New Safe and Legal Sponsorship Routes for Refugees

Anna Turley Excerpts

Thursday 29th October 2026 Written Statements

[The Minister for Border Security and Asylum (Anna Turley)]

In November 2025, the Government published the restoring order and control statement, which committed to tackle the vile smuggling gangs who seek to exploit our borders with no regard for human life and to reform the asylum and immigration system. Alongside bringing order and control to the immigration system, we must do this fairly by providing sanctuary to those in genuine need and reducing the pull factors for illegal and dangerous journeys.

The UK has a long-standing history of providing sanctuary to those fleeing war and persecution from around the world. The UK is a compassionate country, that lives up to its international obligations and saves the lives of those fleeing war and persecution.

The Government are continuing this tradition by creating new safe and legal sponsorship routes. New named community sponsorship, refugee work and refugee study routes will create safe and legal pathways for refugees to come to the UK, enabling communities, universities and employers to identify refugees they wish to sponsor. By connecting refugees with communities, universities and employers that are ready to support them, the routes are being designed to promote successful integration from arrival.

These routes will be capped and controlled, with the number of arrivals based on community capacity to sponsor refugees. The Government expect arrivals of UNHCR-approved refugees across the new routes and the existing UK resettlement scheme to number in the hundreds at first, but this will grow into the low thousands as levels of illegal migration fall.

Applications will open today for organisations to be accredited as lead sponsors for the named community sponsorship and refugee study routes. Applications for the refugee work route will open in spring 2027. Lead sponsors will play a key role in the new routes, acting as intermediaries between the Home Office and sponsor groups and providing assurance that sponsor groups are delivering positive outcomes for refugees, communities and our country. Lead sponsors will be responsible for engaging and onboarding sponsors, assessing the suitability of proposed sponsorship arrangements, submitting applications to the Home Office and providing ongoing support to sponsor groups. The Home Office will continue to conduct appropriate security checks on individual refugees and make all immigration decisions.

To be accredited as a lead sponsor, organisations will be required to demonstrate that they are a registered UK charity or community interest company based and operating in the UK and have appropriate policies and procedures in place to undertake the lead sponsor role. They will also be required to demonstrate they have the capability, resources and networks to deliver the lead sponsor role.

The routes will initially operate from Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Kenya, Malaysia, Pakistan and Uganda. To be eligible, refugees will need to be outside their country of nationality, and to have been present and registered with relevant authorities or UNHCR in one of these seven countries before 1 October 2026. The Government are introducing the new routes in phases, starting in a limited number of countries to establish effective delivery arrangements.

The first arrivals through these routes are expected in autumn 2027. The new routes will enable refugees to come to the UK and provide them with an opportunity for a better life. However, it is imperative that these routes are only used to support refugees with a genuine need for protection to resettle in the UK. This is why we will work in partnership with the UNHCR who will assess refugees through established processes. All refugees who are identified will be required to meet identity, security and eligibility requirements and have suitable sponsorship arrangements in place to be granted status.

Further details of the new routes, including refugee and sponsor eligibility requirements, will be published on gov.uk.

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