The UK is planning to significantly reduce protections for refugees in an expansion of its asylum policies

The United Kingdom will drastically cut protections for refugees and end automatic benefits for asylum seekers, the Labor government announced on Saturday, under new plans aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration and cracking down.

The measures, modeled after Denmark’s hardline plan, were announced as Prime Minister Keir Starmer came under pressure from the UK’s anti-immigrant party.

“I will end the UK’s golden ticket for asylum seekers,” Home Affairs Minister Shabana Mahmood said in a statement.

But the head of Britain’s refugee council has warned the government the measures will not stop people from trying to reach Britain, and called for a rethink.

Currently, those granted refugee status have five years, after which they can apply for permanent leave to stay and eventually be heard.

But Mahmood’s ministry, known as the Home Office, says it will cut the length of refugee status to 30 months.

That security will be “and regularly reviewed” and those who don’t will be forced to return to their home countries once they are deemed safe, they added.

The ministry also said it intended to make those refugees granted asylum wait 20 years before applying to be allowed to stay in the UK longer. Currently, they can do that after five years.

Asylum claims in Britain are at a record high, with around 111,000 applications made in the year to June 2025, according to official figures.

The home office called the new proposals, which Mahmood will submit to the Parliament on Monday, “the biggest departure from the Asylum policy in modern times.”

It said the changes would make it less desirable for irregular migrants to come to Britain, and make it easier to remove those already from the country.

The statutory duty to support asylum seekers, introduced in a 2005 law, could also be scrapped, the ministry said.

This means that financial and weekly allowances will no longer be guaranteed for Asylum seekers.

It can be “reasonable,” meaning that the government can deny assistance to any asylum seeker who can work or support themselves but has, or who has committed a crime.

Tarmer, elected last summer, is under pressure to stop migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats from France, something that has also plagued his predecessors.

More than 39,000 people, many of them hanged, have arrived this year following the perilous journey – more than all of 2024 but lower than the record set in 2022.

The crossing helps celebrate the popularity of the reforms, led by firebrand Nigel Farage, which led to a double-digit performance in this year’s opinion polls.

Labor is taking inspiration from Denmark’s coalition government – led by the centre-left Social Democrats – which has implemented some of the toughest migration policies in Europe.

Senior British officials recently visited the Scandinavian country, where successful asylum claims are at a 40-year low.

Refugees in Denmark are entitled to a renewable residence permit, and are encouraged to return home as soon as the authorities deem there is no longer a need for a safe haven.

Family reunification is also subject to strict requirements, including the age of both parents, language tests and financial guarantees.

Britain’s Mahmood is also expected to announce tougher rules around family reunification.

Enver Solomon, the Chief Executive of the Refugee Council, urged the government to rethink its plans, saying it “will not refuse” the crossing.

“They must ensure that refugees who work hard and contribute to Britain can build safe lives, settle their lives and return to their communities,” she said.

Some Laff Wing-Wing defectors will be opposing the plans, fearing that the party is losing voters to progressive debates such as greens.