UK Tightens Border Rules with 2025 Immigration Bill and Return Hubs

(UNITED KINGDOM) The UK’s asylum system is now shaped by the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill 2025, a sweeping package that tightens enforcement while ending the Rwanda Deportation Scheme. Introduced to Parliament on 30 January 2025, and in force as of 29 August 2025, it places border security and system integrity at the center of policy. The government is prioritising deterrence of irregular arrivals—especially small boat crossings—and faster removals of people with no right to stay.

The Home Office has not said that asylum seekers’ rights “outweigh” local concerns, but it has stressed that core protections remain while operational decisions focus on public confidence and control of the border.

Repeal of the Rwanda scheme and new return hubs

The Labour government, led by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, has repealed the Safety of Rwanda Act 2024, formally ending the Rwanda Deportation Scheme and resetting removal policy.

• Instead of offshoring people to East Africa, ministers are building a network of third-country “return hubs,” primarily in the western Balkans, intended for rejected asylum seekers who have exhausted appeals.
• Officials say this approach is paired with a drive to increase both enforced and voluntary returns, and that it is more workable, less legally risky, and cheaper than the previous plan.

Accommodation changes and local pressures

Accommodation policy has shifted. As of March 2025, most asylum seekers are staying in hotels rather than large institutional sites such as former barracks.

• Geographic concentration: London, the South East, and the East of England host the greatest numbers. London now accounts for 19% of supported asylum seekers, up from 10% in 2018.
• Costs: The Home Office reports average hotel costs of £119 per night in 2025, down from £162 in 2024.
• Despite reduced nightly costs, hotels still house nearly half of all people on asylum support.

Local councils warn that this concentration strains services and housing markets, and the bill does not directly resolve placement imbalances or guarantee extra funding for affected towns.

Support rates, work rights and removal focus

The law keeps existing limits on work rights in place.

• Work rights: Asylum seekers generally cannot work while waiting for a decision. Permission to work is possible only in narrow situations and is removed when a claim is finally refused.
• Support: Basic asylum support is £49.18 per person per week in 2025, with free accommodation for those with no means to support themselves.
• Analysis by VisaVerge.com notes the bill leans on removal pathways and support controls rather than wider permission to work, betting that tight rules will deter irregular entry more than expanded labour access would.

Process for applicants — clear but strict

The day-to-day process remains clear but strict.

• Applicants may include spouses or partners and children under 18 on their claim. Dependent parents and other relatives cannot be added.
• Dependent outcomes mirror the main applicant’s decision.
• After screening and an initial assessment, destitute applicants may receive support and accommodation.
• Decision outcomes fall into three broad categories:
  1. Refugee status — typically five years’ permission to stay, followed by eligibility for indefinite leave to remain.
  2. Humanitarian or discretionary leave — temporary stay.
  3. Refusal — with a right to appeal; if appeals fail, applicants are subject to removal from the UK or relocation to a third-country return hub once operational.

For official rules on support, see the Home Office guidance at Home Office guidance on asylum support.

Important: The government now applies a permanent bar on citizenship for people who entered the UK illegally. Advocates warn this will create a long-term exclusion even for those with long residence.

Arguments from the government and critics

• Government rationale:
  • Aim to deter dangerous journeys, prevent criminal networks profiting from crossings, and speed returns for those with no legal basis to stay.
  • Sees clear lines on unlawful entry as protecting the integrity of the asylum route and facilitating removals.
• Criticisms from advocacy groups and scholars:
  • Organisations such as Asylum Matters and researchers at the University of Oxford’s Centre for Border Criminology argue the bill keeps people in poverty and uncertainty.
  • Key complaints:
  • It does not restore the right to work.
  • It does not raise support rates.
  • It leaves people in hotels that often don’t meet basic standards for families.
  • Calls for reform:
  • Community-based housing, higher support payments, and an end to detention and criminalisation.

Legal experts say the ban on citizenship shifts the balance from future integration toward exclusion.

Local government perspectives

Local leaders add another layer to the debate.

• Councils in high-pressure areas say they were not adequately consulted about hotel placements and face rising costs for schooling, primary care, and social support.
• While the bill strengthens enforcement and border tools, it does not require rebalancing of placements across regions or guarantee extra funding for towns with the largest hotel footprints.
• Several councils have requested:
  • A formal mechanism to share placements across the country.
  • Extra resources tied to real-time placement numbers.
• Without those measures, placement decisions—driven by available hotel contracts—may continue clustering people in a few regions, keeping tensions high.

Policy changes overview (summary)

• Repeal of the Rwanda Deportation Scheme: Safety of Rwanda framework ended; new focus on third-country return hubs for refused applicants.
• Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill 2025 in force: Boosts enforcement powers to deter small boat crossings and speed removal of those living unlawfully in the UK.
• Accommodation in hotels: Hotels now house nearly half of all supported asylum seekers; average cost £119 per night in 2025.
• Support rates and work restrictions: Support rate £49.18 per person per week; permission to work limited and revoked after refusal.
• Citizenship restrictions: Categorical bar on citizenship applications for people who entered illegally, regardless of long-term residence.

Impact on communities and applicants

For people refused asylum:

• The immediate change is the shift toward third-country return hubs, avoiding the Rwanda model while preserving off-shore capacity for those with no right to remain.
• Implementation is ongoing; details and locations are being finalised.
• Labour has pledged to increase removals—both enforced and voluntary—arguing consistent follow-through is essential to deterrence.

For those receiving support:

• Landscape is still defined by basic payments and hotel stays.
• Families in London, the South East, and the East of England face long stays in temporary rooms, often far from relatives or legal counsel.
• Caseworkers, schools, and health services in host councils report rising caseloads and additional pressure.

For local communities:

• The picture is mixed: some welcome the end of the Rwanda model and tighter border controls; others worry that hotel use, placement patterns, and limited funding will continue to burden certain areas.
• Several councils have asked for a formal national placement-sharing mechanism and funding tied to placements. Without this, clustering is likely to continue.

Advocacy groups propose:
– Restoring permission to work after a set waiting period.
– Increasing support rates to meet basic needs.
– Phasing out hotels in favour of community-based housing with wraparound services.

What comes next

• Parliament will continue to debate amendments around support levels, accommodation standards, and work rights.
• Return hubs will move from blueprint to practice, testing whether the model can operate lawfully and efficiently.
• The Home Office will continue enforcing the core framework: tight work restrictions, basic support for those in need, and prompt removal for people without lawful stay.

Key take-away: As the year progresses, the central test of the asylum system will be whether the balance between Border Security and humane reception can deliver both orderly control and fair outcomes for applicants and local communities.