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Mahmood to open new fast-track legal route for refugees

Story by Charles Hymas
• 6h • 3 min read



Shabana Mahmood is to announce a new legal route for vulnerable refugees that will fast-track them to permanent settlement - PA/Gareth Fuller

Shabana Mahmood is to announce a new legal route for vulnerable refugees that will fast-track them to permanent settlement in the UK.
The Home Secretary will use her speech to the Labour Party conference on Monday to announce that she will reopen the UK resettlement scheme.
The scheme is targeted at the most vulnerable refugees, such as women and girls in Afghanistan, Palestinians with critical medical needs and victims of torture.

They will be entitled to immediate indefinite leave to remain – unlike other refugees whose status is reviewed every 30 months – effectively putting them on a fast track to settlement and citizenship.
The move will be seen as an attempt by Ms Mahmood to win over critics of her approach to immigration amid a rebellion against her plans to force migrant workers and other asylum seekers to wait longer for the right to settle in the UK.
The Home Secretary will say that a tougher migration system, combined with a new scheme for the most vulnerable, will ensure that there is still broad support for helping refugees.



Migrants arrive on small boats at Dover on Sunday - Stuart Brock

“Fairness is what unites us in this country. A fair society is what unlocks the very best of us. Because when people think this country is fair, they are more open and generous to others. When this country feels unfair, people turn inwards. They grow less willing to tolerate difference, she will say.

“I know the British people have not given up on their belief that we should be compassionate, live up to our international obligations and save the lives of those fleeing war and persecution. But I also know this process must be capped and controlled, and communities must be ready and able to welcome those who come here.
“This is what we can do and who we can be as we restore control to our borders, bear down on the small boat crossings, and unlock the inherent generosity of this country.”
The Home Office expects about one in four arrivals under the UK resettlement scheme, which was frozen two years ago, to be Afghan women and girls and Palestinian refugees.
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) identifies the most vulnerable refugees globally and refers them to the UK government.
The numbers will initially be very small and capped each year, which critics are likely to argue will be insufficient to act as a deterrent to small boat crossings. Potential refugees will also have to undergo rigorous security and criminality checks.

Bring to UK from conflict zones

Ms Mahmood will also announce the formal opening of a Ukrainian-style sponsorship scheme for households and communities to bring thousands of refugees to the UK from conflict zones around the world.
There will be an annual cap on numbers through the “named sponsorship” scheme, which will be modelled on Canada’s community sponsorship scheme. This allows people to privately sponsor refugees by committing to providing financial, emotional and settlement support for an initial 12 months after a refugee arrives in the country.
It will be similar to the Homes for Ukraine programme that was introduced following Russia’s invasion in 2022, enabling households to sponsor Ukrainian refugees to come to the UK on temporary visas.
The scheme sponsored more than 200,000 Ukrainians and is viewed by Home Office officials as a better model than the existing community sponsorship scheme which resettled just 1,034 refugees between 2016 and 2023.

The scheme will resettle refugees who are fleeing their country because of conflict, famine, drought and other disasters and are referred to the UK by the UNHCR.
Refugees likely to be prioritised under the scheme will be those identified as most in need from countries such as Sudan and Eritrea, whose citizens account for the largest number of small boat arrivals.

Mahmood to open new fast-track legal route for refugees