New Immigration and Asylum Bill Introduces Repayment Requirement
The UK government has announced that individuals granted asylum will be required to repay approximately £10,000 towards the cost of their accommodation and support once they begin earning an income. These measures will be included in the forthcoming Immigration and Asylum Bill, which is scheduled to be presented to Parliament on Tuesday.
The repayment obligation will apply to adults with refugee status or indefinite leave to remain, allowing them to live and work in the UK. The sum must be repaid before they become eligible for settled status.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood stated that the changes aim to emphasize that "asylum support is a right, but it is also a responsibility." She added:
"Once people can contribute and repay the generosity of the British people, we expect them to do so."
The policy will require migrants who are working and earning above a certain threshold to pay back a flat-rate amount, expected to be set at £10,000. The Home Office has yet to determine the specific earnings level that will trigger monthly repayments.
The Home Secretary will have the authority to adjust both the repayment amount and the income thresholds in the future to ensure fairness to taxpayers and to prevent any migrant from falling into destitution.
According to the Home Office, approximately £4 billion of public funds were expended on asylum seeker support last year. The average nightly cost of housing an asylum seeker in publicly owned accommodation is £23.25, and £144 in hotel accommodation. Weekly subsistence payments range from £9.95 to £49.18 per person.
Responses from Advocacy Groups and Experts
The Refugee Council criticized the plans as "unfair, impractical" and described them as an "extra tax on refugees," warning that the policy would hinder families' ability to rebuild their lives. Imran Hussain, the Council's director of external affairs, remarked:
"The reason why many need asylum support is because the Home Office itself bans asylum seekers from working while their claims are being assessed. 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."
The University of Oxford's Migration Observatory questioned the government's ability to recover significant funds through this system, citing low employment and earnings among refugees. Dr. Madeleine Sumption noted:
"In 2023, for example, an estimated 13% of people granted refugee status five years earlier were earning at least £20,000, with the rest either not working or on lower earnings. 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."
Home Office data indicates that 25% of 16 to 64-year-olds granted asylum between 2015 and 2023 were employed within the same calendar year. This figure increased to 50% two years after refugee status was granted. Among those employed eight years post-status, 37% were in full-time work with median earnings of £23,000, and only 40% earned more than the minimum wage.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp commented that Labour had "adopted yet another" Conservative policy, stating:
"This precise scheme was proposed by us in an amendment to the Immigration Bill last year, which Labour blocked."
Ministers anticipate that the Immigration and Asylum Bill will establish a firm yet fair asylum system and reduce incentives for illegal migration. However, some Labour MPs are expected to oppose certain stringent measures within the bill.
Recently, the Home Office announced plans to utilize additional former military barracks to accommodate thousands of asylum seekers following the closure of 20 hotels in England. The new immigration legislation will also introduce "capped safe and legal" routes for refugees, involving sponsorship by universities, community groups, and businesses to reduce taxpayer costs.
UK Migration Data Overview
Net Migration (January 2025 - December 2025)
Immigration (January 2025 - December 2025)
Emigration (January 2025 - December 2025)
Asylum Applications (April 2025 - March 2026)
Returns and Deportations (April 2025 - March 2026)
Small Boat Arrivals (1 January 2026 - 25 June 2026)
Small Boat Crossings and Other Illegal Arrivals
Between 1 January and 25 June 2026, 11,638 individuals crossed the English Channel by small boat from France, representing a 37% decrease compared to the same period the previous year. Since 2020, small boat crossings have been the most common method of illegal entry into the UK.
Nearly all small boat arrivals claim asylum, which under international law permits them to remain in the UK while their applications are processed. These arrivals accounted for 42% of asylum applications from April 2025 to March 2026.
The average number of passengers per boat from 26 June 2025 to 25 June 2026 was 65, more than double the average in 2021. Experts warn that overcrowding increases the risks of these crossings. At least 84 people died attempting to cross the Channel in 2024, according to the United Nations.
Small boat arrivals constitute approximately 5% of total immigration to the UK from January 2025 to December 2025. The government has committed to dismantling the criminal gangs orchestrating these crossings.
