Sex offenders to be stripped of refugee protections
Foreign nationals who commit sex offences will be excluded from asylum protections in the UK as part of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill
Tougher border security measures will keep British streets safer, with foreign sex offenders to be excluded from refugee protections as the government announces new measures to slash the asylum backlog and strengthen border security through the Plan for Change.
At present, the Refugee Convention entitles countries to refuse asylum to terrorists, war criminals and individuals convicted of a ‘particularly serious crime’ who present a danger to the community – defined in the UK as an offence carrying a sentence of 12 months or more.
For the first time, any conviction of a crime that qualifies a foreign national for the sex offenders register will lead to them being denied refugee status, toughening our approach to border security through stricter enforcement of the rules.
The law change, which will be introduced through a new amendment to the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, also marks a further step in the government’s landmark mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, making Britain’s streets safer and sending a clear message that sexual offences will be treated with the seriousness they deserve.
The new law comes alongside stronger measures to cut the asylum backlog and save taxpayer money, by giving the tribunals a new target to reduce the time they take to consider appeals from asylum seekers in accommodation, as well as rolling out artificial intelligence (AI) across asylum processing to speed up decision making.
Under the new measures, the first-tier Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber will have a new 24-week target to decide appeals brought by those receiving accommodation support, or who are foreign offenders. This will help stop lengthy legal battles, moving failed asylum seekers out of hotels faster and removing those with no right to be in the country.
The bill will also introduce tougher measures to weed out people who pose as immigration lawyers or advisers, by offering ‘advice’ to migrants on how to claim asylum in the UK and lodge fraudulent claims. The Immigration Advice Authority (IAA) will get expanded powers to hit these crooks with fines of up to £15,000.
Major progress has already been made in fixing the foundations of the asylum system under the new government, with the return of more than 24,000 people with no right to be in the UK in the first 9 months after the election, including a 16% increase in removals of foreign criminals, and asylum decision-making up 52% in the last 3 months of 2024.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said:
"We are restoring order to a broken asylum system that has been mired in delay and dysfunction for far too long, and we are strengthening our system to make sure that the rules are respected and enforced.
"Sex offenders who pose a risk to the community should not be allowed to benefit from refugee protections in the UK. We are strengthening the law to ensure these appalling crimes are taken seriously.
"Nor should asylum seekers be stuck in hotels at the taxpayers’ expense during lengthy legal battles. That is why we are changing the law to help clear the backlog, end the use of asylum hotels and save billions of pounds for the taxpayer.
"This is part of our Plan for Change to strengthen our borders, make our streets safer and restore order to the broken system the last government left behind."
Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls Minister Jess Philips said:
"We are determined to achieve our mission of halving violence against women and girls in a decade.
"That’s exactly why we are taking action to ensure there are robust safeguards across the system, including by clamping down on foreign criminals who commit heinous crimes like sex offences.
"It is right we ensure that convicted, registered sex offenders are not entitled to refugee status, as part of our work to see these awful crimes treated with the seriousness they deserve and perpetrators held to account."
Alongside these measures, AI will be deployed to support caseworkers to make swifter decisions on asylum claims – preventing asylum seekers from being stuck in limbo at the taxpayers’ expense, delivering quicker answers to those in need and removal of those with no right to be here.
Caseworkers will use AI to speed up access to the relevant country advice, and summarise lengthy interview transcripts, streamlining asylum processing without compromising on the quality of human decisions. The tech could save decision makers up to an hour per case.
As announced last month, alongside these critical measures to reform the asylum system, the government will also table an amendment to the bill which requires companies hiring people in the gig economy to carry out checks confirming that anyone working in their name is eligible to work in the UK, bringing them in line with other employers.
These vital checks confirm someone’s immigration status and allow them to legally work in the UK, meaning that for the very first time, employment checks will be extended to cover businesses hiring gig economy and zero-hours workers in sectors like construction, food delivery, beauty salons and courier services.
In addition to these measures, the landmark Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill will empower law enforcement to intervene faster and more effectively, using counterterror-style powers to disrupt the people-smuggling gangs and placing restrictions on foreign offenders living in the community, including mandatory electronic tags, strict night-time curfews and enforced exclusion zones while awaiting removal.
From: Home Office, Jess Phillips MP and The Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP