UK to open new refugee sponsorship routes in October

UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced new “safe and legal” routes for refugees, saying charities and nonprofit organizations would be allowed to sponsor refugees under a capped and controlled scheme.

"I know the British people have not given up on their belief that we should be compassionate, live up to our international obligations, and save the lives of those fleeing war and persecution,” Mahmood said at Labour's annual conference in Liverpool.

"But I also know this process must be capped and controlled," she added.

Applications for a "community sponsorship route" and a "student sponsorship route" will open in October, according to Mahmood.

The first refugees arriving through the new scheme are expected to enter the UK next autumn, according to Mahmood.

She also announced that the UK Resettlement Route will reopen in partnership with the UN, with the government beginning to accept "vulnerable refugees from across the world."

"A quarter will be Afghan women and girls, fleeing persecution under the Taliban, and Palestinians who have fled the horrors of Gaza," she said.

"This is what we can do -- this is who we can be -- as we restore control to our borders, bear down on small boat crossings, and unlock the inherent generosity of this country," Mahmood added.