Successful asylum seekers granted refugee status will have to wait longer to apply for indefinite leave to remain, under new plans.

Bringing it closer to new requirements for legal arrivals, refugees could have to work, learn English, have a clean criminal record and contribute to their communities to earn indefinitive leave to remain.

And those who want to bring their family members to the UK could have to satisfy a financial requirement, such as a salary threshold or a minimum amount of savings, to qualify.

Similar measures have been adopted by other European Governments.

The UK hopes that by effectively lowering what the UK offers, fewer migrants will attempt to cross the Channel.

A Government source said: “We are acknowledging that there are people who are ‘asylum shopping’ across the continent, looking for the country that offers them the most.

“We have been criticised in this country for being too generous – creating a pull factor. Today, the Government is showing that we get it, that we have been overly generous, and that we will reduce the pull factors that see thousands attempting small boat crossings.”

The Prime Minister told The Telegraph: “The rights offered to those who come here in a small boat, or overstay their visa, and are granted asylum are far more generous than what we offer to those who follow the rules and come here legally.

“Automatically bringing your family here, getting settlement after just five years. It’s an incentive to make that perilous journey, and undermine our border in the process.

“It shouldn’t be controversial that if you want to come to the UK, you should contribute to our society. That is the tolerant and fair approach to migration that our communities are built on, but the current system is not fit for purpose.

“That is why we’re making fundamental changes to what those granted asylum are afforded in the UK. Settlement must be earned by contributing to our country, not by paying a people smuggler to cross the Channel in a boat.

“The UK will continue to play its role in welcoming genuine refugees fleeing persecution. But we must also address the so-called pull factors driving dangerous and illegal small-boat crossings. There will be no golden ticket to settling in the UK, people will have to earn it.”

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is expected to confirm the requirements in the coming weeks.

New reforms could see successful asylum seekers being told to wait longer to apply for indefinite leave to remain.

Refugees will also be stripped of their automatic rights to bring family members to the UK.

Under previous rules, asylum seekers could include the names of their partners and children on their applications.

If they were granted protection, the dependants could live in the UK for the same length of time as the person seeking refuge.

And they could be made to wait longer or told to meet a financial requirement to ensure they can pay their way if they want to bring their family members over.

The Prime Minister wants to only give refugees “core protections” to prevent migrants ‘asylum shopping’.

Migrants could also be barred from getting ILR if their home country has become safer since they were granted refugee status.

Because refugee status typically lasts for five-years before people are expected to apply for ILR, they could be returned to their home country if it is safe.

Downing Street said the “changes will bring an end to the unfair system that sees those crossing the Channel in a small boat having greater rights to settlement and family reunion than those who arrive through proper legal routes and even British citizens.”

Prime Minister Sir Keir added: “I believe that if you want to come to the UK, you should contribute to our society. That is the tolerant and fair approach to migration that our communities are built on, but the current system is not fit for purpose.

“That is why we’re making fundamental changes to what those granted asylum are afforded in the UK. Settlement must be earned by contributing to our country, not by paying a people smuggler to cross the channel in a boat.

“The UK will continue to play its role in welcoming genuine refugees fleeing persecution. But we must also address the pull factors driving dangerous and illegal small boats crossings. There will be no golden ticket to settling in the UK, people will have to earn it.”

The number of people claiming asylum hit 111,084 during Sir Keir Starmer‘s first year in office.

And Home Office records revealed the number of Channel migrants being deported has fallen under Labour.

More asylum seekers are also living in taxpayer-funded hotel rooms, with 32,059 migrants in hotels – up 8% compared to when Sir Keir Starmer’s Government came into office – after a surge in small boat arrivals.

Some 111,084 people applied for protection in the year to June, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.

This is up 14 per cent from 97,107 in the year to June 2024 and nearly double the number in 2021.

The sharp increase was fuelled by a surge in migrants lodging claims after arriving on work and study visas and failed asylum seekers trying their luck after being rejected in Europe, experts said.

Home Office figures show 14,800 people claimed asylum after arriving on a student visa.

Another 12,200 arrived on a work visa, prompting more fears of widespread abuse.

Home Office sources have confirmed they have identified it as a “new route” into the UK and are scrambling to close the loophole.

The most common nationalities among asylum applicants in the year to June 2025 were Pakistani (10.1% of the total), Afghan (7.5%), Iranian (7.0%) and Eritrean (6.7%).

Shocking analysis revealed 90% of Pakistanis claimed asylum after travelling to the UK on a valid visa, while 87% of Bangladeshi applicants travelled to the UK legally.

A further 71% of Indian asylum applicants used a visa to travel to the UK, highlighting widespread fears over the abuse of the UK’s generosity.

By contrast, 84% of Afghans who claimed asylum arrived by a small boat. Some 89% of Eritrean applicants arrived the same way.