Mahmood to Reopen UK Refugee Resettlement Scheme in Bid to Curb Small Boat Crossings

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is set to announce the reopening of a refugee resettlement programme that will offer what she describes as "safe and legal" routes into the United Kingdom, a move she argues will help reduce the number of migrants attempting dangerous crossings of the English Channel in small boats.

The UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS), which stopped accepting new applications in December 2024, will reopen with immediate effect, according to the Home Office. Officials expect several hundred people to arrive through the programme, with numbers potentially rising into the "low thousands" as irregular migration figures decline.

In a speech planned for Monday at the Labour Party conference, Mahmood is expected to frame the decision around principles of fairness and national responsibility. She will argue that Britain should "live up to our international obligations" by assisting those escaping war and persecution, while insisting that any such process must remain "capped and controlled."

The Home Office has indicated that roughly a quarter of those arriving under the reopened scheme will be Afghan women and girls as well as Palestinians. This prioritisation reflects broader humanitarian concerns about the treatment of women under Taliban rule in Afghanistan and the ongoing displacement crisis affecting Palestinian populations.

Alongside the UKRS, three new sponsorship routes are being introduced. These will allow communities, universities, and private companies to host refugees beginning next year. The sponsorship model is intended to distribute the responsibility of integration across civil society rather than concentrating it solely on the state.

A cap on annual arrivals will be established, though the government has not yet disclosed specific figures. Those who enter Britain through these legal pathways will be placed on a five-year track toward permanent settlement, offering them a clearer and more secure future than the irregular routes that many currently attempt.

The timing of the announcement is significant. More than 18,500 people have crossed the Channel in small boats this year, a substantial decrease compared to the more than 32,000 recorded during the same period in 2025. Mahmood's team appears to be positioning the resettlement scheme as part of a broader strategy to regain control of the border while simultaneously offering humanitarian alternatives.

In her conference speech, Mahmood is expected to say that communities "must be ready and able to welcome those who come here." She will also emphasise that the approach represents "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 political reaction has been swift and divided. Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp accused Mahmood of making a "desperate attempt to appease" critics within her own party who have expressed concerns about her broader asylum reforms. He argued that no additional migrants or asylum seekers should be admitted, regardless of their circumstances, until illegal immigration is reduced to near zero.

Philp also claimed that Mahmood is "running scared of Angela Rayner and the Labour left," suggesting that internal party tensions are driving policy decisions. Rayner, the housing secretary, has publicly criticised Mahmood's plans to extend the qualification period for permanent residence. The government intends to double the waiting time for most migrant workers from five years to ten, and for refugees it could extend to twenty years.

Rayner has warned against shifting "the goalposts years down the line" for individuals who arrived in the UK earlier this decade and who expected to secure permanent residence under the existing rules. Her criticism, renewed on the eve of the Labour conference in Liverpool, highlights the delicate balancing act the government faces between tightening immigration controls and maintaining its humanitarian commitments.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage also weighed in, stating that the UK is "not obligated to take in more migrants." He said that if his party were in power, those arriving under Labour's schemes would "not be able to stay." Farage called for a general election if Labour believes the public supports what he characterised as "open borders policies."

Farage additionally referenced a Sunday Times report about a former bodyguard to the leader of Hamas who secured asylum and British citizenship before allegedly plotting an attack against Jewish people in Europe. The newspaper reported that the man moved to the UK over a decade ago and now faces extradition to Germany. Farage used the case to argue that the current asylum system is failing to screen out security threats.

The Refugee Council offered a more measured response. Chief policy analyst Jon Featonby welcomed the new proposals but pointed out that they follow a "drastic reduction in safe routes over the last year." He stressed that safe and legal pathways are essential for undermining the business model of people smugglers, but they only work effectively when operated at scale.

Featonby urged the government to demonstrate greater ambition, arguing that thousands of places are needed rather than hundreds. He also called for the immediate reopening of refugee family reunion routes, which were suspended in September 2025. That suspension left many families separated and unable to reunite through official channels.

Flora Alexander, executive director of the International Rescue Committee UK, also welcomed the government's decision to prioritise Afghan women and girls and Palestinians through the UKRS. She described the scheme as a "well-established safe route" that helps people rebuild their lives in Britain, but cautioned that it requires significant expansion to make a meaningful difference.

The UKRS has resettled 4,589 refugees since its launch in 2021. Previous safe and legal routes have included programmes for Afghans following the Taliban takeover, Ukrainians affected by Russia's full-scale invasion, and British National (Overseas) passport holders from Hong Kong. More than 39,000 people arrived under the Afghan Resettlement Programme, though those schemes were either closed or discontinued by July 2025.

As the Labour conference unfolds in Liverpool, the debate over immigration policy is likely to intensify. The government's decision to reopen the UKRS while simultaneously tightening settlement rules reflects an attempt to navigate between humanitarian obligations, public concerns about border control, and internal party disagreements. Whether these measures will effectively reduce small boat crossings or merely shift the political conversation remains to be seen.