The UK is looking to Denmark for inspiration to shake up its immigration system

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is set to announce a major shake-up of the immigration and asylum system later this month, the BBC has learned.

And he will model some of his new moves on Denmark’s system – seen as one of the toughest in Europe.

We understand the officials who are looking at Denmark’s strict rules on Family Reunification and prevent most refugees from a temporary stay in the country.

Mahmmood wants to reduce the incentives that take people to the UK, while making it easier to get rid of those without rights already in the country.

But some in his own party are against going the Danish route, with one left-wing Labor MP saying it is “hardcore” and has echoes of the far right.

At the working conference in September, Mahmood promised To “do whatever it takes” to regain control of Britain’s borders.

He was impressed that Denmark has driven the number of successful asylum claims to a 40-year low – except for 2020, amid pandemic travel restrictions.

And we’re told he sent senior home office officials to Copenhagen last month to learn what lessons the UK could apply.

Last week, we also made a trip to Denmark to learn how their immigration system works.

Mahmood’s opposite number, Rasmus Stoklund, Denmark’s minister for immigration and integration, is a member of the labor sister of the Social Democrats.

He told us: “We bind our laws in many ways.

“We will return many people to return home. We find it difficult to have a family reunion in Denmark.

“You get deported more quickly if you’ve committed crimes. And we’ve created various programs to help people return voluntarily.”

There is no indication that the UK government will follow the example of Denmark in offering a large amount – as much as the equivalent of £ 24,000 – for the creation of a nation in their country, including a contribution to the cost of their children’s education.

But the BBC understood some of what Stoklund was plotting in our closely scrutinized home.

In Denmark, refugees who are personally targeted by a foreign regime are likely to be granted protection.

But most people who were successfully granted asylum when fleeing conflicts are now allowed to stay in the country on a temporary basis.

When the Danish government ruled that their country of residence was safe, they could be returned.

Four years ago, 200 refugees from Syria have their rights to live denied Even before the Assad regime fell, though they were not rejected.

For those who have been in Denmark for a long time, the length of time it takes to obtain settlement rights has been extended and conditions – such as going to full-time work – have been added.

Denmark’s stricter rules for family reunification have also attracted the interest of UK Office officials.

If you are a refugee who has been granted residence rights in Denmark, you and your spouse applying to join you in the country must be 24 or older.

The Danish government says it is to guard against forced marriages.

The Danish partner does not have to claim benefits for three years and also has to put up a financial guarantee – and both partners have to pass a Danish language test.

Refugees living in housing estates designated as “similar societies” – where more than 50% of residents are considered to be of “non-Western” backgrounds – are not eligible for family reunification.

In September, the UK Home Office suspended new applications under the Refugee Family Remion schemewaiting to draw new rules.

Pre-September allows spouses, partners and dependents under 18 to come to the UK without fulfilling the income and English language tests that apply to other migrants.

Mahmood may not have gone as far as Denmark when he announced the UK’s replacement rules for family reunions, but it looks like he will be taking steps down a more restrictive route.

For Rasmus Stoklund, the stricter immigration and integration rules are about protecting the nature of Danish society.

Denmark is a small country, he says, with a population less than one-tenth that of the UK.

“We live in peace and quiet with each other. I guess you could compare us to the hobbits of the Lord of the Rings.

“We expect people to come here to participate and contribute positively and if they don’t, they’re not welcome.”

So, taking his tolkein analogy, if the Danes are the hobbits, who are their enemies, the orcs?

“Well, I won’t call the orcs but, of course, the biggest challenge we face is the lack of ability to expel some foreign criminals.”

In Denmark – as in Britain – there is a live political debate on whether the European Confribention of human rights (ECHR) makes the alienation of foreign criminals.

Like the UK government, Stoklund does not want to leave the ECHR but believes that changes can be made.

The Danish government has launched a review into how this could be done and Stoklund agreed that he could make common cause with his British counterparts.

“I think it’s very positive every time I hear that other countries have the same concerns and are also disappointed in the same way as many Danes.”

MahMmood is understood to want to meet Stoklund at the earliest opportunity.

For labor ministers, there are political, as well as practical lessons, to learn from Denmark.

In 2015, the country had a left-wing government in trouble and a Party-Wing Populist Party floundering in the polls, with immigration weighing heavily on voters.

There are parallels in the UK today, as the UK reform continues its poll the cause of labour.

Downing Street is interested in how to bring a left part of the Danish Party Party, one time allies of NIGel Farase in the European Parliament, to return to power.

Ida Autok, the spokeswoman of the Social Democrats, said that a strong turn away from a toxic issue of other progressive policies in other areas.

“For us, it’s a license to operate the things we want to do.

“We want to have an educated workforce, with a social security and we want to make a green transition.

“And we really can’t do it unless we have strict immigration policies.”

Some senior UK ministers are thought to find the argument tame.

Critics will point out that while there are similarities to the UK, the Danish political and electoral systems are different and present some challenges.

The country does not face flotillas of small boats coming from the North Sea or the Baltic.

Danish is not as widely spoken as English, so the language requirements tend to discourage the least refugees.

And while the majority of Social Democrat Parliamentarians are on board for many hardline policies, it is even stronger among some Labor MPs.

Off the record, some key Labor leaders have said they oppose transferring Danish policies to the UK.

On the left of the Party, former frontbencher Clive Lewis argued against going the Denmark route in an effort to Outflotk reform the UK.

“The social democrats in Denmark have come down with, what I would call a hardcore approach to immigration.” He said.

“They adopted a lot of people talking about what we would call the far right.

“Labor needs to win over some reform-leaning voters but you can’t do that at the expense of losing progressive votes.

“And that’s what we’re doing right now. We’re thinking about the center of the center and the left.”

Jo Puti, who leads a 50-strong group of Labor MPS in the “Red Wall” in Midland and North of MyNesters Will return in a Denish direction.

He argued that labor pay will pay a heavy political price if it is not adopted policies such as preparing some asylum seekers to contribute to the cost of their stay.

“The consequences are that we are going to a general election where reform is the biggest player in the majority of Labor seats … and we will be destroyed.”

“Immigration: The Danish Way” will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 at 13:30 on Sunday, 9 November, and will be available on BBC Sound.