UK asylum policy after Brexit

Summary:

Since the end of the Brexit transition period on 31 December 2020, the European Union’s Common European Asylum System (CEAS) no longer applies to the United Kingdom (UK). The government has now introduced its Nationality and Borders Bill to reform the UK’s asylum system.

This explainer sets out the UK’s pre-Brexit asylum system and what was (or was not) agreed in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. It then looks at what the UK government has proposed as its post-Brexit asylum policy plan and whether it is workable given the overall lack of EU support.