Restoring Control Over the Immigration System: White Paper

26 Aug Restoring Control Over the Immigration System: White Paper

Posted at 08:05h in Eleanor Hanmer, Emily Soothil, News, Ralitsa Peykova, Unkha Banda by Ali

Welcome to DPG’s third post in our legal blog series. This month’s blog focuses on the Government’s White Paper which outlines proposed changes to the UK immigration system. It critiques the dangerous use of demonising and divisive rhetoric surrounding migration, especially in the wake of further far-right violence this summer.

“Restoring Control Over the Immigration System: White Paper”

In the Prime Minister’s foreword to the White Paper[1], he describes the recent rates of migration to the UK as an “explosion” causing “[incalculable] damage”. He states that the previous government operated a “one nation experiment in open borders” and failed “to bring inward migration under control”, which has created a “wound […] when it comes to trust in politics”.

In the wake of further anti-migrant protests by the far right across the UK, this is an unfortunate continuation of the worrying trend of politicians using demonising language surrounding migration. Hundreds of refugee organisations have therefore sent an open letter to leaders of the main political parties in the UK asking that they take action to end this and address the “pernicious and insidious currents of racism and hatred underlying these protests”.[2]

Background

The case for reducing net migration is said in the White Paper to be premised on “unsustainable” increases in the rates of migration and the need for “desirable” forms of migration i.e. migration which the Government believes will increase economic productivity. The Government’s proposals in the White Paper to restrict and reduce lower-skilled migration, and increase productivity in the domestic workforce, include:

ending the Adult Social Care Visa route;
increasing the threshold for skilled worker visas to graduate level (RQF 6) and the salary threshold (to £25,600), in order to significantly reduce the number of occupations that are eligible;
increasing access to visa routes for targeting and recruiting “global talent”; and
introducing a requirement for key sectors to produce a “workforce strategy”, outlining the steps employers will take to increase skills and training, in order to engage the domestic workforce.

Use of technology

A key aspect of the White Paper is regarding the use of new technology to increase public confidence in immigration control and strengthen enforcement activity.

Body-worn video cameras, mobile biometric kits and an “advanced data management system” will be introduced to enable immigration enforcement officers identify overseas nationals and access digital identities/immigration statuses.[3] Border Force will use AI and facial recognition technology in order to gather the most accurate information available on each individual seeking to enter the UK.[4] The White Paper also refers to the introduction of new “Intelligence systems” for the purpose of strengthening immigration enforcement, including:

The database for the new eVisa system (digital-only form of immigration status which has replaced Biometric Residence Permits) records data which will enable enforcement action to be taken as soon as someone overstays their visa and to ensure that benefits, services and employment are not accessible such individuals. The database will alert the Home Office where a visa has expired, digital records can be updated in real time, and information will be shared with other government departments.[5]
The Government also plans to develop a “new digital service” which will be capable of showing whether an individual is inside or outside the UK at any time and whether they have complied with the terms of their visa. This data will also be used “to support further immigration applications in more automated ways”.[6]

The increasing use of digital profiling and surveillance technologies to gather sensitive data about individuals who want to enter, leave or remain in the UK, is concerning and risks being disproportionately intrusive and infringing the rights of individuals including under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. There is no clear legal basis for the increasing use of AI and facial recognition technology for immigration control purposes or for storing sensitive biometric data on national database. The Government has not published any policies to set out how sensitive categories of data will be used or shared with third parties.

There is also a concerning lack of accountability which has already been documented by Privacy International in relation to the Home Office’s use of photographs collected from immigration databases onto a secret facial recognition library which the Metropolitan Police has access to.[7]

Settlement and Citizenship

The White Paper proposes a key change to the Immigration Rules in increasing the qualifying period for leave to remain from 5 to 10 years. It prefaces that “settlement” and “citizenship” should be earned and be available to those making “greater contributions” to the UK economy. It is suggested that reductions to the qualifying time period to settle or to naturalise as British will be possible through the introduction of a points-based system.

It is also proposed that English language requirements for skilled workers and settlement are increased from B1 to B2 (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages “CEFR”); and that adult dependents be able to demonstrate a basic level of English (Level A1, CEFR) to be granted entry clearance.

