UN refugee agency says UK plan to make refugees wait up to 30 years for settlement ‘raises significant concerns’

Summary

The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, has said a UK government plan to make refugees wait up to 30 years before they get permission to settle in the UK ‘raises significant concerns’. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood unveiled the strategy earlier in the week as she announced a softening of aspects of her immigration plans, but kept some of the rigorous rules drawn up by her office last year, including strict rules for people who arrive on small boats. The Refugee Council has accused Mahmood of causing ‘distress and uncertainty’ to hundreds of thousands of refugees whose successful asylum applications had let them apply for indefinite leave after five years, by quietly introducing the 30-year ‘earned settlement’ plan. It says her hardening of the plans came despite her personal reassurances last year that only ‘illegal entrants who are not refugees will face a 30-year wait for settlement’.

Timeline

1. The Guardian

   4 Nov 2026, 14:20 UTCSource ↗

   The Guardian reports that UNHCR has said a government plan to make refugees wait up to 30 years before they get permission to settle in the UK ‘raises significant concerns’.

2. The Guardian

   5 Nov 2026, 13:10 UTCSource ↗

   The Guardian reports that the Refugee Council has accused Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood of causing ‘distress and uncertainty’ to hundreds of thousands of refugees by quietly introducing plans to make them wait up to 30 years before being granted the right to settle in the UK.