Making sense of the government’s Immigration and Asylum Bill

The Immigration and Asylum Bill is far-reaching in scope. If passes, it will have a significant impact on Christian ministries working with refugees and those in the asylum system, as well as on the broader aspect of right to family life for those in the immigration system.

The home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, introduced new legislation, the Immigration and Asylum Bill 2026 to parliament in June. The government have set out significant reforms to asylum support, interpreting the right to family life as set out in the European Convention on Human Rights and establishing a new Independent Immigration Appeals Authority.

There are three sections in the bill we want to make members aware of:

1. Tightening criteria for family life (Part 2).
2. The introduction of a new protection claim appeal process (Part 3).
3. Requiring asylum support repayments (Part 4). 

The advocacy team have been in contact with member organisation, the Salvation Army, who are leading on Part 5 which relates to reforms to modern slavery. Please visit Salvation Army to find out more about concerns around proposals to change modern slavery protections. 

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In Part 2 (clauses 17 to 20) in the bill sets out how the government will reform and restrict how Article 8 (right to a private and family life) as set out in the European Convention of Human Rights is understood by the courts. 

The Home Office’s own data shows between April 2008 and June 2021 there were 21,521 appeals against deportation by foreign national offenders (FNOs), a high proportion of which were based on Article 8 grounds. The home secretary believes vulnerability in the system is open to abuse and is the government’s rationale is to restrict this freedom.

If these clauses become law, it would:

• Define family narrowly to mean immediate members like parent, spouse or children under 18 in exceptional cases 
• Require that applications for sponsorship (on the grounds of Article 8) need to take place in the UK, not be sent in from overseas
• Instruct the courts to give greater weight to public interest in cases where an FNO is being deported (ie removing the offenders’ right to appeal on Article 8 grounds)

There are many across civil society groups and Christian advocacy organisations that are concerned about redefining rights to privacy and family life in this way would weaken protections for children in asylum applications and family rights in immigration policy more generally.

Secondly, the bill introduces a new, distinct appeal category for those seeking asylum or seeking refugee protections in the UK in clauses 21 and 22. These proposals have particularly important implications for members supporting persecuted Christians from other countries who are finalising their immigration status.

The proposals would replace ​‘asylum’, ​‘refugee’ and ​‘humanitarian protection’ as categories for assessing claims and merge them into a single ​‘protection claim’ category. It does not change the rights for those with refugee status, but this could be reformed further.

This section of the bill seeks to address the use of small boats by international criminal gangs seeking to exploit refugee status to further criminal activity in the UK. Our head of public policy has met with Home Office officials to advocate for a screening system that distinguishes fraudulent asylum claims from those genuinely fleeing persecution and in need of humanitarian protection in the UK. 

Finally, the bill would introduce the requirement for recipients of asylum support to repay some of the support they have received. Asylum support includes accommodation in facilities, the most common section 95 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, and the transition support. This last section includes weekly allowance, maternity payments, support for dependents and other basic living support. There are exemptions such as if the repayments would make the person destitute, if the person received asylum support before turning 18 or before this bill receives Royal Assent. The manner of calculating the sum, the conditions and the timeframe of repayment is not yet outlined, it would be set in future regulation once the bill receives Royal Assent. 

Immigration and policy reforms can oftentimes be a heated conversation. Some are concerned by increasingly hostile rhetoric on the topic; others, in areas where those seeking asylum are moved into communities without dialogue, can feel overlooked by the government. 

Here at the Evangelical Alliance, we recognise immigration policy impacts individuals and communities differently, but as Christians it is important that the scriptures guide our principles and ongoing engagement.

God is not tied to one place, nor one people. In the Old Testament, the Lord’s presence travelled with the Israelites through the desert as a pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night (Exodus 13:21), a light for the nations that His salvation may reach to the end of the earth (Isaiah 49:6). Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection invites everyone who believes in His salvation (Romans 1:16) and God’s presence through the Holy Spirit now dwells in us (1 Corinthians 3:16). With confidence in this, the Great Commission now calls us to share the gospel, so that everyone may have the opportunity to hear and be saved (1 Timothy 2:3). 

In this posture, migration becomes central to sharing and enacting the gospel. It is in how we spread the good news and welcome the stranger. Many of our members live out the Great Commission as either missionaries coming to share the gospel in the UK or working to support the vulnerable arriving in the UK. Demeaning narratives towards migrants remind us why as Christians it is so important we lead with generosity and compassion. 

The bill is currently at the committee stage where a group of 17 cross-party parliamentarians are taking evidence and considering amendments before the bill returns to the house for wider MP involvement and votes. 

As the bill proceeds through its parliamentary process, the advocacy team will continue to engage member organisations and church leaders. In addition, the team will use the biblical framework set out in the Global migration and immigration to the UK briefing note to influence wider public policy discussions linked to the rise of hate crime towards religious and ethnic minorities, community cohesion strategy and further immigration reform.  

Please continue to pray for our elected representatives as they debate the Immigration and Asylum Bill. Pray also for Christian ministries that are pastorally and financially supporting those within the church or local community through the immigration process and lastly pray for those that feel unsettled by the rhetoric of race, ethnicity and nationalism.