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Key takeaways from the Home Secretary’s Statement on Asylum Reforms: 30-months permission to stay for new claims and transitional arrangements for pending cases
Oliver Oldman
Today, the Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood made a statement to Parliament in which she set out, in brief terms, the changes that are being made to the UK asylum system. The statement brings some welcome clarity for asylum seekers, but the position for existing refugees remains uncertain
The takeaways
The statement contains four important takeaways:
1. Adults and accompanied children who claim asylum from today (2 March 2026 inclusive) will receive a 30-month period of protection if granted, as opposed to 5 years.
2. The new “core protection” model will be introduced this week, in accordance with which certain refugees will need to complete an extended period of 20 years in the UK before they can apply for settlement (indefinite leave to remain), up from the existing 5 year period.
3. There “will be transitional provisions for people who submitted an asylum claim before today, so that existing rules continue to apply,” which indicates that anyone who by 2 March 2026 has already registered their asylum claim will be granted 5 years leave to remain if their claim is successful, as opposed to 30 months.
4. Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children will still be granted 5 years leave to remain if their claims are granted, even if their claims were registered on or after 2 March 2026.
The statement also reaffirms that “new routes” will be created for those who can “contribute through work or study,” which according to the government’s November 2025 announcement, in which it was referred to as the “Protection Work and Study” route, could reduce the qualifying period for settlement from 20 years.
How will the announcements affect refugees who have already been recognised and granted 5 years permission to stay?
The Home Secretary has not directly addressed the situation for the hundreds of thousands of refugees in the UK who have been granted 5 years leave to remain but have not yet reached the point of applying for settlement. The indication that there will be transitional arrangements for those with pending claims could suggest that the forthcoming reforms might preserve the current entitlement for refugees to apply for settlement after completing 5 years in the UK - an outcome that we would welcome.
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