UK Expands Asylum Ban for Foreign Sex Offenders

The UK government has announced legislation denying asylum to foreign nationals convicted of sex offences, whether committed in the UK or overseas, by placing them on the sex offenders register regardless of sentence length. This marks a stricter policy than the previous rule, which only applied to those sentenced to over 12 months for serious crimes. The amendment to the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill is partly in response to high-profile cases such as Abdul Ezedi and aims to protect women and girls as well as address concerns about asylum seekers with criminal records. The law introduces targets for reducing the asylum backlog, uses AI for faster case processing, and targets fraudulent immigration advisors. Human rights organizations have expressed concern over the speed and impact of these changes. Individuals affected may still appeal under the European Convention on Human Rights, though the government has not provided data on the number of people who will be impacted.