LONDON: Britain will reduce protections for refugees under plans to overhaul its asylum system, the government announced on Saturday. The measures, which will include forcing refugees to return to their home countries once they are deemed safe, were announced as the government faces mounting pressure over irregular migration. &quot;I&#39;ll end the UK&#39;s &lsquo;golden ticket&rsquo; for asylum seekers,&quot; Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood declared in a statement. Presently, those given refugee status have it for five years, after which they can apply for indefinite leave to remain and eventually citizenship. But Mahmood&#39;s ministry, known as the Home Office, said it would cut the length of refugee status to 30 months. That protection will be &quot;regularly reviewed,&quot; and refugees will be forced to return to their home countries once they are deemed safe, it added. The ministry also said that it intended to make those refugees who are granted asylum wait 20 years before applying to be allowed to live in the UK long-term, instead of the current five. The Home Office called the proposals the &quot;largest overhaul of asylum policy in modern times.&quot; Starmer, elected last summer, is under pressure to stop migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats from France, something that also troubled his Conservative predecessors. More than 39,000 people, many fleeing conflict, have arrived this year following such dangerous journeys &mdash; more than for the whole of 2024 but lower than the record set in 2022. The crossings are helping fuel the popularity of Reform, led by firebrand Nigel Farage, which has led Labour by double-digit margins in opinion polls for most of this year. Asylum claims in Britain are at a record high, with some 111,000 applications made in the year to June 2025, according to official figures. Benefits not guaranteedThe Home Office called the new proposals, which Mahmood is due to lay out in Parliament on Monday, the &ldquo;largest overhaul of asylum policy in modern times.&rdquo; It said the reforms would make it less attractive for irregular migrants to come to Britain and make it easier to remove those already in the country. A statutory legal duty to provide support to asylum seekers, introduced in a 2005 law, would also be revoked, the ministry said. That means housing and weekly financial allowances would no longer be guaranteed for asylum seekers. It would be &ldquo;discretionary,&rdquo; meaning the government could deny assistance to any asylum seeker who could work or support themselves but did not, or to those who committed crimes. Starmer, elected last summer, is under pressure to stop migrants from crossing the English Channel in small boats from France, something that also troubled his Conservative predecessors. Danish crackdownMore than 39,000 people, many fleeing conflict, have arrived this year following such dangerous journeys &mdash; more than for the whole of 2024 but lower than the record set in 2022. The crossings are helping fuel the popularity of Reform, led by firebrand Nigel Farage, which has trailed Labour in double-digit margins in opinion polls for most of this year. Labour is taking inspiration from Denmark&rsquo;s coalition government &mdash; led by the centre-left Social Democrats &mdash; which has implemented some of the strictest migration policies in Europe. Senior British officials recently visited the Scandinavian country, where successful asylum claims are at a 40-year low. Refugees in Denmark are entitled to a one-year renewable residency permit and are encouraged to return home as soon as authorities deem there is no longer a need for a safe haven. Family reunions are also subject to strict requirements, including minimum age requirements for both parents, language tests, and financial guarantees. Britain&rsquo;s Mahmood is also expected to announce a tightening of rules around family reunions. Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, urged the government to rethink its plans, saying they &ldquo;will not deter&rdquo; the crossings. &ldquo;They should ensure that refugees who work hard and contribute to Britain can build secure, settled lives and give back to their communities,&rdquo; he said. Labor&rsquo;s more left-wing lawmakers will probably oppose the plans, fearing that the party is losing voters to progressive alternatives such as the Greens.

FILE PHOTO - UK-funded food vouchers are distributed to Syrian refugees in Amman, Jordan, through the World Food Programme (Wikimedia Commons)

United Kingdom

Britain will reduce protections for refugees under plans to overhaul its asylum system, the government announced.

UK to cut protections for refugees under asylum 'overhaul'

