UK announces reopening of refugee resettlement scheme

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has announced the reopening of the UK Resettlement Scheme, which stopped taking new applicants in December 2024. The Home Office says it will reopen immediately. An annual limit on arrivals is planned, but its size has not yet been announced. [1]

Mahmood hopes that offering “safe and legal” routes will deter Channel small-boat crossings. She said Britain should help people fleeing war and persecution, but that assistance must be “capped and controlled”. The Home Office expects Afghan women and girls and Palestinians, taken together, to account for about a quarter of arrivals under the reopened scheme. [1]

Hundreds of people are expected to arrive through the scheme and three new sponsorship routes. Communities, universities and companies are due to host refugees through the new routes from 2027. The Home Office expects arrivals to rise to the “low thousands” as illegal migration falls. People using these safe and legal routes are due to have a five-year path to permanent settlement. [1]