"LONDON - The British government on Monday proposed sweeping changes to its asylum policy, including headline measures such as extending the waiting time for permanent residency from five to 20 years and allowing officials to seize valuables from asylum seekers to help cover processing costs. The move comes amid mounting frustration over the Labour government's inability to curb small-boat crossings of the English Channel, where migrants often attempt the dangerous journey in overcrowded, unseaworthy boats."
"Shabana Mahmood, the British home secretary, described the reforms "an entirely new asylum model for this country" in an official document outlining the changes. "We have become the destination of choice in Europe, clearly visible to every people smuggler and would-be illegal migrant across the world," Mahmood writes. According to government figures published in a separate document, Germany, Spain, France and Italy received more asylum claims in the year ending in March 2025 than Britain."
Britain proposed major asylum-policy changes that would extend the wait for permanent residency from five to 20 years and allow officials to seize valuables from asylum seekers to help cover processing costs. The measures respond to rising small-boat crossings of the English Channel and mounting public frustration over migration. Government figures show several European countries received more asylum claims than Britain in the year ending March 2025. The plan promises a tougher approach to removing failed claimants, including some families with safe home countries. Some Labour lawmakers criticized the reforms, and the government cited Denmark as inspiration.
Read at The Washington Post
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