UK to end 'golden ticket' for asylum seekers in big policy overhaul

The British government has announced that under new plans, aimed at slashing irregular immigration and countering the hard-right, Britain will drastically reduce protections for refugees and end automatic benefits for asylum seekers. The measures, modelled on Denmark’s strict asylum system, were announced as Prime Minister Keir Starmer came under pressure from surging popularity for the anti-immigrant Reform UK party. Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood said in a statement that it will end the UK’s golden ticket for asylum seekers. The Home Office called the new proposals, which Mahmood is due to lay out in parliament on Monday, the largest overhaul of asylum policy in modern times. It said the reforms would make it less attractive for irregular migrants to come to Britain and make it easier to remove those already in the country.

But the head of Britain’s Refugee Council warned the government that the measures would not deter people from trying to reach Britain and urged a rethink. Presently, those given refugee status have it for five years, after which they can apply for indefinite leave to remain and eventually citizenship. But the British Home Office said it would cut the length of refugee status to 30 months. That protection will be regularly reviewed, and refugees will be forced to return to their home countries once they are deemed safe, it added.

The ministry also said that it intended to make those refugees who were granted asylum wait 20 years before applying to be allowed to live in the UK long-term. Currently, they can do so after five years. Asylum claims in Britain are at a record high, with some 111,000 applications made in the year to June 2025, according to official figures.