Topper

Sir Keir Starmer says that the UK's asylum system is acting as a 'significant pull factor' for illegal immigrants because it is much more generous than the 'European mainstream' He says illegal migration is putting a 'severe strain on both our asylum system and our wider social contract' PROTECTIONS * Refugees will be given 30 months leave to remain rather than the present 5 years. It can be renewed if they are still in need of protection * Refugees must spend 20 years in UK before they can get settled status. That status will need to be 'earned' * No automatic right to bringing family members to UK * Refugees will be encouraged to move to a 'work and study' route. They would need to obtain employment or study at an appropriate level & pay a fee * Benefits will be prioritised for those making an 'economic contribution' to UK SUPPORT * The govt will end legal duty to provide asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute with support. It will be provided on a discretionary basis * Those who can work - and have a right to do so - will be denied support, including people who came to UK on student visas before claiming asylum * No support for those who 'deliberately' made themselves destitute * Support will be conditional, with sanctions for criminals & those who refuse to co-operate * People will be required to contribute towards cost of asylum support where they have assets or income * Asylum seekers could be moved out of hotels into military camps and repurposed schools, community centres, conference venues, disused industrial sites ILLEGAL WORKING * Expanded right to work checks with penalties for employers * Digital ID will be mandatory to prove right to work REMOVALS * Families whose asylum claims have been rejected will be deported if they refuse financial incentives to return home. This includes children * Return hubs with third countries * Resuming removals to countires like Syria VISA PENALTIES * Countries that fail to co-operate and facilitate return of their citizens will face visa penalties. * Returns deals will be expanded APPEALS * Fast tracking claims with low likelihood of success and those that are 'high harm cases' ie foreign offenders * A single route of appeal LEGAL REFORM * A 'fundamental reset' of Article 8 so that family only applies to immediate family * Article 8 applications can only be made by people living in the UK