UK restarts refugee resettlement, prioritizing Afghan women and Palestinians

UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced Monday at the Labour Party conference that the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS) will reopen immediately after being suspended for two years. The scheme, which stopped accepting new applicants in December 2024, will prioritize Afghan women and girls alongside Palestinian refugees, with approximately 25% of arrivals expected from these groups.

The reopened scheme will offer a faster path to permanent settlement than irregular migration routes. Refugees accepted under UKRS will receive indefinite leave to remain after a five-year period, compared to ongoing status reviews for those arriving through other means. The Home Office expects arrivals to begin in the hundreds and grow to "low thousands" as illegal migration levels decline. A yearly cap will be set, though specific numbers have not yet been announced. Refugees will be identified through the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) and the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP), and will undergo security and criminality checks.

Two additional sponsorship routes will launch from next month, allowing charities, nonprofits, universities, and communities to directly sponsor refugees. A third sponsored work route for refugees is expected to follow in spring 2026. Mahmood framed the policy as balancing fairness to those who migrated legally with Britain's international obligations to protect vulnerable refugees fleeing war and persecution. She stated the system must remain "capped and controlled" and that communities must be "ready and able to welcome those who come here."

Critics and political opponents have raised concerns on multiple grounds. Immigration experts and refugee charities argued the numbers are too small to deter small boat crossings across the Channel. Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp characterized the move as a "desperate attempt to appease" Labour members critical of Mahmood's asylum reforms. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage stated the UK is "not obligated to take in more migrants." Some campaigners also noted that Afghan women, girls, and people with disabilities—groups prioritized in the scheme—are statistically more likely to depend on welfare support. The reopening comes after the abrupt closure of the Afghan Resettlement Programme last year, which had resettled over 39,000 people following the Taliban takeover.