Migrants arriving via legal routes to be given indefinite leave

Refugees arriving in the UK will be given the right to remain permanently, under a new system the home secretary has described as "fair but firm".

Those fleeing war or persecution who come through the "safe and legal resettlement route" will be given indefinite leave to remain.

Currently, resettled refugees are allowed to stay in the UK for five years, after which they can apply for indefinite leave to remain.

Patel said: "Our New Plan For Immigration will make big changes, building a new system that is fair but firm. We will continue to encourage asylum via safe and legal routes whilst at the same time toughening our stance towards illegal entry and the criminals that endanger life by enabling it.

It comes after it was revealed that the home secretary was also considering sending asylum seekers to Gibraltar and the Isle Of Man while their applications are processed.

The government is also proposing making family reunification of refugees, i.e., chain migration, easier.

Asylum seekers will be asked to make refugee applications overseas first before arriving in the UK, according to The Telegraph.

Priority will be given to asylum seekers in conflict zones, rather than those “already in safe European countries”.

The government has not stated whether refugee status could be removed under the new rules if the situation in a home country changed. The indefinite leave to remain documents, which have not been updated since 2019, state that ILR can be “revoked” if a holder “were granted leave as a refugee and cease to be a refugee”.

In October 2020, the government bragged that Britain “resettles more refugees than any other country in Europe”, announcing this month it had taken in 20,000 Syrians since 2015.