The Government’s flagship Illegal Migration Act (IMA 2023) and its Rwanda Plan fundamentally change the ability for people to access the UK’s asylum system.

Under the IMA 2023, the majority of protection claims made in the UK are permanently inadmissible. While the Home Secretary will also be under a duty to arrange for their removal, in reality only a small proportion are ever likely to be removed to their own country or Rwanda.

This briefing paper with new analysis from the Refugee Council shows how the Government’s flagship legislation could leave more than 100,000 men, women and children seeking asylum in permanent limbo by the end of 2024. Instead of their claim being considered on its merits and either granted or refused, they will be left unable to get on with their lives. They will face two choices – rely indefinitely on Home Office support, which could cost the taxpayer over £17 million pounds every day, or else disappear, leaving them at risk of destitution, exploitation and abuse.

Download our briefing: Cost, chaos and human misery – the impact of the Illegal Migration Act 2023 and the Rwanda Plan