
The nine-page booklet covers issues including respect in public, sex and consent, and gender equality.
Asylum seekers have been told that rape, sexual harassment and domestic abuse are illegal in the UK, in guidance for new arrivals published by the Home Office.
A nine-page online booklet covers respect in public, sex and consent, and gender equality, with guidance on how UK laws and customs may be different from their home countries.
The Conservatives said any asylum seekers breaking UK law should be deported and Reform said the publication showed the government "knows that they are a menace".
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the government had "a very clear principle that if you break UK law, you will be removed from the country".
He said the number of removals of illegal immigrants from the UK "are significantly up" and that he was working to ensure that foreign national offenders are removed from the prison system.
He added: "It follows that if we're taking this approach, it's made explicitly clear what the UK law is and what the societal norms of the UK are and that's why this approach is being taken."
According to the latest Home Office figures, a total of 93,525 people applied for asylum in the UK from April 2025 to March 2026, which was down by 12% on the same period in the previous year.
The booklet sets out how asylum seekers must understand UK law, because the consequences of breaking the law mean "you could get in trouble with the police, lose your asylum support, or it could affect your asylum claim."
A section on gender, external explains that women in the UK have equal rights to men, and do not need the permission from a husband, father, brother or any other man to do things like work, study, travel, or make decisions.
Another section on sex and consent sets out how both people must agree to sex or sexual contact of any kind, and consent cannot be given if someone is asleep, drunk, or unable to respond.
"If you have sex with someone who does not want to, this is called rape. Rape is a serious crime," the document says.
"It is still rape if: You are married to the person or in a relationship. They agreed once, but changed their mind."
Disclaimer
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