubling the current 5 year requirement. People will be able to earn a reduction in this if they meet earnings or integration requirements. Those that do not comply with regulations will face a longer wait for permanent residence to be granted or face their claim being refused.
Proposed conditions include learning English to a high level, being in work, not taking benefits payments and giving back to your community, such as through local volunteering.
Like the Prime Minister, Mahmood emphasised that the proposed changes would create a “fair migration system” befitting an “open, tolerant, generous country.”
The Prime Minister has been in Copenhagen today attending the European Political Community Summit, in which he will co-chair a meeting with other senior European leaders focused on tackling illegal migration across the continent.
Alongside Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Starmer will announce a £3 million partnership aimed at encouraging migrants from Western Balkan countries to remain in the region.
The partnership with Denmark is not the only cross-European effort to tackle migration that Britain is involved with. The UK is contributing up to £5.75 million to Italy’s Rome Process, which aims to reduce the number of migrant crossings to Europe from Africa.
The UK is also set to work in collaboration with German law enforcement to disrupt the efforts of small boats smugglers.
Combatting rising migration has been a key area of focus for the Labour government, particularly in the wake of Reform UK’s recent surges in the polls.
Starmer’s poll ratings remain low – according to the latest YouGov voting intention figures, just 21 per cent of UK voters intend to vote Labour. Reform UK is the most popular party among the Brits surveyed, attracting support from 29 per cent of those surveyed.
Last week Reform UK announced that it would abolish indefinite leave to remain entirely, which would force all migrants, including those that have been settled in the UK for decades, to reapply for new visas subject to tougher regulations.
These proposals have attracted harsh criticism, including from Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has branded them as “racist.”
Full details of government’s changes to the UK migration system are set to be released in the Asylum Policy Statement in the coming months.
Featured image via Number 10 / Flickr.
