The United Kingdom is preparing to overhaul its asylum system to mirror rules set in Denmark, aiming to make it more difficult for refugees to settle in the country.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is reportedly drafting proposals that would further restrict asylum and refugee applications beyond the measures announced last May by former Home Secretary Yvette Cooper. According to the Financial Times, Mahmood’s plan is said to be informed by findings from British officials who visited Copenhagen last month to study Denmark’s asylum framework, which has been in place since 2021 and deemed successful.
Denmark’s model includes policies that make it more difficult for refugees to reunite with family members and grants only temporary residence to those fleeing conflicts, such as civil wars, until the danger in their home country subsides. These restrictions have driven asylum claims in Denmark to their lowest level in four decades.
The Labour government under Prime Minister Keir Starmer is seeking to project a tougher stance on immigration as the right-wing Reform UK party continues to gain traction among voters calling for stricter border enforcement. The UK has faced persistent surges of small boats carrying migrants from France, with crossings this year already surpassing last year’s total.
According to the Home Office, the UK has recorded more small-boat arrivals in 2025 than in all of 2024, exceeding 36,816. In 2022, more than 45,000 migrants arrived by boat.
A government source told the Financial Times that “Since coming into office, the home secretary has explored the policies implemented in Denmark closely and is considering introducing a range of policies in Britain modelled on their success.”
European Union statistics show that from January 2024 through June 2025, the top countries of origin for asylum seekers were Venezuela, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Syria. In the year leading up to June 2025, nearly half of asylum applicants in the UK were granted some form of protection following initial assessment, according to the Home Office. Rejected applicants have also had an increased success rate on appeal.
