Women for Refugee Women (WRW) is deeply concerned by proposed changes announced in the Immigration and Asylum Bill, on 30 June 2026, that signal further restrictions to the UK’s asylum system.
The measures outlined, if realised, will cause profound harm to women and children seeking safety in the UK, many of whom have already fled violence, exploitation, and persecution.
At a time of global instability with millions of people displaced and when the UK should be strengthening protections for people seeking safety, these changes instead double down on draconian deterrence and enforcement. This will punish those in need of protection.
Punitive refugee tax that would trap women in poverty
This proposal would force people granted safety here to pay a £10,000 ‘refugee tax’ for the vital support they received while seeking safety in the UK. It is deeply unjust to saddle people who have fled war, persecution and violence with life-changing debt.
For refugee women, the consequences could be particularly severe. Our research has consistently shown that financial hardship can leave women vulnerable to coercion, abuse and exploitation. Burdening refugee women with thousands of pounds of debt risks trapping them in poverty and undermining their ability to recover, rebuild their lives and live independently. Women who cannot afford to pay risk being trapped in limbo, with no clear path to stability.
The Government should support refugee women to heal, work and live independently – not penalise them for needing support while waiting for a decision on their asylum claim. This proposal is punitive, short-sighted and risks causing lasting harm to women who have already endured extreme hardship.
Threat to family life and human rights
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has protected our freedom to speak out, to protest, to love freely, to live in peace and safety, and to seek justice for over 70 years. It protects us all. But these new plans will limit the application of Article 8 (the right to private and family life) raising grave concerns.
Article 8
For the women we work with, the right to family life is not abstract – it is essential to their survival, recovery, and dignity. Their safety and wellbeing are inseparable from the safety and unity of their families. In seeking safety, many are forcibly separated from their children, partners, or other close family members. Article 8 protections have historically provided a vital safeguard to help reunite families and prevent further trauma.
Restricting the scope of Article 8 risks making it even harder for refugee women to rebuild their lives in safety. Women seeking asylum are already disproportionately affected by separation from their children, many of whom have been forcibly separated for months or years on end. Any weakening of routes to maintain or restore family life will exacerbate this harm and prolong suffering.
We are especially alarmed that such measures could intensify the gendered injustices already embedded in the asylum system. Women face specific barriers in proving their asylum claims, including difficulties disclosing traumatic experiences and decision-making processes that often fail to recognise the realities of gender-based persecution. Curtailing Article 8 protections adds yet another obstacle, limiting the ability of women to argue for their right to stay with or reunite with their families on compassionate grounds.
Family separation has devastating mental health consequences. Many of the women we support at WRW frequently describe profound anxiety, depression, and feelings of hopelessness caused by being apart from their children. Policies that restrict family life rights not only undermine fundamental human rights but also hinder integration and recovery, making it harder for women to move forwards and rebuild their lives in our communities. Evidence shows that over 92% of refugee family reunion grants go to women and children, so these proposals will have a hugely disproportionate and harmful impact.
Sponsorship routes that risk leaving the most vulnerable behind
While we welcome the Government’s expansion of safe routes, these proposals risk shifting responsibility for refugee protection away from the state and onto communities, universities and employers. They come alongside a near total dismantling of the right to claim asylum, essential to so many women and survivors of SGBV. Refugee protection is a legal and moral responsibility of the government, and should not be dependent on community, university or employer sponsorship.
We are particularly concerned that a sponsorship model risks leaving behind some of the most vulnerable people in need of protection. Women fleeing gender-based violence, survivors of trafficking, older people, those with disabilities, caring responsibilities, or other complex needs, may be less likely to be eligible for university or employment sponsorship. A person’s right to safety should never depend on their perceived contribution to the UK.
This Government must also learn lessons from previous sponsorship schemes. While successful to some degree, the Homes for Ukraine scheme highlighted numerous safeguarding concerns, including reports of exploitation and sexual abuse by hosts. Any expansion of community sponsorship must be accompanied by robust safeguarding, independent oversight and clear accountability mechanisms to protect those seeking safety.
Safe routes are vital. WRW has been calling for such for years, but they must be genuinely accessible, adequately resourced, and centred on protection. The Government should not use sponsorship schemes as a substitute for a fair, functioning asylum system that provides protection to those who need it most.
