Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is set to announce a major shake-up of the immigration and asylum system later this month, the BBC has learned.
And she will model some of her new measures on the Danish system - seen as one of the toughest in Europe.
It is understood officials have been looking at Denmark's tighter rules on family reunion and restricting most refugees to a temporary stay in the country.
Mahmood wants to reduce incentives that draw people to the UK, while making it easier to expel those with no right to be in the country.
But some in her own party are against going down the Danish route, with one left-wing Labour MP saying it was too "hardcore" and contained echoes of the far right.
