United Kingdom: Asylum System Reforms Forthcoming

The United Kingdom has announced sweeping reforms to the asylum system that, when adopted, will have wide-ranging impacts on migrant and refugee populations in the country which also implicate access of overseas talent from certain countries, and widen the scope of compliance obligations for businesses. Key proposals include:    

• Increasing removals. New visa penalties are proposed for countries that fail to cooperate with the return of their citizens, including the suspension of entry clearance grants to their nationals until cooperation resumes. The announcement does not identify specific countries, but there have been reports that the countries referred to include Angola, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.    
• New Refugee Work and study route. Refugees will be able to switch to a new Protection Work and Study route if they obtain employment or start studying at a UK university, making them eligible for earlier settlement and family sponsorship.    
• Capped routes for students and skilled refugees. There will be a new capped route for refugee/displaced students and skilled refugees seeking entry to the United Kingdom for study or work.  
• Expansion of right-to-work checks. Right to work checks will apply beyond traditional employment to include individuals engaged under “worker” contracts, self-employed sub-contractors and online matching platforms. This is currently in a consultation period. Additionally, a single digital identity document will be mandatory for right-to-work checks.    
• Collaborating with online platforms. The government will enter into agreements with delivery companies to strengthen identification verification and data sharing.        

These proposed reforms come amidst an increase of asylum seekers entering the United Kingdom (in over 400,000 people since 2021, from around 150,000 in the 2011-2015 period), and a decrease in deportations, which the government announcement states has strained the country and taxpayers.    

Implementation of these reforms requires rule and legislative changes involving Parliamentary debate. We will report on related developments.    

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen.