The UK Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, is poised to unveil significant reforms to the immigration and asylum system later this month, inspired by Denmark's stringent policies, which are considered among the toughest in Europe, the BBC has learned.
Sources indicate that officials have been examining Denmark's approach, which includes tightening family reunion guidelines and limiting most refugees to temporary residence within the country. Mahmood's objective is to diminish the factors that attract migrants to the UK while simplifying the process to deport those without the legal right to stay. Nonetheless, this approach has met resistance from some within her party, with criticism from a left-wing Labour MP who described the measures as excessively stringent, hinting at alignment with far-right ideologies.
This development coincides with official home office statistics reporting the arrival of 1,269 migrants via small boats across the English Channel over Thursday and Friday. These crossings resumed after a weather-induced pause lasting two weeks.
During the Labour conference in September, Mahmood vowed to take decisive action to regain control of Britain’s borders. She is notably taken by Denmark's success in reducing successful asylum claims to their lowest in 40 years, save for 2020 during pandemic travel restrictions. The BBC reports that senior Home Office officials were dispatched to Copenhagen last month to explore applicable insights.
In Denmark, individuals specifically persecuted by foreign regimes are more readily granted protection. However, most refugees fleeing conflict are granted only temporary asylum and may be repatriated when their home nations are deemed safe by Danish authorities. For long-term residents, prolonged criteria for settlement rights now include mandatory full-time employment.
Denmark’s stringent requirements for family reunions have also drawn interest from UK officials. Refugees granted residency must ensure both they and their partner are over 24, to mitigate forced marriages. Moreover, the Danish partner must have remained off benefits for three years, provide a financial guarantee, and both must pass a Danish language proficiency test. Refugees residing in designated 'parallel societies', where a significant portion of residents hail from 'non-Western' backgrounds, are ineligible for family reunification. This controversial regulation also includes potential sale or demolition of relevant apartment blocks.
This initiative has sparked debate, with Denmark defending it as a measure for enhanced integration, although an EU senior advisor criticized it as ethnically discriminatory. In the UK, new applications under the Refugee Family Reunion scheme are currently suspended, pending newly formulated rules. Previously, the scheme did not impose income and language requirements on spouses, partners, and dependents under 18. Though Mahmood’s impending reforms are unlikely to match Denmark's full extent, a trend towards tighter restrictions is anticipated.