UK to introduce 20-year path to settlement: What Budapest’s international community should know
The British government has announced a sweeping overhaul of its asylum system, introducing temporary refugee status and extending the route to permanent settlement from five years to 20. The reforms, modelled partly on Denmark’s highly restrictive approach, represent the most significant tightening of the UK’s migration rules in decades.
Temporary protection and repeated reviews
Under the new plan, refugees in the UK will no longer receive long-term protection. Instead, their status will be temporary, regularly reviewed, and revocable if their home country is later deemed safe. British Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood told Sky News that this marks the end of a system where settlement after five years was “effectively automatic.”
Refugee status would now be reviewed every two and a half years, with a 20-year wait required before individuals could apply for permanent settlement. Rights organisations in the UK have strongly criticised the move, arguing that prolonged uncertainty does not deter those fleeing war or persecution, 444.hu writes.
Cutting support for some asylum seekers
The British Home Office also confirmed it would remove the statutory duty to provide housing and weekly financial support to certain asylum seekers. The cuts target those who are legally allowed to work but do not do so, as well as asylum seekers who break the law.
Taxpayer-funded support, the ministry said, will be focused on people who contribute to the economy and local communities: another shift inspired by Denmark’s restrictive model, where support is conditional and temporary residency must be renewed every two years.
Political pressure behind the overhaul
The Labour-led government has toughened its immigration stance in response to rising political pressure, particularly over small-boat crossings from France. The growing popularity of Reform UK, a party that has made immigration central to its platform, has further accelerated the government’s shift.
Between April 2024 and March 2025, the UK received 109,343 asylum applications, a 17% increase compared to the previous year and 6% above the previous peak in 2002, according to Reuters.
Mahmood is expected to announce further details, including changes to how the UK interprets Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects the right to family life.
Why this matters for people in Budapest
While the reforms were announced in London, they may be relevant for Budapest’s growing international and expat community. Many people in the Hungarian capital maintain professional, academic, or family links with the UK, and stricter settlement rules could affect those planning long-term moves or family reunification in the future.
Immigration lawyers working with clients in Central Europe note that such changes generally result in longer, more complex pathways for anyone, regardless of nationality, seeking legal residency in the UK.
European trend toward stricter systems
The UK government said it aims to “match and in some areas exceed” the standards of countries like Denmark, where refugee status is temporary, support is conditional, and rejected applicants are widely removed. Danish policies have pushed asylum numbers to a 40-year low but have also drawn widespread criticism from rights groups for creating long-term insecurity for migrants.
Just… LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!!!!!
That is 20 years too late –
Islam has not changed in a thousand years and there is little that can be done to stop it The UKs 6 largest cities have muslim mayors – that means they have control of the police and law. Thousands of brits are being arrested for something that said online- thats insane, interesting it never mentioned here.