Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how reducing refugee protection to 30 months aligns with wider Government aims of improving integration and social cohesion.

The November 2025 Asylum Policy Statement set out plans to restore order and increase public confidence in the integrity of the asylum system. The reforms aim to balance increased control over those entering the UK by irregular means with successful integration for those granted protection, enabling people to contribute positively to society. Integration brings significant benefits for individuals, taxpayers, and communities.

Under Core Protection, protection will be granted for the duration of need, lasting only until a refugee can safely return home. We have started to implement these changes. Adults and accompanied children claiming asylum from 2 March 2026 will receive a 30-month period of protection, if granted. This change marks the start of introducing a new regime for those seeking protection in the UK.

Individuals will need to apply to renew their status every 30 months. Before their permission to stay expires, an individual must lodge the relevant application to renew their permission to stay under the Immigration Rules in place at the relevant time to continue to receive their associated entitlements of right to work and access to public funds. The HO will also assess whether an individual’s protection needs are ongoing for example, if there has been a significant and durable change in the country situation. At a 30-month review, refugees with a continuing need of sanctuary will have their protection renewed, while those who no longer have a protection need will be expected to return home.

The approach to reviewing status will be efficient and targeted; we will reassess where country conditions or personal circumstances have changed significantly. We will build on the efficiencies that have already seen record levels of initial decisions being made. We will continue to monitor staffing levels and will deploy our workforce flexibly subject to business needs as we have done in the past.

We do not want people to remain on Core Protection for the long term, and only those who do remain on Core Protection will have their protection needs regularly reviewed. We will encourage refugees to switch out of the Core Protection route wherever possible into the new, Protection, Work and Study route, as part of the “core protection model”.

This new route will be created as an alternative to Core Protection for those who can contribute through work or study - directing people back into a controlled migration system, that they have otherwise stepped around. This is fairer and will contribute to better social cohesion. We want to encourage as many refugees as possible to switch from Core Protection into this new Protection, Work and Study route. That is why there is no limit to the number of refugees who can switch into this route and unlock additional entitlements, such as a shorter route to settlement and ability to sponsor family members, and to integrate more fully into the communities providing them sanctuary.

Those on the Protection, Work and Study Route will not undergo a safe, return review every 30 months as under Core Protection, provided that they continue in employment or education and successfully renew their leave on that basis. We will set out the rules of these routes in due course.

The Home Office is committed to changing the way we deliver our protection offer. We will continue to monitor the impact of this policy as it is developed and implemented. As with all significant policy changes, the proposals will be subject to impact assessments which will include considering the impact on integration and ensuring value for money. Equalities considerations are at the front and centre of our work. As required through the Public Sector Equality Duty, Home Office officials consider equality impacts throughout the policy development process, and the impact that asylum reforms will have on those with protected characteristics, is no exception.

The asylum and protection measures in the Bill, are just one aspect of wider reforms to transform the asylum system. The impact assessment will be completed once the whole model is fully designed. We are committed to ensuring that proposals are considered carefully, so that they support creation of a system which is both fair and sustainable.

Further details will be set out in future Immigration Rules changes.