Muhammad Usman Amin

ISLAMABAD: Germany Federal Ministry of the Interior Spokesperson Elena Singer stated on Wednesday, in an exclusive comment to Pakistan TV Digital, that it has held talks with Afghanistan&rsquo;s de facto authorities to establish a formal process for deporting Afghan nationals.&nbsp;Speaking to Pakistan TV Digital, the ministry spokesperson confirmed that discussions were held at a technical level with Kabul&rsquo;s de facto authorities to create a structured mechanism for deporting Afghan migrants from Germany.&nbsp;This development follows recent reports that Germany had offered certain Afghan individuals in Pakistan, who had been shortlisted for asylum in Germany. This includes a sum of &euro;1,500 to forgo relocation to Germany and remain in Pakistan, or &euro;5,000 to return to Afghanistan, a move that has caused dismay among asylum hopefuls.&nbsp;In an official statement to Pakistan TV Digital, the spokesperson confirmed the new government&rsquo;s policy to repatriate Afghan citizens, a move signaling a controversial engagement with the Taliban.&nbsp;&ldquo;The Federal Government is currently holding talks with the Afghan de facto authorities in order to establish a return mechanism that will allow the regular repatriation of Afghan citizens,&rdquo; said Singer.&nbsp;The ministry stated that this policy is part of the government&rsquo;s &ldquo;coalition agreement.&rdquo;&nbsp;The incumbent Friedrich Merz-led government in Germany, a coalition between the Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats, signed an agreement during their campaign pledging to take a tougher stance on migration and to resume deportations of Afghans and Syrians. This marks a departure from the previous administration, which had promised not to carry out such deportations.&nbsp;The statement further noted that deportations &ldquo;will be resumed, starting with criminals and persons considered a potential threat.&rdquo;&nbsp;This new diplomatic engagement follows a precedent set in July 2025, when &ldquo;a first return operation under the current government took place, during which 81 Afghan citizens who had committed serious crimes in Germany were repatriated.&rdquo;&nbsp;Previously, deportations had been conducted with Qatar acting as an intermediary. However, this time Germany is engaging directly with the Afghan authorities.&nbsp;The goal of the new talks is to move beyond one-off operations and establish a regularized process.&nbsp;The spokesperson noted that the &ldquo;return mechanism&rdquo; is intended for Afghan citizens who &ldquo;have no legal right to stay in Germany and are required to leave the country.&rdquo;&nbsp;This could potentially mean that deportations will be expanded to include Afghans whose asylum applications have been rejected and who are therefore residing illegally in Germany.&nbsp;Moreover, the ministry&rsquo;s use of the term &ldquo;de facto authorities,&rdquo; instead of &ldquo;the Afghan government,&rdquo; when referring to the Taliban, clearly indicates that Berlin is dealing with the group in power without recognizing it as the legitimate government.&nbsp;The ministry acknowledged the sensitive nature of the negotiations, concluding that &ldquo;no further information can be provided at this stage of the talks.&rdquo;

Afghanistan

Germany’s Interior Ministry confirms holding talks with Afghanistan’s de facto authorities; purpose is to establish a formal deportation process for Afghan nationals; marking direct engagement with the Taliban after previous indirect repatriations via Qatar

Germany negotiates with Taliban over refugees but denies 'legitimacy' 

TRIPOLI: Scores of Sudanese refugees were dead or missing after two boat disasters off the coast of Libya last weekend, UN agencies said on Wednesday.One boat capsized on Saturday, according to the UN refugee agency, and a second caught fire on Sunday, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said -- each off the eastern port city of Tobruk.The first boat was carrying 74 people, &quot;mostly Sudanese refugees&quot;, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on its X account for Libya, of whom &quot;only 13 people survived and dozens remain missing&quot; from Saturday&#39;s wreck.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1968344775863791988&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fmedia-library%2F&sessionId=14c341dbfb98918785efb5bb9a0a81648663a43f&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 921px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" data-tweet-id="1968344775863791988"></iframe></div></div>An IOM spokesperson earlier told AFP that Sunday&#39;s &quot;tragic incident took place when a rubber boat carrying 75 Sudanese refugees caught fire&quot; en route to Greece, adding: &quot;At least 50 lives were lost.&quot;The UNHCR and the IOM spokesperson did not immediately provide details of the ages or gender of those on board the boats.&quot;IOM provided immediate lifesaving medical care to the 24 survivors,&quot; the spokesperson added, without clarifying if one last person was still missing from Sunday&#39;s wreck.Libya is a key transit country for thousands of migrants seeking to reach Europe by sea each year.Perilous Mediterranean crossing&nbsp;At least 456 people died and 420 were reported missing along the central Mediterranean route between January 1 and September 13, according to the IOM.Libyan authorities have so far this year intercepted and returned 17,402 migrants to Libya, including 1,516 women and 586 children.The war in neighboring Sudan has pushed over 140,000 refugees into Libya in the past two years, nearly doubling the number of Sudanese refugees in the country.Many brave difficult conditions in Libya, migrants have told AFP, while others attempt the dangerous sea crossing in a bid to reach Europe.One of the deadliestThe IOM considers the central Mediterranean crossing one of the deadliest migrant routes in the world.In 2024, 2,573 people trying to reach Europe died in the Mediterranean Sea, it said.&nbsp;

Africa

Europe

Scores of Sudanese refugees died or went missing after two boat disasters near Libya’s Tobruk port last weekend—one capsized with 74 aboard, the other caught fire with 75 on board, killing dozens.

Articles tagged with "Refugees"

UK to cut protections for refugees under asylum 'overhaul'

Germany negotiates with Taliban over refugees but denies 'legitimacy'

Scores of Sudanese refugees dead or missing in Libya boat wrecks