Sir Keir Starmer (Labour) will present plans requiring refugees to "earn" the right to settle in the UK when he meets European leaders at the European Political Community summit in Copenhagen on Thursday. The proposals would end automatic family reunion rights for asylum seekers and introduce stricter requirements for long-term settlement.
The Government suspended new applications to the existing refugee family reunion route in September. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood will detail the full reforms later this autumn, requiring refugees to demonstrate their contribution to British society before gaining permanent status.
New settlement requirements
Under the proposed changes, migrants seeking indefinite leave to remain must be in work rather than receiving benefits, demonstrate a high standard of English and maintain a clean criminal record. They will also need to reach specific national insurance contribution levels and contribute to their local communities through work or volunteering.
Starmer said the current system is "not fit for purpose" and emphasised that settlement "must be earned by contributing to our country, not by paying a people smuggler to cross the Channel in a boat." He stressed the UK would continue welcoming "genuine refugees fleeing persecution" while addressing "pull factors" driving illegal crossings.
Western Balkans partnership
The Prime Minister will announce a new partnership with Western Balkan countries, backed by up to £3 million, designed to tackle migration causes upstream. The initiative aims to encourage people to remain in the region by creating job opportunities and addressing root causes of displacement.
Criticism from refugee groups
The Refugee Council warned the changes would push more people into using smugglers and emphasised that family reunion visas primarily support women and children. Jon Featonby, the organisation's chief policy analyst, said previous governments had tried similar approaches without success in reducing small boat numbers.
He argued the policies would "succeed in damaging integration, making refugees feel unsafe and forcing children to grow up without their parents." The organisation contends that restricting family reunion "only pushes more desperate people into the arms of smugglers."
Political opposition
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp (Conservative) dismissed the changes as a "gimmick" and called for the Human Rights Act to be repealed for immigration matters. He compared the proposals to what he termed other ineffective Labour policies, saying "tweaking family rules is another Starmer gimmick that will make no difference whatsoever."
The criticism comes as small boat arrivals have reached 34,000 in 2025 so far, marking a record for this point in the year since Channel crossing data was first recorded in 2018.
Sources used: "PA Media" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
