Asylum seekers face 30-year wait under new UK rules

The Home Secretary is facing sharp criticism for changing the settlement timeline for successful asylum seekers.

Shabana Mahmood introduced a new package of immigration proposals on Monday that impacts approximately 200,000 refugees in the UK. These individuals were previously told they could apply for indefinite leave to remain after five years. Under the new rules, their status will be reviewed every 30 months instead.

The Refugee Council argues this move contradicts assurances Mahmood gave last year. In a post on X dated 21 November 2025, she shared an image of the white cliffs of Dover and wrote that only illegal entrants who are not refugees would face a 30-year wait for settlement. The House of Commons library cited that specific post as evidence that the 30-year penalty was meant for non-refugees. A government memo from March also confirmed that applicants who submitted their claims by 1 March 2026 would remain eligible for settlement after five years.

The new document, titled A fairer pathway to settlement, quietly removes that guarantee in a footnote. It states that refugees who claimed asylum before 2 March 2026 but did not use safe and legal routes will move to core protection. Under this scheme, adults and their children receive an initial permission to stay of just 30 months. This permission must be renewed, and refugee status can be revoked if conditions in their home country are judged safe.

Jon Featonby, chief policy analyst at the Refugee Council, said the shifting positions cause distress and huge uncertainty. He noted that thousands of refugees who thought they were weeks or months from settlement could now wait another 25 years. Featonby added that it is difficult to start new lives with a temporary status that expires every 30 months for three decades.

The Home Office responded that there has been no policy change since last year's proposals. However, the department declined to comment further on Mahmood's social media post or the specific footnote in the recent document.

Mahmood told MPs on Monday that the right to live in the UK forever will no longer be granted automatically after five years. She stated that this right will now be earned under the new model presented to parliament.