Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, within the context of her asylum statement on 17 November 2025, if those arriving in the UK via safe and legal routes to seek asylum will have to wait for 20 years for indefinite settled status if they are recognised as refugees.

Our intention is that individuals arriving through reformed Safe and Legal resettlement routes will follow a ten-year path to settlement with the possibility of reducing this period based on contribution, in line with wider settlement reforms. This approach is subject to further consultation.

We are introducing transformative changes to Safe and Legal routes that will fundamentally reshape how the UK offers opportunities to refugees. Work is underway at pace to operationalise these new routes, and further details will be provided in due course.