UK to offer up to £40,000 to failed asylum-seekers to leave country

LONDON: Families of failed asylum-seekers will be offered up to £40,000 (approximately Rs 49 lakh) to leave the UK under a trial scheme announced by home secretary Shabana Mahmood, who is of PoK origin.

Mahmood, who unveiled the scheme during her address at an event organised by a think-tank, said failed asylum-seekers would be offered £10,000 (Rs 12 lakh) each to leave the country voluntarily, capped at £40,000 per family. If they refuse, they would be forcibly removed and children will not be exempt, she said.

The pilot scheme, inspired by Denmark which Mahmood visited last week, is targeting 150 families living in taxpayer-funded hotel accommodation.

The families were notified on Thursday and given seven days to decide whether to accept the payment or face forcible removal.

Speaking at an event organised by the Institute for Public Policy Research, a centre-left think tank, Mahmood said: “Today, keeping a family of three in asylum hotel accommodation costs £158,000 per year. Should these incentives prove effective, they will represent a significant saving to the taxpayer. Today, over 100,000 people live in asylum accommodation, paid for by the taxpayer. This includes both those awaiting an asylum claim or an appeal and thousands who have failed their claims. Last year alone, £4 billion was spent on asylum accommodation.”

Mahmood also announced that the UK govt was making refugee status temporary, with their need for protection being reviewed every 2.5 years. “If they don’t need it, they will be sent home. Asylum-seekers who break the law, illegally work or who can support themselves will have their accommodation and financial support removed,” she said.

The home secretary also announced opening of new legal safe routes for asylum-seekers to come to the UK, including a student refugee route and a work route.

Zia Yusuf, shadow home secretary of Reform UK, said: “Britain needs mass deportations, not huge cash rewards for illegals.”

Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: “Offering £40,000 to failed asylum-seekers (who are mostly illegal immigrants) to leave the country will only reward and incentivise illegal immigration.”

Over 100 Labour MPs are against the new proposals, terming them too draconian.

The UK government already runs a voluntary returns programme, under which asylum-seekers who choose to leave the UK can receive up to £3,000 in financial support.