Survivors of modern slavery risk being punished, not protected
We are deeply concerned about proposals to restrict protections for people who have experienced modern slavery and trafficking. The proposals to remove protection from survivors who are subjected to the criminal justice system, reject claims involving false documentation, and place further barriers in the way of people who disclose exploitation later in the asylum process are absurd and completely disregard the nature and impact of modern slavery and trafficking on survivors.
Women who have been exploited experience immense barriers to disclosure, including trauma, fear, shame and coercion. Delayed disclosure and difficulties in memory recall are well-recognised consequence of trauma, and not evidence that someone’s experiences aren’t genuine, as suggested by the Government. For many, it is only when they receive appropriate legal and emotional support that they feel able to disclose their experiences or begin to understand that their experiences amount to modern slavery or trafficking. Policies that prioritise suspicion over protection risk denying support to survivors who need it most.
For many survivors, their criminal convictions are a direct result of their trafficking experience. False documents and coerced criminal activity are often part of the trafficking process itself, with many women we support unaware of such. While there are legal routes to overturn convictions resulting from trafficking, it is very difficult and lengthy to do so, and many survivors are unable to pursue this.
If the Government is serious about tackling modern slavery, it must ensure that survivors are identified and protected, not punished for the ways trauma, exploitation and coercion have shaped their experiences.
Appeals reforms could deny women justice
We are deeply concerned by the proposed overhaul of the appeals process, including the move to a single-appeal route managed by a new ‘Independent Appeals Body’, stricter limits on further submissions, and the accelerated processing of cases deemed ‘unlikely to succeed’. Already, many women are forced to go through the gruelling appeals process without appropriate legal support and face difficulties in providing evidence of the SGBV they have experienced, with many waiting for over a year for their appeal to be heard.
These changes risk having a particularly harmful impact on women seeking asylum. Trauma, shame, stigma and fear frequently mean that women are only able to share the full details of the persecution they have experienced over time, sometimes only after an initial refusal. Unlike physical torture, which often leaves scars that can be documented, SGBV is harder to evidence, causing another barrier for women seeking asylum on the basis of gender-based violence. Restricting opportunities to submit new evidence or pursue further appeals will disproportionately disadvantage women, increasing the risk of wrongful refusals and unsafe returns. Already, we know that many women seeking asylum are granted protection on appeal, with over 49% of appeals by female applicants allowed (the latest available immigration statistics, year-end Q1 2023).
While we recognise the need to address the backlog and reduce the pressures on the appeals system, this must not come at the expense of justice. A just asylum system must allow women the time and support they need to present their claims fully and must ensure that decisions are informed by an understanding of gender-based persecution.
Protection, not punishment
The changes announced risk creating a system that is harsher, less fair, and more dangerous – especially for women seeking safety in the UK.
Women for Refugee Women urges the Government and MPs to reconsider these proposals and instead build an asylum system that is grounded in protection, dignity, and fairness. This must include safe routes to protection, robust safeguards for survivors of violence, and policies that uphold – not undermine – the rights of families.
The UK has a long-standing commitment to protection for those fleeing persecution. This Bill risks turning away from that tradition, with serious consequences. For a government committed to tackling violence and against women and girls, this Bill represents a shameful attack on the rights and safety of women seeking asylum here – creating a dangerous two-tier system where refugee and asylum-seeking women are treated as other and left behind.
As ever, WRW will continue to stand alongside refugee women and to advocate for an asylum system that protects, rather than punishes, those who come here in search of safety.
Carenza Muggleton-Arnold, Head of Campaigns at Women for Refugee Women says:
“The proposed changes announced today signal a deeply worrying direction on asylum and human rights. Proposals to weaken protections under the ECHR and to restrict protection for survivors of modern slavery risk shutting the door on women seeking safety in the UK before their stories are even heard.
Many of the women we support at Women for Refugee Women have survived sexual and gender-based violence. Women should be supported to disclose their experiences in a process that recognises their particular needs. A system that becomes harsher will deepen trauma, deny women the basic dignity of rebuilding their lives, and risks forcing some women back to serious harm.
This is not about fairness or efficiency – it is a rollback of vital protections for some of the most vulnerable women in our society. For a Government supposedly committed to supporting survivors of gender-based violence, this is not only cruel, but outright shameful.”