British MPs from a variety of political parties have urged the government to improve safe and legal pathways for refugees, claiming that the absence of good alternatives is fueling illegal migration. Their research calls for urgent reforms and draws attention to the UK’s inability to meet current resettlement targets for refugees.
Co-chaired by Labour MP Laura Kyrke Smith and Lord Alf Dubs, the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Refugees has made proposals to improve the UK’s strategy for family reunion and resettlement. The report calls for a more organized and uniform response, highlighting severe backlogs, restrictive policies, and unequal treatment of various groups seeking sanctuary.
UK Failing to Meet Refugee Resettlement Commitments
The UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS) has continuously failed to meet its goal of bringing 5,000 people to the UK each year. Only 435 individuals were placed under the program in the year ending in September 2024, which made MPs question its efficacy.
The paper also highlights the glaring disparities in the UK’s responses to refugees from various crises. The reaction to Afghan refugees has been far more restricted than that to the tens of thousands of Ukrainians who were welcomed under nationality-specific programs after Russia’s invasion. Only a small portion of the 20,000 spaces offered under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) have been filled, and many Afghans are still entering through perilous Channel crossings.
Additionally, the family reunion system faces severe delays, with over 11,000 applications currently backlogged. The APPG has recommended changes to immigration rules, particularly to allow unaccompanied refugee children in the UK to sponsor their close family members—a right not currently granted to them.
Mps Call for Structured Legal Routes to Prevent Irregular Migration
The lack of accessible legal pathways has been identified as a driving force behind irregular migration. The APPG report states that those fleeing conflict or persecution, who do not qualify for nationality-specific schemes, face limited legal means to seek asylum in the UK. This, MPs argue, forces many to turn to dangerous and illegal routes, including Channel crossings.
Concerns have been raised by the UK government‘s recent actions to stop people smuggling, which include making endangering lives at sea a crime that carries a maximum five-year prison sentence. The head of the Refugee Council, Enver Solomon, cautioned that instead of focusing just on smuggling networks, such actions might lead to the prosecution of refugees themselves.
In support of the government’s strategy, a Home Office spokesperson said: “The UK has a proud history of giving sanctuary and ranks sixth in the world for refugee resettlement.” MPs contend that vulnerable people will still be compelled to travel in perilous situations until the current system is changed.
The goal of the APPG’s suggestions is to lessen dependency on illicit crossings by offering substitute legal pathways, such as the implementation of a humanitarian visa pilot program for refugees from Sudan and Eritrea.
In order to guarantee that individuals in need of protection have safe and organized routes to the UK, the study calls on the government to reaffirm its commitment to resettlement.
