According to Home Office figures, 39% of the 100,000 who claimed asylum in 2025 did so after arriving via a legal migration route.<\/p>\n
A spike in asylum applications between 2021 and September last year was dominated by students from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar, and Sudan.<\/p>\n
Ms Mahmood said: “Britain will always provide refuge to people fleeing war and persecution, but our visa system must not be abused. That is why I am taking the unprecedented decision to refuse visas for those nationals seeking to exploit our generosity.”<\/p>\n
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\n Community’s concern over plans for asylum seekers\n <\/p>\n
The bans will be officially introduced on Thursday, when Ms Mahmood will lay out measures to toughen up the asylum system.<\/p>\n
They would include asylum seekers having to have their refugee status reviewed every two-and-a-half years<\/a>.<\/p>\n Refugees whose countries are deemed safe will also be expected to return home.<\/p>\n \n Can the Denmark model save Labour’s bacon?\n <\/p>\n Shabana Mahmood is a long-term admirer of how Denmark deals with asylum and immigration, and has visited since becoming home secretary.<\/p>\n Denmark’s tough stance on asylum seekers began in the mid-2010s, when Mette Frederiksen was in opposition.<\/p>\n Her party, the Social Democrats, moved to make protection for asylum seekers temporary, also arguing that uncontrolled immigration was placing huge pressure on working-class communities.<\/p>\n Since coming into office, Ms Frederiksen’s government has reduced the number of asylum applications to its lowest number in 40 years and removed 95% of rejected asylum seekers.<\/p>\n Denmark’s system also looks to deter new arrivals by largely moving to a temporary stay model, where most asylum seekers are sent back to their home country once they are deemed safe.\n<\/p>\n Read more on Sky News Ms Mahmood’s tougher approach doesn’t sit comfortably with many Labour MPs, but she has warned a failure to address the public’s concerns about immigration will lead to a right-wing government.<\/p>\n But the government is also coming under pressure from its left flank, after the Greens won the year’s first Westminster by-election<\/a>.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n \n UK to take a slice of Denmark’s immigration policy\n <\/p>\n Ms Mahmood has argued the level of illegal immigration is “creating division within communities across the country”, risking the erosion of public support for the asylum system entirely.<\/p>\n
How UK and Denmark’s immigration policies compare<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/sky-news-home-uk_7082297.jpg\")
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