Shabana Mahmood declares she wants more refugees to come to Britain via legal routes

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has unveiled plans to significantly expand legal routes for refugees to reach Britain once Labour regains control of the wider asylum system.

Speaking on Matt Forde’s Political Party podcast, Ms Mahmood said her ambition to go "much bigger" on legitimate refugee pathways depends on first restoring public confidence in Britain’s migration system and breaking the business model of people-smuggling gangs.

The Home Secretary has proposed three capped schemes - one allowing refugee students to study at British universities, another for skilled workers, and a third modelled on the Homes for Ukraine programme, enabling community groups to sponsor refugees.

"I think once we've got control of our system, once we've shown our country that we can run a good migration system, we can break the business model of the gangs," she said.

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The student route is expected to launch first, with applications opening this autumn for refugee and displaced students hoping to begin university in Britain next year.

All three schemes would operate under annual caps, with only individuals already recognised as refugees eligible to enter.

Ms Mahmood argued the approach would ultimately create a more effective and generous system.

"In those systems, you accept people as refugees before they arrive, so the whole system works much better," she explained.

The proposed community sponsorship model would mirror elements of the Ukrainian refugee scheme, allowing voluntary organisations to support refugees coming to Britain.

Currently, excluding Ukraine and Hong Kong pathways, around 1,000 refugees arrived in Britain through legal routes in the year to September 2025.

The plans have already triggered backlash within Labour, with more than 100 MPs backing a letter urging ministers to rethink wider indefinite leave to remain reforms.

Calls to reverse the overhaul were backed by former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, who branded Ms Mahmood’s proposals "un-British".

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A major flashpoint is the Government’s proposal to double the standard settlement wait for most migrant workers from five years to 10, while refugees could face a 20-year path to permanent settlement.

Concerns have also been raised over proposals to apply some changes retrospectively to migrants already living in Britain.

Downing Street is said to be weighing up transitional arrangements to soften the impact.

Ms Mahmood is also pushing to remove refugees’ automatic right to permanent settlement and family reunification, with relatives only permitted to join if financial independence can be proven.

She framed her approach as a middle ground between what she described as the Green Party’s "open borders" position and Reform UK’s "racist" stance.

The Home Secretary warned that both legal and illegal migration at current levels risk undermining public trust.

"The diversity of our country, I think it's like part of our superpower," she said.

But she added: "Nothing irritates and annoys our fellow citizens more than feeling that you can break the rules and get away with it."

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