Mahmood to reopen scheme to resettle refugees in the UK

Shabana Mahmood has announced the reopening of a scheme to resettle refugees in the UK, as she hopes that offering "safe and legal" routes will deter small boat crossings.

The home secretary said the UK wants to "live up to our international obligations" by helping those who are fleeing war and persecution, but the process must be "capped and controlled".

The Home Office said the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS) will reopen immediately and expects that around 25% of arrivals will be Afghan women and girls and Palestinians.

Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp said Mahmood was making a "desperate attempt to appease" people within Labour who have been critical of her asylum reforms.

Hundreds of people are expected to arrive under the UKRS, which stopped taking new applicants in December 2024, and three new sponsorship routes.

The latter will involve communities, universities and companies hosting refugees from next year.

The Home Office expects arrivals to increase to the "low thousands" as levels of illegal migration fall.

A cap will be set for each year although details of the number have yet to be provided.

People arriving in Britain under the safe and legal routes will be be put on a five-year path to permanent settlement.

Mahmood told the Labour Party conference on Monday that "fairness" is behind her approach, limits are needed and communities must be "ready and able to welcome those who come here".

She also said: "That is what we can do, this is who we can be, as we restore control to our borders, bear down on small boat crossings and unlock the inherent generosity of this country."

More than 18,500 people have crossed the Channel in small boats this year compared to more than 32,000 than the same period in 2025.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said the UK is "not obligated to take in more migrants", adding if his party was in power then those arriving under Labour's schemes would "not be able to stay".

He said: "If Labour are so sure the public wants their open borders policies, they'd call a general election to get a mandate."

In expressing his criticism, Farage also referenced a report in The Sunday Times about a former bodyguard to the leader of Hamas securing asylum and citizenship in the UK before "plotting" an attack against Jewish people in Europe.

The newspaper reported the man moved to the UK more than a decade ago and now faces extradition to Germany.

Jon Featonby, chief policy analyst at the Refugee Council, welcomed the government's new proposals but said it came after a "drastic reduction in safe routes over the last year".

He said: "Safe and legal routes are essential to undermining people smugglers' business model, but they only work if they operate at scale.

"The government has to show ambition and commitment, and that means thousands of places, not hundreds.

"Alongside any new schemes, the government must also reopen refugee family reunion without delay."

Safe and legal routes to bring refugees from other countries to the UK have included schemes helping Afghans following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, Ukrainians affected after Russia launched its full-scale invasion and British National (Overseas) passport holders from Hong Kong.

More than 39,000 people arrived under the Afghan Resettlement Programme and in July 2025 the government confirmed the schemes were either closed to new applicants or discontinued.

A scheme allowing refugees to bring their family members to the UK was paused in September 2025.

Government statistics show the UKRS resettled 4,589 refugees after its launch in 2021.

Flora Alexander, executive director of the International Rescue Committee UK, said she welcomed the government prioritising Afghan women and girls and Palestinians under the UKRS.

She described the UKRS as a "well-established safe route" to support people to "rebuild their lives in the UK", adding: "But it needs to be scaled up if it is to make a real difference."

For the Conservatives, Philp said: "We shouldn't be shipping in any more migrants or asylum seekers, no matter how deserving, until illegal immigration has been reduced to close to zero.

"Shabana Mahmood is running scared of Angela Rayner and the Labour left. She is opening up our borders even more in a desperate attempt to appease them."

Rayner, the housing secretary, renewed her criticism of Mahmood's planned changes to the asylum system on the eve of Labour's conference in Liverpool.

The government wants to double the time it takes most migrant workers to qualify for permanent residence from five years to 10 years, while in the case of refugees it could take 20 years.

Rayner warned about shifting "the goalposts years down the line" for people who arrived in the UK at the beginning of this decade, expecting to secure permanent residence under the current rules.

Settlement, also known as indefinite leave to remain, gives a person the right to live, work and study in the UK for as long as they like and apply for benefits if they are eligible.

Sign up for our Politics Essential newsletter to keep up with the inner workings of Westminster and beyond.