The Gateway Protection Programme was a refugee resettlement scheme operated by the Government of the United Kingdom in partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and co-funded by the European Union (EU), offering a legal route for a quota of UNHCR-identified refugees to be resettled in the UK. Following a proposal by the British Home Secretary, David Blunkett, in October 2001, the legal basis was established by the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 and the programme itself launched in March 2004. The programme enjoyed broad support from the UK's main political parties.
The Gateway Protection Programme initially had a quota of 500 refugees per year, which was later increased to 750, but the actual number of refugees resettled in most years was fewer than the quota permitted. Afghan, Liberian, Congolese, Sudanese, Burmese, Ethiopian, Mauritanian, Iraqi, Bhutanese, Eritrean, Palestinian and Somali refugees were amongst those who were resettled under the programme. Refugees were resettled to locations in England and Scotland. Of the 18 local authorities participating as resettlement locations by 2012, eight were in the North West region of England and three in Yorkshire and the Humber. Evaluations of the programme have praised it as having a positive impact on the reception of refugees by local communities, but have also noted the difficulties these refugees have faced in securing employment.
In 2019, the British government announced plans to merge the Gateway Protection Programme with two of the UK's other resettlement schemes to create a new, single resettlement scheme.[1] This was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2020, the Gateway Protection Programme closed after resettling 9,939 refugees since it began in 2004.[2] The new, replacement UK Resettlement Scheme started in February 2021.