The UK wants to emulate Denmark’s hardline asylum model – but what does it actually look like?

Many of Denmark’s integration policies have attracted international criticism. Photograph: Claus Fisker/Scanpix Denmark/Scanpix/AFP/Getty Images

Of all the measures introduced to deter people from seeking asylum in Denmark over the last decade, it is the impermanence of refugees’ status that is often cited as the most effective.

Before 2015, refugees in Denmark were initially allowed to stay for between five and seven years, after which their residence permits would automatically become permanent. But 10 years ago, when more than a million people arrived in Europe fleeing conflict and repression, largely from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and Eritrea, the Danish government dramatically changed the rules.