Borders Bill: Post-Brexit overhaul of asylum rules to be set out

Knowingly arriving in the UK without permission will become a new criminal offence, under legislation published later.

The Nationality and Borders Bill will also introduce longer maximum sentences for those entering the UK without a legal reason.

The government hopes the overhaul of asylum rules will deter migrant Channel crossings.

But Labour said the blueprint would potentially break international law.

The long-anticipated legislation, which will be published on Tuesday, will face detailed scrutiny from MPs and peers later this year.

It has prompted considerable criticism from charities and campaigners, who have warned it could undermine the right to protection.

Home Secretary Priti Patel promised the bill would create a "firm but fair" asylum system to allow the UK to "take full control of its borders".

Describing the current rules as "broken," she promised the bill would make "break the business model" of people-smuggling gangs.

A record 6,000 people crossed the English Channel in small boats in the first six months of 2021, meaning last year's figure of 8,417 could soon be eclipsed over the summer.

More than 36,000 people, including dependents, applied for asylum in the UK in 2020. About 10,000 people were offered protection in the UK in the form of refugee status or other protections.

Among a range of measures in the bill, it is expected to introduce:

It is also expected to allow asylum claims to be processed outside the UK, potentially paving the way for applications to be processed in controversial offshore centres.

However, making such centres a reality would require the UK to first negotiate processing agreements with other countries.

The idea has already prompted a backlash from campaign groups and from charities, and would likely face legal challenges on rights grounds.

After Brexit the UK left the EU's Dublin scheme, under which it could transfer asylum seekers who crossed Europe to EU states to have their applications processed there.

The government had criticised the effectiveness of this scheme and vowed to negotiate replacement agreements - but none have been established so far.

Labour's shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds said the measures in the bill would not deal with the "chaos" created by the Conservatives since 2010.

"They don't deal with the fact that the time taken to process claims has rocketed or desperate people are still falling victim to criminal gangs," he said.

He added that there remained a lack of "meaningful proposals" to deal with the rising number of people crossing the Channel, whilst the proposals would "reduce support" for victims of human trafficking and "potentially break international law".

The Law Society of England and Wales warned the plans were likely to breach UK obligations under the 1951 Refugee Convention, the cornerstone of international asylum law.

Its president Stephanie Boyce added: "Punishing asylum-seekers who reach our shores by any irregular routes - such as by boat - would create a two-tier asylum system and overturn a hard-won, longstanding international agreement.

"The country's reputation for justice and fairness would be seriously damaged if they became law."