Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood unveils new UK refugee sponsorship routes

The UK government announced that Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood will introduce "capped safe and legal" routes for refugees. Community groups, universities and employers will be able to sponsor eligible people, a scheme modelled on Canada’s community‑sponsorship programme that has resettled around 400,000 refugees since 1979. Applications for the university‑sponsored route are expected to open later this year with the first arrivals anticipated in 2027; an employer‑sponsored work route is planned for the following year.

At the same time, a forthcoming Immigration and Asylum Bill will tighten human‑rights and modern‑slavery provisions, narrow the definition of family to immediate relatives, and make deportations easier. The bill also creates a new Independent Immigration Appeals Authority, aimed at speeding up the backlog of more than 150,000 asylum cases and removing up to 45,000 failed claimants and foreign offenders. Expansion of removal centres such as Campsfield and Haslar is also planned.

The reforms come as Prime Minister Keir Starmer prepares to resign and former Manchester mayor Andy Burnham is tipped to succeed him, intensifying political debate over immigration policy and its impact on public finances and public confidence in the asylum system.