The United Kingdom is poised for a significant overhaul of its immigration and asylum system, with Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood preparing to unveil sweeping reforms later this month. According to multiple outlets including BBC, The Independent, and ITV News, Mahmood’s blueprint draws inspiration from Denmark’s controversial and stringent immigration policies—an approach that has sharply divided her Labour Party and reignited debate about the future of Britain’s borders.
Mahmood’s plan comes at a time when the UK is facing mounting pressure over migration, especially with the number of small boat crossings in the Channel hitting record highs. According to The Independent, 37,575 people had arrived in the UK by small boat by November 6, 2025, and government efforts to stem the tide have so far failed to make a significant dent. The recent reentry of an Iranian migrant, deported under a returns deal with France only to arrive again a month later, has underscored the challenges facing border authorities.
In an effort to address these issues, Mahmood dispatched senior Home Office officials to Copenhagen last month to study Denmark’s immigration interventions firsthand. Denmark’s system is widely regarded as one of the toughest in Europe, and its policies have driven the number of successful asylum claims to a 40-year low, with the exception of 2020 when pandemic travel restrictions were in place (BBC).
At the heart of Denmark’s approach are strict rules on family reunification and a policy of granting most refugees only temporary residence. As ITV News reports, Denmark reduced asylum applications to their lowest level in four decades in 2024 and managed to remove 95% of rejected asylum seekers. Mahmood is said to be particularly impressed by these results, seeing them as a potential model for the UK’s own reforms.
Denmark’s system distinguishes between refugees who have been personally targeted by a foreign regime—who are likely to receive protection—and those fleeing general conflicts, who are typically granted only temporary stays. Once the Danish government deems their home country safe, these refugees can be returned. For those seeking permanent settlement, the requirements have become more onerous: applicants must now spend more time in Denmark and demonstrate full-time employment, among other conditions (BBC, The Independent).
Family reunification rules in Denmark are especially tough. Both the resident refugee and their partner must be at least 24 years old, a policy intended to guard against forced marriages. The partner already in Denmark must not have claimed benefits for three years, must provide a financial guarantee, and both must pass a Danish language test. Refugees living in so-called “parallel societies”—housing estates where more than half the residents are from “non-Western” backgrounds—are not eligible for family reunion at all. The law also allows the state to sell or demolish such apartment blocks, a measure that has been described as discriminatory on the basis of ethnic origin by a senior adviser to the EU’s top court (BBC, The Independent).
The UK government is reportedly considering similar, though not identical, measures. In September 2025, the Home Office suspended new applications under the Refugee Family Reunion scheme, pending the introduction of new rules. The previous scheme had allowed spouses, partners, and dependents under 18 to come to the UK without meeting the income and English-language requirements imposed on other migrants. While Mahmood is unlikely to adopt Denmark’s policies wholesale, sources suggest she will move in a more restrictive direction (BBC).
“We have tightened our laws in many ways,” said Rasmus Stoklund, Denmark’s minister for Immigration and Integration, in an interview with BBC. “We return more people back home. We have made it quite difficult to have family reunification in Denmark. You will get expelled a lot easier if you commit crimes. And we have made different programmes to help people go back home voluntarily.”
Stoklund emphasized that Denmark expects newcomers to participate and contribute positively to society. “If they don’t, they aren’t welcome,” he said. He also noted that both Denmark and the UK are grappling with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which some politicians argue makes it harder to expel foreign criminals. Denmark is currently reviewing how the ECHR affects its policies, a process that has drawn interest from Mahmood and her team, who share similar frustrations.
The political context for these reforms is fraught. Labour’s leadership hopes that a tougher stance on immigration might help fend off challenges from Reform UK, which has been making gains in traditional Labour “red wall” constituencies. According to BBC, in 2015 Denmark’s centre-left Social Democrats managed to defeat a surging right-wing populist party by adopting stricter migration policies, a strategy some in Downing Street see as a template for the UK.
Ida Auken, a spokesperson for Denmark’s Social Democrats, explained the rationale: “For us, it was a licence to operate on the things we want to do. We want to have a workforce that are educated, that have a social security and we do want to do a green transition. And we would never have been able to do this unless we’ve had those strict migration policies.”
But not everyone in Labour is convinced. The party is deeply divided over the wisdom—and morality—of emulating Denmark’s approach. Former frontbencher Clive Lewis argued, “Denmark’s Social Democrats have gone down what I would call a hardcore approach to immigration. They’ve adopted many of the talking points of what we would call the far right. Labour does need to win back some Reform-leaning voters but you can’t do that at the cost of losing progressive votes.” Nadia Whittome, MP for Nottingham East, went further, calling the policies “undeniably racist” and warning, “I think this is a dead end—morally, politically and electorally.”
Others, like Gareth Snell, Labour MP for Stoke-on-Trent Central, see value in exploring Danish-style reforms. “It’s worth looking at what best practice we can find from our sister parties around the world where they have managed to find practical solutions,” he told BBC. Jo White, who leads a group of Labour MPs in “Red Wall” seats, warned that failing to act could be politically disastrous: “The consequences are that we go into a general election where Reform will be the biggest challenger in most Labour seats... and we will be annihilated.”
Critics note that Denmark and the UK face different challenges. Denmark is not a primary destination for small boat arrivals, and its language requirements may deter some migrants. Moreover, Denmark’s smaller population and more homogenous society make its policies easier to implement. In the UK, where English is a global language and migration pressures are more intense, some argue that Danish-style rules could have unintended consequences.
As Mahmood prepares to announce the new measures, the nation watches closely. Will the UK’s adoption of elements from Denmark’s model mark a turning point in its migration debate, or will it deepen divisions within the Labour Party and the country at large? Only time will tell, but one thing’s certain: the coming weeks will be pivotal for Britain’s immigration future.
