The UK’s Home Office has introduced reforms that will require some asylum seekers to pay around £10,000 (about ₦18 million) to become eligible for settlement.
The bill was introduced in Parliament on Tuesday and sets out new powers for the Home Office to recover costs from adults who have received asylum support, such as subsistence payments or accommodation, provided they have sufficient funds.
Asylum seekers have not typically been required to pay to obtain settlement, and this is not a global norm.
However, Shabana Mahmood, the Justice Secretary (not Home Secretary), said asylum seekers in the UK have become a financial burden on taxpayers.
“The cost of asylum accommodation to the British taxpayer is too high,” Mahmood said.
“We have already reduced asylum costs by £1 billion, but it is also right that we ask those who can contribute to do so.
“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.”
The new costs will also apply to former asylum seekers who leave the UK and later wish to return.
The Home Office estimates that the average cost of accommodating an asylum seeker is £23.25 per person per night in dispersal accommodation and £144 per person per night in hotels, while subsistence payments range from £9.95 to £49.18 per person per week.
According to the UK government, one-quarter of people aged 16 to 64 who were granted asylum between 2015 and 2023 were employed within the same calendar year they received refugee status. That figure rose to 50% two years after refugee status was granted.
Among those employed eight years after being granted refugee status, 37% were in full-time work with median annual earnings of £23,000, while 40% earned more than the minimum wage.
The Home Office said the reforms would ensure asylum seekers take responsibility for the financial impact of their presence in the country.
