Shabana Mahmood accused of hardening immigration plans for 200,000 successful asylum applicants

Cohort who were told they could apply for indefinite leave now face ‘distress and uncertainty’ over 30-year ‘earned settlement’ plans

Shabana Mahmood has been accused of causing “distress and uncertainty” to hundreds of thousands of refugees by quietly introducing plans to force them to wait up to 30 years before being granted the right to settle in the UK.

The Refugee Council said the home secretary’s hardening of plans came despite her personal reassurances last year that only “illegal entrants who are not refugees will face a 30-year wait for settlement”.

In a further tightening of the rules, a cohort of 200,000 successful asylum applicants who were told they could apply for indefinite leave to remain after five years will now face reviews of their status every 30 months.