By Fatma Younis
The United Nations refugee agency has raised significant concerns over a UK government plan that would require refugees arriving by irregular means to wait up to 30 years before applying for settlement.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood unveiled the strategy this week, maintaining rigorous rules for those who arrive via small boats or concealed in lorries, while introducing a carve-out for care workers to apply for indefinite leave to remain after five years.
Under the "earned settlement" proposal, refugees can reduce the 30-year upper limit by entering work or study, but a 10-year penalty applies to those who arrive on small boats rather than through safe and legal routes. The government has significantly reduced legal routes, limiting access to a small minority of people seeking sanctuary.
UNHCR Warns of Detrimental Impact
UNHCR said the extended qualifying period for settlement, combined with short-term stay arrangements and previous changes that could preclude many from citizenship, is likely to be detrimental to refugees' sense of security, belonging, and stability. The agency emphasized that refugees are not migrants and that settlement plays an important role in safety.
Advocacy Groups Condemn Policy
Kamena Dorling, director of policy at the Helen Bamber Foundation, described the plan as inhumane and warned it would cause profound harm to refugees, including survivors of torture and trafficking. She said the policy would not deter people fleeing war and persecution, and would punish those who have already endured unimaginable harm.
