New UK Asylum Rules: 30-Month Stay, Tough Debate

0:00On March 2nd, Britain's home secretary Shabbana Mahmoud just wrote out new asylum rules. From today, anyone granted asylum gets permission to stay for 30 months, then has to reapply. That's a big ship from the old setup, where refugees got five years before aiming for indefinite leave and citizenship. These changes aimed to cut pull factors for dangerous channel crossings. Officials say people must leave if their home country is safe again, with deportation for those who won't go voluntarily. But the home office admits current removal rates are low, and didn't detail how to fix that. Critics are slamming the plan as toothless. Opposition figures argue it won't slow migrant boats, while the UK stays in the European human rights treaty. They predict legal blocks from family life claims, and say only quitting the treaty would really deter arrivals. The rollout hit a snag too. What was the post to start soon now needs new laws in the autumn, pushing full changes 12 to 18 months out. Some blame pressure from within the ruling party.

1:00Still, Mahmoud calls it firm, but fair. Stressing protection for genuine refugees while tackling traffickers. As boats keep coming, the debate over real fixes heats up. Some blame pressure from within the ruling party. Still, Mahmoud calls it firm but fair. Stressing protection for genuine refugees while tackling traffickers. As boats keep coming, the debate over real fixes heats up. Stressing protection for genuine refugees while tackling traffickers.