UK reopens refugee resettlement scheme for new referrals

The UK has reopened its resettlement scheme to new refugee referrals, with roughly one in four expected to be Afghan women and girls or Palestinian refugees.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the UK Resettlement Scheme would provide a safe and legal route for people fleeing war and persecution. Referrals will be made in partnership with the UN Refugee Agency and the International Refugee Assistance Project.

The process has reopened immediately, working with local authorities. The first arrivals are expected before the end of the year.

The reopening comes alongside plans for three community-sponsored routes announced in November 2025. Applications for charities and non-profits to sponsor refugees through community and university placements are due to open in October, with the first arrivals expected in autumn 2027. Applications for a work sponsorship route, in which companies host refugees, are expected to open in spring 2027.

Sponsors will provide accommodation, integration support and help finding work. The government expects arrivals across the resettlement scheme and the three new routes to number in the hundreds initially, rising to the low thousands as illegal migration falls. An annual cap will apply.

People admitted through the routes will be placed on a five-year path to permanent settlement, the government said. It described the policy as part of its effort to encourage capped, legal routes and deter irregular migration.

The Home Office also cited enforcement figures, saying more than 48,000 attempted small-boat crossings had been stopped since the general election. It reported that more than 80,000 people with no right to remain in the UK had been removed since July 2024.