The reforms, announced by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, form part of the forthcoming Immigration and Asylum Bill and will introduce new sponsorship models involving universities, employers and community organisations.
“My reforms will save the asylum system for a generation,” said Mahmood. “My goal is simple: to ensure we have an asylum system not just today, but for generations to come.”
The Home Office said applications will open this autumn for organisations to become approved sponsors, with the first arrivals expected in autumn 2027. “Trusted universities” will be able to directly sponsor refugees through a dedicated study route as part of this framework.
Officials said universities will sit within a broader system of accredited “lead sponsors” approved by the Home Office. Alongside the university route, ministers will introduce a new community sponsorship scheme allowing organisations to take responsibility for supporting refugees in local areas, including housing, integration and employment support.
The Home Office said the scheme will be inspired by Canada’s community sponsorship model, which has operated since 1979 and has resettled almost 400,000 refugees. It also pointed to the UK’s Homes for Ukraine program, under which more than 270,000 Ukrainians have been supported since 2022.
Officials said the system will scale gradually: “The numbers will start small at first but build over time as public confidence is restored in Britain’s immigration system.”
This system only survives if the public trusts that it is fair, controlled, and not open to abuse
Shabana Mahmood, UK Home Office
A separate employer-led refugee work route is expected to open next year, allowing businesses to sponsor refugees for employment in the UK.
“The Home Office will retain full control over who can act as sponsors,” the department said, adding that all arrivals will be subject to “strict biometric, criminality and health checks”.
“The UK has a proud history of offering sanctuary to refugees fleeing war and persecution,” the statement read. “However, illegal Channel crossings and abuse of laws intended for those in peril are eroding public confidence in refugee protection.”
“This system only survives if the public trusts that it is fair, controlled, and not open to abuse,” said Mahmood.
The Home Office said refugee status determination will be carried out in partnership with the UNHCR to support implementation of the system.
Speaking to The PIE News, a representative from UK-based charity Refugee Education UK said: “The inclusion of universities in the government’s plans to provide safe and legal migration routes to the UK provides both a protection and education solution for talented refugee students who would otherwise have no access to higher education.
“At the same time, research conducted with other education pathways around the world shows that these education focused schemes not only benefit refugee students, but the campuses, and broader communities they are welcomed into,” they added.
“We know that many UK universities want to make a contribution to humanitarian crises in a way that moves beyond adhoc and emergency response to specific conflicts or disaster – this scheme makes this possible.”
