Shabana Mahmood will announce the reopening of a scheme to resettle refugees in the UK, as she hopes that offering “safe and legal” routes will deter small boat crossings.
The home secretary will say the UK wants to “live up to our international obligations” by helping those who are fleeing war and persecution, but the process must be “capped and controlled”.
The Home Office said the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS) will reopen immediately and expects that around 25% of arrivals will be Afghan women and girls and Palestinians.
Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp said Mahmood was making a “desperate attempt to appease” people within Labour who have been critical of her asylum reforms.
Hundreds of people are expected to arrive under the UKRS, which stopped taking new applicants in December 2024, and three new sponsorship routes.
The latter will involve communities, universities and companies hosting refugees from next year.
The Home Office expects arrivals to increase to the “low thousands” as levels of illegal migration fall.
A cap will be set for each year although details of the number have yet to be provided.
People arriving in Britain under the safe and legal routes will be be put on a five-year path to permanent settlement.
Mahmood is expected to tell the Labour Party conference on Monday that “fairness” is behind her approach, limits are needed and communities “must be ready and able to welcome those who come here”.
She will also say: “This is what we can do and who we can be as we restore control to our borders, bear down on the small boat crossings, and unlock the inherent generosity of this country.”
More than 18,500 people have crossed the Channel in small boats this year compared to more than 32,000 than the same period in 2025.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said the UK is “not obligated to take in more migrants”, adding if his party was in power then those arriving under Labour’s schemes would “not be able to stay”.
He said: “If Labour are so sure the public wants their open borders policies, they’d call a general election to get a mandate.”
In expressing his criticism, Farage also referenced a report in The Sunday Times, external about a former bodyguard to the leader of Hamas securing asylum and citizenship in the UK before “plotting” an attack against Jewish people in Europe.
The newspaper reported the man moved to the UK more than a decade ago and now faces extradition to Germany.
Jon Featonby, chief policy analyst at the Refugee Council, welcomed the government’s new proposals but said it came after a “drastic reduction in safe routes over the last year”.
He said: “Safe and legal routes are essential to undermining people smugglers’ business model, but they only work if they operate at scale.
“The government has to show ambition and commitment, and that means thousands of places, not hundreds.
“Alongside any new schemes, the government must also reopen refugee family reunion without delay.”
