UK asylum seekers could owe $13,000 before settlement eligibility
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People granted asylum in Britain may have to repay the government nearly £10,000 (more than about $13,000) for accommodation and basic life support before they are eligible to apply for settlement, officials announced Monday.
This comes at a time when immigration has become one of the most important issues in British politics, consistently ranking among voters’ top concerns in polls.
Under the proposed rules, the government says repayments would be means-tested and limited to adults above the income threshold. Officials say measures will be included to prevent people from falling into extreme poverty, although key details on the threshold and implementation mechanism have not yet been released.
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Asylum seekers in Britain may need to repay more than $13,000 to the government before they can apply for settlement. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
The rules will not apply retroactively and children will not be subject to payment.
“Receiving asylum support is a right, but also a responsibility,” said Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood. he said. “When people can contribute and repay the generosity of the British people, we expect them to do the same.”
Mahmood explained that his latest reforms are aimed at reducing the burden on taxpayers’ wallets.
The government would only charge adults who could afford to pay. (Geography Photos/Universal Images Group)
The Home Office also said at the weekend it aims to remove a further 45,000 people with no legal right to remain and foreign criminals from the country over the next decade, in addition to the tens of thousands removed each year.
The centre-left Labor Party has stepped up efforts to curb both legal and illegal immigration as it seeks to counter the growing popularity of Nigel Farage’s UK Reform Party, which has vowed to deport up to 600,000 asylum seekers and others whose claims or appeals have failed.
“Mass migration has literally changed this country beyond recognition, certainly in many of our cities,” Farage told Fox News Digital last week. “We haven’t been picky about who can come to the country. That’s a major contributing factor.”
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British Home Affairs Minister Shabana Mahmood said that the reforms aim to reduce the burden on taxpayers. (Getty Images)
Refugee advocates and immigration researchers have criticized the proposal, arguing it could penalize people fleeing persecution and questioning whether many refugees would earn enough to pay back the proposed sum. Critics also warned that resolving repayment could create uncertainty for people trying to rebuild their lives in the UK.
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Labor has faced internal divisions over how tough immigration policy should be, and the party faces greater uncertainty overall after its leader, Prime Minister Keir Starmer, announced he would resign last week.
Reuters contributed to this report.
