The United Kingdom government has unveiled new immigration reforms that will require some asylum seekers to repay the cost of state support before becoming eligible for permanent settlement.
The measures, contained in a bill introduced to Parliament on Tuesday, June 30, 2026, empower the Home Office to recover the cost of accommodation and financial assistance provided to adult asylum seekers who later acquire sufficient financial means.
Under the proposal, eligible asylum seekers would be required to repay about £10,000 (N18 million), marking a significant departure from previous practice, under which refugees were generally not expected to reimburse the government for asylum support.
The new policy will also apply to former asylum seekers who leave the UK and subsequently seek to return.
“Asylum seekers who are granted refugee status will be expected to pay a total of around £10,000 to recoup some of the costs of taxpayer-funded housing and support,” the Home Office wrote on X.
Defending the reforms, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the cost of supporting asylum seekers had placed a heavy burden on British taxpayers.
Mahmood said: “The cost of asylum accommodation on the British taxpayer is too high.
“We have already reduced asylum costs by £1 billion, but it is also right that we ask those who can contribute to do so.”
She added that while asylum support remains a legal entitlement, beneficiaries should contribute financially once they are able.
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“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,” Mahmood said.
According to the Home Office, the average nightly cost of housing an asylum seeker is estimated at £23.25 in dispersal accommodation and £144 in hotel accommodation. Weekly subsistence payments range from £9.95 to £49.18 per person.
Government data also showed that refugee employment increases steadily after asylum is granted. About one in four people aged between 16 and 64 who received asylum status between 2015 and 2023 secured employment within the same year, while the figure rose to 50 per cent within two years.
Among those employed eight years after receiving refugee status, 37 per cent were working full-time with median annual earnings of about £23,000, while 40 per cent earned above the national minimum wage.
The Home Office said the reforms are intended to ensure that asylum seekers who become financially self-sufficient contribute towards the public costs incurred during their stay in the country.
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