The UK Government is preparing to end automatic permanent protection for refugees, replacing it with a temporary status system that will require regular reviews of each individual’s need for sanctuary.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is expected to announce the policy shift on Monday, signalling what government insiders describe as a significant change to the UK’s asylum framework.
Under the new approach, people granted asylum will be allowed to remain in the UK only until it is judged safe for them to return to their home countries.
Currently, refugees receive five years of leave to remain and can then apply for permanent settlement and eventually citizenship.
The new system would bring all asylum seekers under a temporary regime similar to existing schemes for Ukrainians, whose initial three-year permissions have been extended.
The move draws heavily on Denmark’s approach, where refugees are issued two-year temporary residence permits and must effectively re-apply when these expire.
Denmark has in recent years removed the presumption of renewal, tightened the path to citizenship, and introduced stricter limits on family reunification.
Mahmood has praised Denmark’s policies, noting that tougher measures introduced by the centre-left Social Democrats coincided with a drop in support for the far-right Danish People’s Party. She argues that Labour must take similarly firm decisions to prevent darker forces from filling the political space.
A Home Office delegation recently visited Copenhagen to study the system firsthand, including Denmark’s restrictions on refugee family reunification something Mahmood believes discourages asylum applications and helps keep claims at a 40-year low.
The proposals have already sparked dissent among Labour MPs.
Critics such as Clive Lewis have suggested the Danish model mirrors rhetoric from the far right, warning that Labour risks losing progressive voters to parties like the Greens. Nadia Whittome has called the approach a “dead end — morally, politically and electorally.”
Mahmood is expected to directly address internal scepticism in Parliament, cautioning colleagues that the alternative to firm action could be further gains for Reform UK.
“If you don’t like this, you won’t like what follows me,” she is expected to say.
Mahmood maintains that her plans can be implemented within the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), noting that Denmark operates similar policies while remaining a signatory.
However, both she and Denmark’s immigration minister, Rasmus Stoklund, support reforms to limit the influence of activist judges, particularly on decisions involving the right to family life.
The Conservatives and Reform UK argue that leaving the ECHR would be more effective. Reform UK advocates detaining and deporting Channel arrivals, while the Conservatives say their scrapped Rwanda scheme is the only real deterrent to small-boat crossings.
Mahmood is expected to acknowledge that the UK’s borders are out of control, but believes a tougher system could help regain public confidence, especially among voters considering Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.
Labour hopes that reducing the number of asylum arrivals will allow the government to re-establish credibility not only on migration but also across other policy areas.
