Introduce refugee visa to curb Channel boats, urges charity

Campaigners want the government to trial a new "refugee visa" scheme for people fleeing war and persecution.

The Refugee Council is proposing safe and legal paths for asylum seekers to travel to the UK it says will help to stop small boat crossings.

As of 19 July 14,071, people have crossed the Channel so far this year.

The Illegal Migration Act 2023 is central to the prime minister's pledge to stop small boats crossing the English Channel.

Under the new legislation, the home secretary has a duty to detain and remove those arriving in the UK illegally either to Rwanda, or another "safe" third country.

The Refugee Council has criticised the new law and claimed it will not work.

The charity urged the government to pilot a one-year scheme which would see the government issue 10,000 visas to asylum seekers from five of the top refugee-producing countries - Afghanistan, Eritrea, Iran, Syria and Sudan.

Small boat arrivals accounted for about 45% of asylum applications made in 2022.

Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said: "The proposals we set out would go some way towards making the smugglers redundant.

"When there are safer alternatives for people to travel to the UK to begin their refugee application, the number of people arriving in boats will drop significantly."

The proposed scheme is similar to the ones used for Ukrainians fleeing conflict - at an estimated cost of £50.2m.

Applicants would need to have left their home country before requesting a visa.

Basic security and nationality checks would be carried out, with other forms of documentation accepted if the applicant did not have a passport, according to the charity.

Responding to the report, a Home Office spokeswoman said: "Our priority is to stop the boats.

"Those in need of protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach rather than risking their lives or paying people smugglers to arrive illegally in the UK.

"Our Illegal Migration Act is a key part of our work to deter people from making unnecessary journeys to the UK."

The Home Office insisted there are a number of "safe and legal" routes to the UK.

However, some are restricted to people from specific countries, while other routes only accept limited numbers.