The UK's official immigration advisers have issued a stark warning, stating that asylum seekers who remain in the country are likely to impose a lifetime cost of hundreds of thousands of pounds on the taxpayer.
Unambiguously Negative Fiscal Impact
A new report from the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) concludes that individuals entering Britain through asylum and refugee routes make a clear and significant negative contribution to public finances. The committee pointed to international research to illustrate the potential scale of the burden.
Professor Brian Bell, the committee's chairman, stated he would be 'very surprised' if findings from comparable nations did not apply to the UK. He referenced a Dutch study which calculated the 'lifetime net fiscal impact' per asylum seeker at a staggering minus £390,000, and an Australian analysis which estimated a figure of minus £198,000.
'I don't want to put a figure on it,' Professor Bell said, 'but I think those sort of headline numbers... it wouldn't surprise me if a similar order of magnitude was true in the UK.'
Low Employment and Wages Drive the Deficit
The MAC report attributes this negative fiscal impact to several key factors, including notably lower employment rates and wages among those who arrive via asylum routes compared to the UK-born population.
Analysis cited by the committee suggests that only 56% of working-age people who initially came to claim asylum are in employment, starkly lower than the 75% employment rate for UK-born citizens. Furthermore, when employed, their median salaries are substantially less.
- Men: Median salary of £20,000 vs. £31,000 for UK-born.
- Women: Median salary of £18,000 vs. £22,000 for UK-born.
The report also highlighted the substantial additional costs of housing individuals in asylum accommodation, coupled with their exemption from the 'no recourse to public funds' rule that applies to many other migrant categories.
Broader Migration Costs and Rising Trends
The MAC's findings, published today, extend beyond the asylum system. The report also detailed the significant fiscal cost of the visa route for foreign-based spouses. It calculated that the 51,000 partners of British citizens and settled residents who arrived in 2022-23 will incur a net lifetime fiscal deficit of minus £5.6 billion, averaging minus £109,000 per applicant.
These revelations come against a backdrop of record asylum claims. Figures from last month showed 110,051 asylum applications were lodged in the year to September. Asylum seekers, including those crossing the Channel in small boats, now constitute 44% of net migration to Britain, which stood at 204,000 in the year to June.
Professor Bell warned that this trend is expected to continue, leading to a growing proportion of migrants who represent an overall cost to the public purse. While the MAC made no formal recommendations, it urged the government to give its findings 'close consideration' as it implements changes to the immigration system.