The above changes are said to be justified on the basis that they are necessary for “successful integration”, “community empowerment” and “social cohesion”.^[8] However, extending the time periods to settle in the UK risks prolonging the precariousness of immigration status and frustrating integration or belonging, which is at odds with social cohesion, the stated aim of the White Paper. Similarly, through introducing a Points Based System the idea of conditional belonging is emphasised, with migrants being required to demonstrate that their contributions are of value to readily secure permanent immigration status.

Asylum

The White Paper confirms the Government will introduce further substantial reforms to the asylum system and border security to reduce irregular and illegal migration. As we explained in our first blog post[9], in the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill 2025, the Government has upheld provisions to criminalise asylum seekers who enter the UK via an irregular route originally introduced in the Nationality and Borders Act 2022.

It is important to note that there are very few refugee and sponsorship schemes currently available to asylum seekers, and that some such as the Afghan Relocation Programme have recently been closed.[10] The criminalisation of migrants on the basis of their mode of arrival to the UK ignores this fact. Statistics confirm that 70% of people who arrived by way of small boats between 2018 and 2024 were from Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Albania, Syria, and Eritrea – countries from which there are not currently safe or “legal” routes to the UK. Furthermore, 68% of people who arrived by small boat during that same period were granted refugee status[11], showing that the mode of travel is irrelevant to the merits of an asylum seeker’s underlying protection claim.[12]

The White Papers states that new policies will be introduced to ensure that asylum claims by those who enter the UK on other visas can be refused where conditions in the individual’s home country have not “materially changed” since their arrival.[13] The Government has also indicated that it will review existing refugee and sponsorship schemes such as the Ukrainian Scheme, to ensure a clear and sustainable sponsorship framework,[14] and that it will explore a system for allowing UNHCR recognised refugees to apply for employment through existing sponsored work routes.[15]

Concluding points

Following the election, the Prime Minister pledged to uphold the rule of law and the UK’s international human rights obligations. However, the digitalisation of the hostile environment, closing refugee and sponsorship schemes (such as Afghan Resettlement Programme), and proposals to restrict asylum claims as set out in the White Paper, exemplify how the rule of law and international human rights obligations are arguably absent from the Government’s plans to reform the immigration system.

The White Paper encompasses policies that are “as much symbolic as they are substantive. Choosing between them has tangible implications for those directly affected. But those choices also say something – and are intended to say something – about those politicians and parties making that choice”^[16]. The White Paper can be read as the Government framing itself as fulfilling a political mandate to reduce migration to the UK and strengthen immigration enforcement. However, now, more than ever, we need a Government that is not afraid to reject divisive and reductive rhetoric and one that will uphold human rights and create protections for the most vulnerable. As the open letter from refugee organisations to party leaders rightly recognises:

“The responsibility to end the divisive politics, racist rhetoric and demonising language of the past is yours. Only then will you bring unity instead of division and cohesion rather than hate.”

This blog post was prepared with contributions from members of our legal team including: Eleanor Hanmer, Emily Soothill, Ralitsa Peykova and Unkha Banda.

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/restoring-control-over-the-immigration-system-white-paper

[2] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/11/uk-party-leaders-urged-end-pernicious-currents-racism-hatred-fuelling-anti-migrant-protests

[3] The White Paper [225-228]

[4] Ibid [207]

[5] Ibid [188], [206].

[6] Ibid [203].

[7] “Revealed: “Skyrocketing” scale of UK police’s Secret Facial Recognition Searches of Passport and Immigration Databases”, Privacy International, 7 August 2025. Available at: https://privacyinternational.org/news-analysis/5635/revealed-skyrocketing-scale-uk-polices-secret-facial-recognition-searches.

[8] The White Paper [240]

[9] https://dpglaw.co.uk/the-border-security-asylum-and-immigration-bill-2025-a-dangerous-reconfiguration-of-uk-asylum-law/

[10] https://www.gov.uk/guidance/afghan-resettlement-programme

[11] https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/people-crossing-the-english-channel-in-small-boats/

[12] The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill 2025: A Dangerous Reconfiguration of Asylum Law, DPG Law, 10 June 2025. Available at: https://dpglaw.co.uk/the-border-security-asylum-and-immigration-bill-2025-a-dangerous-reconfiguration-of-uk-asylum-law/