The Immigration and Asylum Bill – and what you can do

The Immigration and Asylum Bill, introduced in Parliament in July 2026, proposes significant changes that would make it harder for people to find safety, build secure lives and remain with their families in the UK.  

The Bill is now progressing through Parliament and, if passed, would make major changes to how the asylum and immigration system operates.

We have serious concerns about the Bill. It risks making the system more complex, costly and harmful, without addressing the underlying causes of delays and poor decision-making.

Tell your MP to oppose the Bill

What would the Immigration and Asylum Bill change?

1. A new immigration appeals body could replace the existing tribunal

The Bill proposes replacing the existing First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) with a new Independent Immigration Appeals Authority (IIAA).

The proposed authority will weaken the quality of judicial decision-making. Under the proposals, cases will be decided by “adjudicators” without legal qualifications, let alone specialist immigration or asylum law experience. The current tribunal, by contrast, is a specialist body whose judges have extensive legal experience and expertise.

This matters because immigration and asylum cases can involve complex legal and factual issues, with life-changing, even life or death, consequences for the people involved.

The existing appeals system already faces major delays. But evidence suggests that a key cause of these delays is poor initial decision-making by the Home Office. In 2024/25, 64% of asylum appeals resulted in the original refusal being overturned or the Home Office withdrawing its decision before the appeal was heard. RMJ's own experience reflects this problem, with 99% of the decisions we have supported people to appeal being overturned.

Rather than creating a new appeals body, the Government should invest in getting decisions right the first time, alongside ensuring timely access to specialist legal advice and representation.

2. Refugees could be forced to repay the cost of their asylum support

The Bill would allow the Government to require people who are granted refugee status to repay the asylum support they received while waiting for a decision, up to £10,000.

People seeking asylum are generally prohibited from working while their claims are considered. Asylum support exists to prevent people from becoming destitute during this period.

Once someone receives refugee status, they have just 42 days to leave asylum accommodation, find somewhere to live and establish an income. Many newly recognised refugees are already at risk of homelessness during this period.

Requiring refugees to repay thousands of pounds once on their feet could prolong insecurity, particularly for people entering low-paid work or trying to establish their lives after months or years of uncertainty waiting for a decision on their claim.

The Government has also provided no evidence that this measure would recover significant amounts of money or deter people from seeking safety in the UK. It could instead create a costly new system to recoup negligible sums in repayments.

3. Family life protections would be weakened

The Bill would also restrict the right to a family life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

This could make it harder for parents to remain in the UK with their British children, particularly where a parent does not have permanent immigration status.

Around 218,000 people are currently on the existing 10-year route to settlement. Many are parents of UK-born or British citizen children, and 86% are from African, Caribbean or South Asian backgrounds. The impact would therefore be felt not only by migrants, but by British children and family members across the UK.

The proposals would require courts and tribunals to give no weight to family life established between a parent and child when a parent was in the UK without immigration status, and little weight where their status was precarious.

They would also raise the threshold for protecting parent-child relationships, by creating a test, considering whether it is reasonable for the child to leave the UK, that focuses solely on what would await them in their parent’s country of origin. No consideration would be given to the child’s UK ties, including whether they hold British citizenship or have ever left the country. This could increase the risk of families being separated and could leave British children facing the loss of a parent or being forced to leave the UK to preserve their family life.

4. Changing how modern slavery cases are assessed and how much support survivors receive

The Bill would change how modern slavery cases are assessed and could reduce support for survivors of trafficking and exploitation.

The proposals would penalise people for disclosing their exploitation ‘late’, despite trauma often making it difficult to speak about what happened. Survivors often need time, safety and trusted support before they feel comfortable giving a full account of their experiences.

The Bill could also prevent some survivors from receiving support where they were forced to commit offences as part of their exploitation. These changes risk placing additional burdens on survivors and leaving some of the most vulnerable people without the protection and support they need.

5. Refugees could face decades of temporary protection and uncertainty

The Bill gives the Home Secretary the power to replace refugee status with a new category called "protection status" and decide what rights and entitlements people in that category receive. The details of this are still uncertain but giving a single minister the power to change the definition and protection a refugee receives is extremely concerning.

This sits alongside the Government’s wider ‘Earned Settlement’ changes, which has extended the route to settlement for refugees from five years to 20 years, with refugees now receiving temporary status, with permission to stay granted for 30 months at a time and subject to repeated reviews for their need for protection.

Together, these changes would prolong uncertainty for refugees and make it harder to establish stable employment, housing and community ties. Repeated applications and reviews would also create additional pressure on an already overstretched Home Office.

The impact extends to family life. Restrictions on family reunion while on this form of protection mean refugees may be expected to build stable lives in the UK while remaining separated from the family members whose support can help them do so. This is particularly problematic when refugees are being told to build their lives in the UK whilst their loved ones are stranded overseas in war zones and conflict zones.

Rather than helping refugees rebuild their lives, these measures risk keeping people in prolonged uncertainty for years or even decades.

What does RMJ think should happen instead?

RMJ opposes the Immigration and Asylum Bill in its entirety.

We believe the Government should focus on making the immigration and asylum system fairer, more efficient and sustainable, rather than introducing additional layers of administration and prolonging insecurity.

This should include:

• giving people seeking asylum the right to work while their claims are processed;
• retaining a five-year route to settlement for refugees;
• improving the quality and capacity of Home Office decision-making so that decisions are made accurately and promptly;
• protecting family life and the rights of British children; and
• investing in timely, high-quality legal advice and representation.

These changes would address some of the underlying problems in the current system rather than creating new ones.

What can you do?

The Bill is still being debated in Parliament. MPs will have opportunities to debate and vote on its provisions, and MPs can speak up for a fairer and more humane immigration and asylum system.

If you agree with RMJ's concerns, contact your MP and ask them to oppose the Immigration and Asylum Bill.

We have created a quick action tool to make this easier. It will identify your MP and provide a draft email explaining the concerns with the Bill.

Email your MP

The email is already drafted but adding a sentence or two about why you care about refugees and people seeking asylum can make your message more personal.

One email might feel small, but MPs have a responsibility to listen to the people they represent. Take a moment to speak up for refugees, people seeking asylum and families affected by the UK’s immigration system.