HIAS+JCORE has joined partners across the refugee sector in signing an open letter urging the Home Secretary to scrap the UK’s new 30-month temporary protection policy.
Following this change, refugees who come through the UK’s asylum system will have their status reviewed every 2.5 years. The policy will affect anyone who applies for asylum after 2 March 2026 and will not be applied retrospectively.
The joint letter highlights that this move “will not restore order to the asylum system but will instead, introduce further instability, unfairness and inefficiency.”
It goes on to stress that international evidence shows that temporary protection “damages refugee integration, and worsens mental health, resulting in worse long-term outcomes for refugees.”
Addressing existing challenges with societal division and polarisation, it continues by stating that “placing refugees in permanent insecurity will not unite communities, it will deepen division at a time where social cohesion is already fragile.”
The letter concludes with a call for a fairer, more compassionate approach – urging the Home Secretary to “show… courage and demonstrate commitment to our communities and the dignity of those who come to the UK seeking safety.”
Signatories to the letter included the Scottish Refugee Council, Welsh Refugee Council, Refugee Council, Freedom from Torture, and Women for Refugee Women.
Read the full letter text below:
Dear Home Secretary,
We are writing as frontline organisations in the refugee sector to oppose the changes to the Immigration Rules laid before parliament on 5th March 2026, and the wider “Restoring Order and Control” proposals.
We are particularly alarmed by the decision to implement the proposed change to refugee leave, which would fundamentally reshape protection and asylum in the UK. These changes will not restore order to the asylum system but will instead, introduce further instability, unfairness and inefficiency.
We are concerned as much by the substance of the reforms as by the message they send, to employers, landlords and communities, that refugees are only temporary members of our communities who will never truly be welcome here. When government sends that message, it fuels the kind of hate and division that fed the summer riots that we have seen in recent years.
Refugee men, women and children who have endured torture, war, and persecution will now have to relive that trauma every 30 months and the unbearable fear of possible return to harm in their country of origin. International evidence shows that temporary protection damages refugee integration, and worsens mental health, resulting in worse long-term outcomes for refugees.
People who are granted protection should be able to settle, find stable housing and work so they can support themself and their family, rebuild their life and participate in their community. Policy should make that path clear and achievable. These changes make it less likely that refugees will stand on their own two feet. This policy fails on these terms.
As war rages in the middle east and conflict continues in unstable states like Sudan and Eritrea, refugees will continue to flee torture and persecution. All that these reforms will achieve is to make life harder for those to whom the UK has already recognised its duty to provide sanctuary.
We are especially troubled by the way these changes are being introduced. The public consultation closed only days before implementation began. Responses do not appear to have been fully analysed. Many organisations and individuals engaged in good faith and invested time and expertise. When consultation feels rushed or disregarded, trust is damaged.
This approach undermines public confidence in the consultation process and raises serious questions about whether this engagement was ever genuinely intended to shape policy.
The broader social costs of a more conditional route to settlement are unknown. Placing refugees in permanent insecurity will not unite communities, it will deepen division at a time where social cohesion is already fragile.
Across the UK, communities, third sector organisations and local authorities are already doing the work to make integration a success. We need central government to step up and be a meaningful partner in this work.
We urge you to withdraw the policy introducing temporary status with 30-month reviews. We also ask you to engage fully with parliamentarians, devolved administrations and the third sector to design an asylum system that is fair, efficient and compassionate. One that supports communities and aligns policy with practical outcomes. A better system is possible, but it requires leadership that focuses on what works rather than what sounds tough.
Rather than attempting to outdo the hostile narrative advanced by those who would divide our communities, we urge the UK Government to show leadership and honesty about the realities of migration.
Competing over who can appear “tougher” risks normalising rhetoric that undermines social cohesion and public trust. The public deserves an evidence-based conversation about asylum and migration— one that acknowledges both our legal obligations and the tangible benefits that immigration brings to our economy, public services and communities.
We believe that a fairer asylum system is possible, but that it will require political courage and the rejection of the performative cruelty that has characterised debate in the UK in recent years. We urge you to show that courage and demonstrate commitment to our communities and the dignity of those who come to the UK seeking safety.
Signatories
Scottish Refugee Council
Welsh Refugee Council
Refugee Council
Rainbow Migration
Freedom from Torture
Refugee Action
Helen Bamber Foundation
ECPAT UK (Every Child Protected Against Trafficking)
Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association (ILPA)
HIAS+JCORE
Humans for Rights Network
Women for Refugee Women
Choose Love
Care4Calais
Birmingham City of Sanctuary
