Shabana Mahmood Insists Refugee Routes 'Must Be Capped and Controlled' as UK Welcomes Afghan Women and Palestinians

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is set to reopen the UK Resettlement Scheme, with vulnerable Afghan women and girls and Palestinian refugees among those prioritised under new plans.

The scheme stopped accepting new referrals in December 2024 and will initially accept refugees in the hundreds. The Government says places could later rise into the low thousands if irregular migration falls, with an annual cap and mandatory identity, security, suitability and criminality checks before applicants travel to the UK.

Speaking at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool, Mahmood told delegates that safe and legal routes must be 'capped and controlled', arguing that the UK can meet its humanitarian obligations while maintaining limits on refugee admissions. Around one in four arrivals are expected to be Afghan women and girls or Palestinians.

Afghan Women and Palestinians Prioritised

Refugees will be identified through the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP), with priority also given to people with disabilities and other vulnerable applicants.

The resettlement scheme is separate from the asylum system, providing a managed route for refugees selected before travelling to the UK rather than for people who claim protection after arriving.

Family units will be able to relocate together, although extended relatives remain excluded under the Government's tighter family reunion rules.

Those admitted through the scheme will begin a five-year route to permanent settlement. By contrast, refugees who arrive through irregular routes and are granted asylum will have their protection status reviewed every 30 months for up to 20 years.

Mahmood is also expected to tell delegates that public support for helping people fleeing war and persecution depends on communities being able to accommodate new arrivals.

Community and Work Routes To Follow

The resettlement programme forms part of a wider expansion of safe and legal pathways.

From October, charities and non-profit organisations will be able to sponsor refugees through a community scheme, while universities will participate in a student route. The first arrivals are expected from autumn 2027.

A separate work sponsorship route is due to open in spring 2027, with sponsors providing accommodation, integration support and help into employment. Ministers say the routes are intended to offer alternatives to irregular journeys while remaining subject to overall numerical limits.

Experts Question the Scheme's Scale

Migration experts and refugee charities have questioned whether the initial number of places will be large enough to reduce irregular Channel crossings.

Madeleine Sumption, director of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, said the scheme's impact would depend largely on how many refugees were admitted. She also said prioritising highly vulnerable people could increase costs because some may face greater barriers to employment.

Jon Featonby, chief policy analyst at the Refugee Council, welcomed the expansion of safe routes but argued that thousands of places, rather than hundreds, would be needed to make a meaningful impact on people-smuggling networks.

The Government maintains that expanding legal routes should go hand in hand with limits on overall admissions, while refugee organisations argue the policy's success will ultimately depend on its scale.