Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is preparing to announce a significant immigration and asylum package later in November 2025, with measures drawn from Denmark’s system. The BBC and Financial Times report that the Home Office dispatched senior officials to Copenhagen to assess which Danish practices could be adapted to the UK, focusing on reducing incentives for irregular entry and accelerating removals.
Denmark emphasises time‑limited protection for people fleeing generalised conflict, with residence reviewed and withdrawn when conditions are judged safe. This approach coincides with a 2024 total of roughly 860 asylum grants-the lowest figure in more than 40 years apart from 2020, according to Denmark’s Ministry of Immigration and Integration. Danish rules also allow revocation if a refugee later travels to the home country, reflecting a more conditional model of protection.
Family reunion is a central area under review. Denmark applies a general minimum age of 24 for spouse or partner reunification, alongside an integration requirement that can be met by passing the Danish 3 exam or by five years of full‑time work substantially conducted in Danish; from 1 July 2024 the financial guarantee was reduced to DKK 57,000. For those with ‘temporary protection’ under section 7(3) of the Aliens Act, applications for family reunion are normally possible only after two years, following amendments made to comply with the European Court of Human Rights ruling in M.A. v Denmark.
Residence location also features in the Danish framework. Under the government’s ‘Parallel Societies’ programme, people living in designated disadvantaged estates face additional restrictions; the government’s own policy papers state that, as a rule, a person cannot be reunified to a spouse living in such an area. The regime-which also enables forced redevelopment and tighter tenancy controls-is facing an EU Court of Justice challenge, where the advocate general has said reliance on ‘non‑Western’ population share amounts to direct discrimination.
Danish policy on returns is assertive. Authorities have extended schemes that enable certain foreign offenders to be deported before completing sentences, and recent Supreme Court case‑law confirms expulsions where a proportionality test under Article 8 ECHR is satisfied. The government has also proposed sentencing reforms which experts say would make deportation easier by increasing the number of cases that meet removal thresholds.
Voluntary return is incentivised. Under the Return Act, adults whose protection has been revoked or not extended can be eligible for repatriation support broadly in the DKK 230,000–260,000 range, with about DKK 50,000 available per child, according to answers lodged with the Folketing. UK sources indicate interest in Denmark’s operational lessons, but there is no sign of a comparable UK scheme at this stage.
The UK baseline has shifted. On 4 September 2025 the Home Office closed new applications under Appendix Family Reunion (Sponsors with Protection). Before the suspension, recognised refugees could sponsor partners and children under 18 without meeting the mainstream income or English language rules. New applications must now use the standard family routes in Appendix FM, which carry a £29,000 minimum income threshold and language requirements, subject to limited exemptions.
Both Copenhagen and London remain signatories to the European Convention on Human Rights. Denmark has amended its Aliens Act and adjusted practice following Strasbourg judgments on expulsions and family reunion, and-together with eight other governments-has called for EU‑level changes to make it easier to expel foreign criminals while remaining within Convention limits.
Politically, the direction of travel is contested inside Labour. Reporting by the BBC records left‑wing MPs warning that adopting Danish rules could be discriminatory, particularly around ‘parallel societies’, while MPs representing former ‘Red Wall’ seats argue for restrictions akin to Denmark’s to rebuild confidence in border control.
Policy transfer will have limits. Denmark does not face small‑boat arrivals and operates Danish‑language integration levers that are not directly portable to the UK. These structural differences mean results achieved in Copenhagen may not be replicable through simple rule changes in London.
For practitioners, the immediate watchpoints are replacement family reunion rules, any UK definition of a temporary‑protection category and review cycle, and the handling of criminality‑based expulsion decisions under Article 8. According to the BBC, the Home Office is due to set out the package later in November.
Additional context will be set out in BBC Radio 4’s Immigration: the Danish Way, scheduled for broadcast on Sunday 9 November at 13:30 GMT, while ministers are expected to continue bilateral contact; Mahmood has signalled interest in an early meeting with her Danish counterpart.