Government consults on safe and legal routes for refugees to support efforts to stop the boats

• Government continues delivering on the Illegal Migration Act, giving Local Authorities opportunity to influence cap on safe and legal routes.
• The UK has a proud history of providing protection to those who need it through safe and legal routes, with places offered to over half a million men, women and children since 2015.

Local Authorities will be consulted on plans to determine an annual cap on the number of refugees resettled in the UK each year, based on the UK’s capacity to accommodate and support people coming to the UK via safe and legal routes, as government continues work to deliver its plan to stop the boats.  

The UK-wide consultation will seek to better understand the capacity of Local Authorities to accommodate and support vulnerable and at-risk people coming to the UK via safe and legal routes – with a view to the UK taking only as many refugees as local communities can support.

Local authorities play an essential role in helping to resettle refugees and ensure they have the best start to rebuild their lives in the UK, from providing housing, help and access to education and job support. However, the UK’s ability to welcome people through safe and legal routes has been impacted by the unsustainable rise in illegal crossings which has put insurmountable pressure on local public services and housing, in turn not only impacting communities but also the number of people the UK is able to provide protection to and the level of support offered to refugees.

With a clearer picture of the UK’s capacity to welcome refugees, through the cap, the government will be able to redouble efforts to help more people from all over the world to come through safe and legal routes and ensure that commitments made by councils can be met now and in the future. In turn, this will create a more sustainable and well-managed system that is fairer and prioritises both local communities and refugees.

The cap will include the main safe and legal routes used by vulnerable and at-risk people, including the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS), the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) and the Community Sponsorship Scheme.

The UK has a proud history of providing protection for those who need it and offers some of the most generous safe and legal routes anywhere. Since 2015, a safe and legal route has been offered to over half a million men, women and children seeking safety.

Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick said:

“The unacceptable number of people making illegal, dangerous and wholly unnecessary small boat crossings is placing an immense strain on housing and services across the UK.

“As part of the Illegal Migration Act to stop the boats, we will bring in a cap on our safe and legal routes informed by the capacity of Local Authorities. This will ensure that we do not take more refugees than our public services and communities can cope with and that the refugees we do decide to take can be properly supported and integrated.”

The Illegal Migration Act 2023 included provisions for a cap on the maximum number of people to come to the UK each year via safe and legal routes. While the government’s consultation is open to Local Authorities, NGOs and charities who provide accommodation and support are encouraged to work with councils to help provide a clear picture of capacity in local areas.

The cap does not include the Ukraine visa schemes, the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP), the Hong Kong British National (overseas) route or the Mandate Scheme. However, the government is also asking Local Authorities to consider the impact of these routes in their responses to ensure an accurate picture of their capacity.

The cap will be agreed in Parliament and will launch in January 2025. 

Under the cap, the number of people who can come to the UK will be able to be changed each year, taking into consideration capacity in local areas, for example in response to a humanitarian crisis.

In addition to the consultation, through the Illegal Migration Act, in January 2024, a report will be laid before Parliament which will set out what is meant by safe and legal routes, detailing existing routes and any proposed additional ones, and how they can be accessed by those most in need.

ENDS

• For more information contact the Home Office Press Office newsdesk on 0300 123 3535 or out of hours on 07623 514 628.
• More information on the UK’s safe and legal routes can be seen here: Safe and Legal (Humanitarian) Routes factsheet – August 2023 - Home Office in the media (blog.gov.uk)

UK Resettlement Scheme

• The global resettlement scheme is open to vulnerable refugees around the world. Individuals coming through this scheme are assessed and referred by the UNHCR according to their criteria, which is based on people’s needs and vulnerabilities.
• People coming via this route only move to the UK once suitable accommodation is in place for them. Since its launch in 2021, the UK has taken refugees through this route from countries including Ethiopia, Iraq, Sudan, Syria, Afghanistan, Eritrea, Somalia, South Sudan, and Yemen.
• Since the first arrivals under the new UK Resettlement scheme in March 2021, 2,307 refugees have been resettled in the UK via the UKRS, as of June 2023.

Community Sponsorship

• Community Sponsorship enables civil society - friends and neighbours, charities and faith groups - to directly support refugees resettled in the UK as they start their new lives in safety.
• • Since the scheme began in 2016, a total of 1,034 refugees have been resettled through Community Sponsorship, including 39  since the start of the ACRS, according to the latest published data (year ending March 2023).

Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme

• In January 2022, we announced the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS), one of the most generous schemes in UK history. This response to the situation in Afghanistan will give up to 20,000 people at risk a new life in the UK, through a safe and legal route.
• The ACRS prioritises those who have assisted the UK efforts in Afghanistan and stood up for values such as democracy, women’s rights and freedom of speech, or rule of law (for example, judges, women’s rights activists, academics, and journalists); and vulnerable people, including women and girls at risk, and members of minority groups at risk.
• Around 9,800 eligible people have already been granted settled status through the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS).
• Eligible people will be prioritised and referred for resettlement to the UK through one of three referral pathways. 
• • Pathway 1: 9,676 people have been granted settled status under Pathway 1, which was open to vulnerable and at-risk individuals who arrived in the UK under the evacuation programme. They include women’s rights activists, journalists, prosecutors, and Afghan family members of British nationals.
  • Pathway 2: Since September 2022 we’ve seen the first arrivals to the UK under this Pathway. Those eligible are vulnerable refugees who have fled Afghanistan and been referred by the UNHCR for resettlement to the UK. UNHCR has the global mandate to provide international protection and humanitarian assistance to refugees. UNHCR make referrals based on an assessment of protection needs and vulnerabilities, in line with their resettlement submission criteria. Further details can be found on the UNHCR website. 
  • Pathway 3: We have welcomed the first arrivals to the UK under this Pathway, which in its first stage is focused on at risk people from three groups: British Council contractors, GardaWorld contractors and Chevening alumni, from Afghanistan and the region. The government will now consider for resettlement all those who expressed interest during the FCDO’s window of opportunity and meet the eligibility requirements, subject to security and other checks. This means that the government will exceed the original allocation of 1,500 places for the first stage of this pathway. The FCDO will shortly contact all remaining individuals assessed as eligible in principle under the first stage of ACRS Pathway 3, with advice on next steps.  
  • We expect the total number of people to be offered resettlement to the UK under the first stage of Pathway 3 to not exceed 2,000. A more accurate figure will be known once all family members have been assessed for eligibility, and once security and other checks have been carried out on those assessed as eligible in principle. The overall ACRS cap of 20,000 remains in place.