UK plans to make asylum seekers repay up to £10,000 in support costs once they start earning

Ministers say the bill is designed to create a “firm but fair” asylum system while reducing the pull factors driving illegal migration. However, some of its tougher measures are expected to face opposition from Labour MPs.

How the repayment scheme will work

Under the proposed rules, asylum seekers who are later granted refugee status and have the right to work in the UK will have to pay a flat-rate amount before they become eligible to settle permanently. The repayment is expected to be set at £10,000, although the Home Office has not yet decided how much a person must earn before they start making monthly instalments.

People whose asylum claims are rejected and who leave the UK would also have to repay the support costs before being allowed to return to the country. The Home Secretary would have the power to change both the repayment amount and the income threshold in the future to ensure they remain fair while preventing migrants from falling into destitution.

Home secretary defends the proposal

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the new rules are about balancing support with responsibility. She told BBC, “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.”

Bill also includes new refugee routes

Alongside the repayment proposal, the Immigration and Asylum Bill is expected to introduce new “capped safe and legal” routes for refugees. Under the plan, organisations such as universities, community groups and businesses could sponsor refugees, with the government saying this would reduce costs for taxpayers. Last week, the Home Office also announced plans to use more former military barracks to house thousands of asylum seekers after shutting 20 more hotels across England.

Taxpayer costs remain high

According to the Home Office, around £4 billion of taxpayers’ money was spent supporting asylum seekers last year. Housing an asylum seeker in private rented accommodation costs an average of £23.25 per night, while hotel accommodation costs around £144 per night. Weekly subsistence payments range from £9.95 to £49.18 per person.

Refugee groups criticise the plan

The Refugee Council described the proposal as an “unfair, impractical” measure that amounts to an “extra tax on refugees” and warned it would make it “harder for families to rebuild their lives and stand on their own feet”.

Its director of external affairs, Imran Hussain told BBC, “The reason why many need asylum support is because the Home Office itself bans asylum seekers from working while their claims are being assessed.”

He added, “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.”

Experts question how much money can be recovered

Dr Madeleine Sumption, director of the University of Oxford’s Migration Observatory, said the proposals would move Britain’s immigration system “in a more restrictive direction”.

She told BBC, “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 added, “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.”

Employment data shows gradual improvement

Home Office figures show that 24% of asylum seekers aged 16 to 64 who were granted refugee status between 2015 and 2023 were in employment during their first year in the UK.

That figure increased to around 48% two years after refugee status was granted. Among those who were employed eight years after receiving refugee status, 37% were working full time with median annual earnings of £23,000, while only 40% earned more than the minimum wage.

Conservatives claim Labour adopted their proposal

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said Labour had borrowed a previous Conservative proposal. He 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.”