 "No UK asylum for sex offenders, fake advisers face Rs 17 lakh fine and jail")
Foreign nationals convicted of sexual offences will be blocked from seeking asylum in the United Kingdom, artificial intelligence will be rolled out to speed up decisions, fake immigration advisers face tougher penalties, and the use of hotels for housing asylum seekers will be phased out. These changes are part of the latest amendments to the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, the UK Home Office said on April 29, 2025.
The UK government will now treat any conviction that places a person on the sex offenders register as grounds to deny refugee protection, even if they would otherwise qualify. Until now, the UK could refuse asylum under the UN Refugee Convention to people convicted of crimes considered a danger to the public, generally defined as offences with a sentence of at least 12 months.
“Sex offenders who pose a risk to the community should not be allowed to benefit from refugee protections in the UK,” said Home Secretary Yvette Cooper. “We are strengthening the law to ensure these appalling crimes are taken seriously.”
End to hotel accommodation for asylum seekers
The Bill also proposes ending the use of hotels for housing asylum seekers, a system that has cost Billions.
“Nor should asylum seekers be stuck in hotels at the taxpayers' expense during lengthy legal battles,” Cooper said. “That is why we are changing the law to help clear the backlog.”
Tribunals will now be given a 24-week deadline to decide asylum appeals for those receiving housing support or for non-detained foreign national offenders. At present, such appeals take nearly 50 weeks on average to be heard, according to the latest tribunal data.
More funds will also be allocated to increase the number of hearing days available at both the first-tier and upper-tier immigration tribunals, in a bid to reduce delays.
New powers for immigration watchdog
The Bill gives more teeth to the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA), which regulates who can provide legal immigration advice in the UK.
Anyone found pretending to be a qualified immigration adviser without registration will now face higher fines—up to £15,000 (around Rs 17 lakh)—and potential jail time.
The IAA is the sole regulator that can investigate and prosecute those giving unauthorised advice. The Home Office warned that such individuals often act as middlemen, offering misleading or fraudulent services to migrants hoping to stay in the UK.
AI to speed up asylum decisions
Artificial intelligence will now be deployed to help caseworkers process claims faster.
Officials say the technology will help prevent asylum seekers from being “stuck in limbo at the taxpayers’ expense” and deliver faster outcomes—both for those eligible to stay and for those facing removal.
The AI rollout follows a wider government plan to digitise public services and find up to £45 billion in productivity savings. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is overseeing this broader push.
Asylum claims
In 2023, 3,911 Indian nationals applied for asylum in the UK, a sharp rise from 1,333 the previous year. Despite the increase, only 5% of Indian applicants were granted protection at the initial stage.
This is in contrast to nearly universal success rates for applicants from conflict zones: 98% for Afghans, 99% for Syrians and Eritreans.
That year also saw 1,194 Indian nationals crossing the English Channel in small boats, making up 4.1% of total arrivals via this route.
Return numbers hit new high
Between July 5, 2024 and March 22, 2025, the UK returned 24,103 individuals who had no legal right to remain. These included:
6,339 enforced returns
3,594 foreign national offenders
6,781 asylum-related returns
46 chartered deportation flights across four continents
This was the highest figure recorded in a comparable nine-month period since 2017.
Speaking at the Organised Immigration Crime Summit on March 31, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the public was right to be angry over illegal migration.
“It undermines our ability to control who comes here and that makes people angry. It makes me angry, frankly,” he said. “It is unfair on ordinary working people who pay the price, from the cost of hotels to our public services struggling under the strain.”
Foreign sex offenders: New legal presumption
Under the UK Borders Act 2007, deportation orders must be issued against foreign nationals who receive custodial sentences of at least 12 months—unless doing so would breach international obligations.
The new amendment introduces a legal presumption that anyone convicted of a sexual offence serious enough to trigger sex offender registration will be denied refugee status. Each case, however, will still be reviewed individually to determine both the seriousness of the offence and the danger posed to the public.