6 things Parliament can get right on the Immigration and Asylum Bill

Today, we’re making sure Wales’ voice is heard. 

The Public Bill Committee met for the first time on 10 September 2026 to scrutinise the Immigration and Asylum Bill. It is expected to report by 5pm on 3 November 2026. We’ve shared Welsh Refugee Council’s concerns directly with the Committee. For 36 years, we’ve worked alongside people seeking sanctuary as they navigate the asylum system and rebuild their lives in Wales. What we see every day has shaped the evidence we’ve given Parliament. We want an asylum system that is faster, clearer, and more sustainable. 

But faster must also mean fairer. 

Our biggest concern? Some parts of this Bill could move pressure rather than reduce it. Here are six things we want the Committee to get right.

1. Faster decisions must be fair decisions

Long waits help nobody. But speeding up decisions only works if people can access legal advice, understand what is happening, and provide the evidence needed for their case. 

That can be difficult, particularly in Wales where access to specialist legal advice can be limited. Research by the Bevan Foundation highlights the scale of this problem, describing Wales as a legal “advice desert” for immigration and asylum matters. It’s latest mapping found that immigration legal aid provision in Wales in 2024–25 was sufficient to meet only around 16% of estimated need, while the number of immigration legal aid cases opened has fallen by 82% since 2010–11. In practice, this can make it harder for individuals to weigh up risks and make informed decisions about their future. 

Getting a decision wrong quickly isn’t an efficient outcome. It can lead to appeals, more uncertainty and more cost. We want a system focused on early and accurate decisions – not simply rapid ones. Football team standing together.

2. Protection should bring stability

We’re concerned about plans for people granted Core Protection to receive 30 months of temporary protection, with their need for protection potentially reviewed repeatedly. Imagine trying to plan your education, career, home, or family life while knowing your future could be reviewed again and again. Our experience tells us something important: stability enables integration.

When people have certainty, they can learn English or Welsh, develop skills, work, find a home, put down roots, and contribute successfully to their community.  Protection should be the point where rebuilding starts – not another period of uncertainty.

3. Asylum support shouldn’t become a debt

Asylum support is not a loan. It provides essential basics because people seeking asylum would otherwise face destitution. 

When someone receives protection and starts work, those first wages matter. They might need a rental deposit, their first month’s rent, household essentials, or money to travel to work. Recovering asylum support just as someone starts earning could create a new financial barrier at exactly the moment they’re becoming independent. And if that leads to homelessness or financial hardship, the cost hasn’t disappeared.It has moved somewhere else.

Two girls playing with toys at a Play Project session for sanctuary seeking children. 4. Families need stability too

Immigration decisions don’t affect one person in isolation. They affect partners, children, carers, and whole families. We want the Bill to protect meaningful consideration of individual family circumstances. And where children are affected, their best interests must remain a primary consideration.  If we want people to rebuild their lives and become part of their communities, family stability matters. 

 

 

 5. Survivors need to feel safe enough to speak

Trafficking and exploitation aren’t always disclosed immediately. 

Fear. Trauma. Shame. Coercion. Threats. 

All can affect when someone feels able to explain what has happened to them. Some survivors disclose their experiences gradually. Others may only understand that they’ve been exploited after building trust with someone supporting them. That’s why late disclosure is not the same as false disclosure. The Bill must not create a situation where the effects of trauma become a reason to doubt someone’s experience. 

 6. Wales can’t be an afterthought

A colourful hand-made quilt from sanctuary seeking communities. Panel reads 'Croeso', the Welsh word for welcome. Immigration policy is reserved. Many of its consequences are not. Housing. Homelessness. Health. Education. Safeguarding. Social services. 

These are areas where decisions made in Westminster can have very real consequences here in Wales. If immigration policy makes it harder for someone to work, study, find a home or become independent, Welsh services can end up dealing with the consequences. A saving to the Home Office isn’t necessarily a saving to the taxpayer. 

That’s why we want the impact on Wales properly assessed before these changes are implemented, not afterwards, including how these reforms could affect Wales’ Nation of Sanctuary approach. 

We want the UK Government to assess what the Bill could mean for devolved services, responsibilities and funding, and to work with Welsh Government, local authorities and specialist organisations in Wales as the reforms are implemented. Because ultimately, UK immigration policy should not create barriers that Welsh services are then expected to overcome. 

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