Asylum seekers will be required to pay up to £10,000 towards the cost of their accommodation and support once they start earning, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has announced. The full amount must be repaid before they can be eligible for settled status, also known as indefinite leave to remain, which allows migrants to permanently live, work, and study in the UK.
How the repayment scheme will work
Eligible adults will likely make monthly payments above a set income threshold, similar to a student loan repayment system. The Home Office said the Home Secretary will have the power to adjust the total repayment amount. Those who leave the UK must pay the full amount if they wish to return in the future.
Government spending on asylum support
The government spent £4 billion on accommodation and support for asylum seekers last year. The Home Office estimates the average cost per person per night is £23.25 in dispersal accommodation and £144 in hotels, while subsistence payments range from £9.95 to £49.18 per person per week. Mahmood described the cost as "too high."
Official statements
"We have already reduced asylum costs by £1 billion, but it is also right that we ask those who can contribute to do so," Mahmood said. "Receiving asylum support is a right, but it is also a responsibility. Once people can contribute and repay the generosity of the British people, we expect them to do so."
Legislation and implementation
The powers needed to recover costs will be set out in the Immigration and Asylum Bill, which is scheduled to be introduced to Parliament on Tuesday.
Expert analysis
Dr Madeleine Sumption, director of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, said it is likely that only a relatively small share of people granted asylum would earn enough to pay towards the scheme. "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," she said. "The impact of the scheme on public finances is likely to be relatively small, because it is a means-tested payment for a very low-income population."
She also warned of potential unintended consequences: "It is possible that the scheme could have some other impacts, such as discouraging asylum seekers from taking up accommodation if they can find other support (such as family members or a charity), or discouraging them from working once they get refugee status because they face a higher effective tax rate."
Sumption noted that the £10,000 flat rate may not reflect actual costs. "For example, the cost of supporting a person who waits for a year in a hotel would be over £50,000, while the cost for someone in much cheaper HMO accommodation who only waits six months would be under £6,000."
