Refugees will be forced to return to their home countries once those are deemed safe. They will also need to wait for 20 years, instead of the current five, before they can apply for permanent residency.

At the same time, asylum seekers who use "safe and legal routes," find work and contribute to society may be able to apply to settle permanently earlier. The government said children as well as adults could also be removed under the new measures and that it would launch a consultation on the subject.

The UK Home Office also plans to impose visa penalties on countries that do not cooperate in receiving people whose asylum claims have been rejected. The measures also aim to limit the use of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights to delay deportations.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood told lawmakers the reforms, modelled on Denmark's strict asylum system, would discourage migrants from crossing the Channel from France on small boats.

More than 39,000 people, many fleeing conflict, have arrived on small boats this year -- more than for the whole of 2024. The latest Home Office figures show 111,000 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025.