People from Eritrea accounted for 18% of arrivals between April 2025 and March 2026. The Home Office reported that at least 2,000 small boat arrivals were identified as potential victims of human trafficking or modern slavery during this period.
Additionally, 4,535 individuals were detected entering the UK without authorization via other methods such as hiding in vehicles, traveling on ferries, or through airports from April 2025 to March 2026, a 22% decrease from the previous year.
Some individuals arrive legally on visas and subsequently overstay. The total number of such overstayers is unknown.
Asylum Applications and Accommodation
An asylum seeker is defined as someone seeking protection in the UK due to persecution or violence in their home country. The government is obligated to provide housing for asylum seekers unable to support themselves financially during claim processing. As of March 2026, 93,653 people were in asylum accommodation.
Approximately 22% (20,885 individuals) were housed in hotels, which are used when shared housing such as houses of multiple occupation (HMOs) or former military sites are unavailable. The government aims to eliminate hotel use by 2029.
Hotel accommodation is more prevalent in southern England, while HMOs are more common in northern England and Scotland.
From April 2025 to March 2026, 93,525 people applied for asylum in the UK, a 12% decrease from the previous year. While most small boat arrivals claim asylum, they represented only 42% of total asylum seekers during this period. Other applicants arrived via different illegal means or legally on visas before applying for asylum.
Asylum decisions can take years. In March 2026, 48,758 people across 35,744 applications awaited an initial decision, a 55% reduction from the previous year. Additionally, 87,450 refused applications were pending appeals, a 72% increase from the prior year. The government has pledged to clear this backlog.
Refugee status was granted in approximately 39% of asylum decisions from April 2025 to March 2026. About 39% of appeal cases concluded in this period overturned previous refusals.
Returns and Deportations
The government requires individuals without legal permission to reside in the UK to leave, either voluntarily or involuntarily. Reasons include visa expiration, asylum refusal, or criminal convictions leading to deportation.
There were 39,007 returns from April 2025 to March 2026, a 7% increase from the previous year, representing about 6% of total emigration from the UK during January to December 2025.
Of all returns, 26% were individuals from India.
The UK is piloting a "one in, one out" scheme with France, whereby for each person returned to France after arriving by small boat, the UK accepts an equal number of asylum seekers. As of 15 June 2026, 921 people have been returned under this arrangement.
Returns are categorized as "enforced" (including deportations with government-arranged transport and possible escort) or "voluntary" (where individuals agree to leave and may receive assistance). Some voluntary returns occur independently without government involvement. Independent returns accounted for 33% of total returns from April 2025 to March 2026.
Visas for Legal Migration
The majority of people entering the UK do so legally with visas for purposes such as work, study, or family reunification. From April 2025 to March 2026, 778,625 visas were granted, excluding visitors and transit passengers, representing an 11% decrease from the previous year. Not all visa holders necessarily traveled to the UK.
Study visas constituted 53% of all visa entries during this period. Indian nationals were the largest group on study visas, comprising 22%. Combined, individuals from China and India accounted for nearly half of all study visas, a consistent trend over several years.
Migration to Europe
Both the EU and UK monitor unauthorized sea crossings in the Mediterranean and English Channel. From May 2025 to April 2026, there were 161,608 sea arrivals to the UK, Greece, Italy, Spain, and Cyprus, with the UK accounting for approximately 23% of this total.
Sea arrivals peaked in 2015 when over one million people crossed the Mediterranean, according to the UN.
The top three European countries with the highest asylum claims from April 2025 to March 2026 were Spain (133,795), Italy (124,740), and France (111,320). The UK ranked fifth among 26 European countries with populations over one million during this period.
When adjusted for population size, the UK ranked tenth for asylum applications per 100,000 residents.
Net migration, defined as immigration minus emigration, indicates population change due to migration. Data from January to December 2024 shows Spain (626,000), Germany (494,000), and the UK (331,000) had the largest population increases due to migration.
Adjusted for population size, the UK ranked eleventh among 14 comparable European countries for migration-driven population growth.
