UK asylum seekers to repay £10,000 for support under new government plans

People granted asylum in the UK face having to pay back around £10,000 towards the cost of their accommodation and support once they start earning, under government plans.

The new measures, which are part of the Immigration and Asylum Bill, are aimed at recovering costs from all adults with sufficient funds.

Asylum seekers who have the right to work in the UK will have to pay the flat-rate fee before they are eligible to settle permanently.

Those whose claims have been rejected and leave the country will have to repay the costs before they can return to the UK.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the changes would demonstrate "asylum support is a right, but it is also a responsibility".

She added: "Once people can contribute and repay the generosity of the British people, we expect them to do so."

The plans will mean migrants working and earning a specific amount will be required to pay back a flat-rate sum, which is expected to be set at £10,000.

The Home Office has not determined how much people would need to earn before making monthly instalments.

The home secretary would have the power to adjust the charge and the repayment thresholds in the future to ensure "they are both fair to the taxpayer and will not force any migrant into destitution".

Dr Madeleine Sumption, director of the University of Oxford's Migration Observatory, said the measures would move the immigration system "in a more restrictive direction".

"The government goal appears to be to tighten up that system as much as they can while still remaining compliant with international refugee law and human rights law," she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Around £4bn of taxpayers' money was spent on supporting asylum seekers last year, according to the Home Office.

The average cost of housing an asylum seeker for one night in private-rented accommodation is £23.25, and £144 in a hotel - while subsistence payments range from £9.95 to £49.18 for each person per week.

The Refugee Council said the "unfair, impractical" plans amounted to an "extra tax on refugees", and would make it "harder for families to rebuild their lives and stand on their own feet".

Its director of external affairs Imran Hussain said: "The reason why many need asylum support is because the Home Office itself bans asylum seekers from working while their claims are being assessed.

"Asylum support is only given to people who are at risk of being destitute, so this new financial burden would only harm those who arrive on our shores with nothing."

The Migration Observatory questioned how much money the government would actually be able to recoup through the system, pointing to the low rates of employment and earning among refugees.

Sumption said: "In 2023, for example, an estimated 13% of people granted refugee status five years earlier were earning at least £20,000, with the rest either not working or on lower earnings.

"The data suggests that unless thresholds were significantly below the minimum wage, a relatively small share of people granted asylum would earn enough to make contributions to the scheme."

According to the Home Office, 24% of 16 to 64-year-olds granted asylum between 2015 and 2023 were in employment in the first year in which they arrived in the UK.

That number rose to around 48% two years after refugee status was granted.

Of those who were in employment eight years after receiving refugee status, 37% had been in full-time work with median earnings of £23,000, with just 40% earning more than the minimum wage.

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said Labour had "adopted yet another" Conservative policy, adding: "This precise scheme was proposed by us in an amendment to the Immigration Bill last year, which Labour blocked."

The Immigration and Asylum Bill would also see a new immigration appeals authority introduced with the aim of speeding up removals of failed asylum seekers.

It would also include changes to how human rights and modern slavery laws are applied to asylum applications to root out what the government described as "vexatious" claims.

Ministers hope the Bill will bring into force proposals that will create a firm but fair asylum system, and which will reduce the pull factors driving illegal migration.

However, parts of the bill are expected to draw opposition from some Labour MPs opposed to some of the strictest measures it will contain.

Last week, the Home Office revealed it was planning to use more former military barracks to house thousands of asylum seekers after closing 20 more hotels in England.

It also said the new the immigration law would include plans for new "capped safe and legal" routes to the UK for refugees, which would involve organisations like universities, community groups and businesses sponsoring a person to reduce costs for the taxpayer.