A new government report has delivered a stark assessment of the financial burden imposed by immigration, revealing that foreign spouses and partners brought to the UK are costing taxpayers tens of billions of pounds over their lifetimes.
Staggering Lifetime Cost Per Migrant
The analysis, conducted by the Government’s official immigration advisers, the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), found that each foreign-based partner arriving on a visa will end up costing the state an average of £109,000 if they remain in Britain for the rest of their lives. The MAC based its calculations on 51,000 partners who arrived in 2022/23, weighing their tax contributions and visa fees against the cost of welfare, NHS use, and care.
When this figure is extrapolated to cover the 359,400 foreign partners brought to the UK between 2018 and 2024, the total projected cost to the public purse reaches a staggering £39.2 billion.
Political Fury and Policy Clashes
The report has ignited fierce political debate. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp seized on the findings, stating: ‘This exposes the madness of Keir Starmer’s open borders. Tens of thousands of family members are being shipped into the UK who often don’t work but do claim benefits. This has to end.’
The controversy extends to recent policy changes. The Conservative government increased the minimum income requirement for sponsors from £18,600 to £29,000. However, Labour shelved a planned further rise to £38,700 after facing criticism from left-wing campaigners who labelled the hike as ‘racist and classist’.
The data shows a clear upward trend, with the number of partner visas issued by the Home Office rising from 47,500 in 2019 to 67,100 last year.
Broader Migration Impact and Campaigner Warnings
The MAC's audit also presented a grim picture of other migration routes. It concluded that migrants entering through asylum and refugee channels make an ‘unambiguously negative’ contribution to public funds. This finding comes as Britain recorded another 1,300 small-boat arrivals in just the past five days.
The committee cited international research, including a Dutch study which estimated the lifetime net fiscal impact of each asylum seeker at minus £390,000, and a similar Australian report pointing to a cost of minus £198,000.
Alp Mehmet, Chairman of Migration Watch UK, which campaigns for stricter border controls, responded to the report: ‘We have long pointed to the huge cost of migration. Its scale and pace is simply making us poorer. The Government must quickly get on top of the problem.’
The report underscores the intense fiscal and political pressures surrounding the UK's immigration system, setting the stage for a major battleground in the coming general election.
