Next week Mahmood will tell MPs her plan means “less in, more out”, through what the Home Office promiesd will be the biggest reforms “to tackle illegal migration in modern times”.
The Home Office believes the UK has become the destination for “asylum shoppers” – those who shop around for different countries to claim refuge.
It is understood many of the changes will be closely modelled on the policies of Denmark’s centre-left Social Democrats, who have presided over one of the toughest asylum and immigration systems in Europe.
The party’s reforms introduced in 2016 led to a 40-year low in asylum claims.
In Denmark refugees are given temporary residence permits, typically of two years, and in effect have to reapply for asylum when they expire.
Even for those who are allowed to extend multiple times, the route to citizenship has grown longer and harder.
Four years ago the Danish government planned to return around 200 refugees to Syria while the civil war raged because it said some parts of Damascus were safe.
The home secretary had sent senior officials to Denmark to see what lessons can be learned from their system.
