{"id":53216,"date":"2025-11-17T12:26:35","date_gmt":"2025-11-17T12:26:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/my.legal500.com\/developments\/?post_type=legal_developments&p=53216"},"modified":"2025-11-17T12:26:35","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T12:26:35","slug":"the-uks-interest-in-the-danish-immigration-and-asylum-model","status":"publish","type":"legal_developments","link":"https:\/\/my.legal500.com\/developments\/thought-leadership\/the-uks-interest-in-the-danish-immigration-and-asylum-model\/","title":{"rendered":"The UK\u2019s Interest in the Danish Immigration and Asylum Model"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/strong>
\nThe Home Secretary, Mahmood, recently announced that she had dispatched a team of Home Office officials to Denmark to study the Danish immigration and asylum system. She praised Denmark\u2019s apparent success in reducing the number of successful asylum claims and expressed her intention to model future UK measures on the Danish approach.<\/strong><\/p>\n

While the full details of the UK\u2019s proposed reforms are yet to emerge, the focus is expected to be on individuals who have already been granted refugee status, with potential changes, reflecting Denmark\u2019s restrictive and deterrence-based model.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Overview of Danish Asylum and Immigration Policy<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to the House of Commons Library Research Briefing (10 November 2025, No. 10391)<\/a>, the Danish asylum model is characterised by a series of restrictive and highly managed policies. Denmark has received fewer asylum claims per head of population than the UK in recent years, having reduced its asylum acceptance rate sharply since 2015, when a spike in applications from Syrian nationals temporarily increased the figures.<\/p>\n

Since then, Denmark\u2019s asylum rates have fallen significantly, while the UK\u2019s have increased.<\/p>\n

Key Policy Measures in Denmark<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Migration Policy Institute think tank<\/a> and other observers have identified several notable features of Denmark\u2019s asylum framework:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Short-term residence permits for refugees<\/li>\n
  2. Creation of \u201cdeparture centres\u201d to encourage voluntary return of refused asylum seekers<\/li>\n
  3. Tighter family reunification rules for recognised refugees<\/li>\n
  4. Confiscation of asylum seekers\u2019 valuables to fund support<\/li>\n
  5. Exploration of offshore asylum processing arrangements, including with Rwanda<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    These measures signal a deliberate policy shift from promoting integration through labour market participation toward deterrence and containment.<\/p>\n

    Legal and Institutional Context<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Denmark benefits from specific opt-outs under Protocol 22 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, meaning it is not bound by most EU asylum laws. However, it remains a participant in the Dublin Regulation (for transferring asylum seekers) and the Schengen Agreement (for passport-free travel). Consequently, some provisions of the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum<\/a> will still apply.<\/p>\n

    Short-Term Residence Permits<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Under Danish policy:<\/p>\n