The Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood MP, announced today (2 March 2026) that refugee protection will become temporary and last for just 30 months.

What does this mean for women seeking safety in the UK?

From 2 March 2026, anyone who claims asylum in the UK and receives refugee protection will be given temporary status of just 30 months.

This change is part of the Government’s wider Restoring Order and Control policy paper, which encompasses a series of cruel and punitive changes to the asylum system in the UK.

This means that anyone who has been granted protection in the UK will have their protection needs ‘reviewed’ every 30 months.

For those whose country is now deemed safe, they will be expected to return there – either voluntarily or by forcible deportation.

For women seeking safety here, this is particularly concerning.

The impact on women

Short-term, temporary leave traps people in cycles of uncertainty and instability and makes it much more difficult for them to rebuild their lives in our communities.

Evidence from Denmark – where many of these policy proposals are borrowed from – highlights the disproportionate harm on women, particularly single mothers, trapping them and their children in cycles of poverty and harm.

We know from our work supporting refugee women – many of whom are survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) – that SGBV happens all around the world, even if a country is not experiencing war, conflict, widespread violence, or political instability. Declaring countries safe ignores the truth: violence against women and girls is a pervasive epidemic.

Furthermore, long-term, secure status is often key to survivors’ healing and recovery. Subjecting women who have sought safety here to ongoing fear, precarity and uncertainty is not only cruel, but a direct blocker to their recovery.

This is a shameful approach for a Government committed to tackling violence against women and girls.

Real lives at stake

This change will undoubtedly cause huge harm to people who are seeking safety here.

The Government wants to appear tough on immigration, but this change will have profound consequences on people’s lives, wellbeing, and safety.

We call on the Government to urgently reconsider its plans for temporary refugee status.

As ever, we will fight this hostility in parliament, in public, and together with our supporters. 

Carenza Arnold, Head of Campaigns, says:

Women for Refugee Women is deeply alarmed by the Government’s decision to reduce refugee status to a temporary 30-month cycle. For the women we support – many of whom have survived war, rape and trafficking – repeated reviews create a climate of permanent fear and insecurity. This uncertainty is not only destabilising, it exposes survivors to the ongoing threat of return and the retraumatisation that follows.  

Already we know from Denmark – where this policy is borrowed from – women will be disproportionately harmed, particularly single mothers, trapping them and their children in cycles of poverty and harm. This is a shameful approach for a Government committed to tackling violence against women and girls.

This divisive and scapegoating policy is designed to make the Government look ‘tough’ on immigration, but it is real people’s lives at stake. We urge the Government to uphold a system that provides genuine protection for those seeking safety in the UK – not institutionalise insecurity for those who have already endured profound harm.