UK to open new refugee resettlement routes for Afghan women and Palestinians

A new legal pathway for refugees will be introduced, focusing on Afghan women and girls alongside Palestinians, offering a faster route to permanent status. The policy shift follows the closure of a previous Afghan resettlement scheme and introduces long-term reviews of refugee status. Experts suggest the scale of the initiative may still be insufficient to significantly reduce irregular crossings. The move marks a notable adjustment in approach after last year’s abrupt changes to asylum policies.

Exclusive: Move by Shabana Mahmood comes after closure of Afghan scheme last year but experts say numbers too small to deter Channel crossingsUK politics live – latest updatesShabana Mahmood will announce a new legal route for refugees that prioritises Afghan women and girls and Palestinians, unfreezing a scheme that will put the most vulnerable refugees on a faster path to permanent status.The change marks a shift in Mahmood’s approach to asylum seekers after the abrupt closure of the Afghan resettlement scheme last year and changes that will keep refugee status under constant review for two decades. Continue reading...