UK to charge asylum seekers £10,000 under new rule

Asylum seekers in the United Kingdom will be required to repay roughly £10,000 (about N19 million) toward the cost of their state-funded housing and living support, or risk being denied settled status, under a new law to be considered by the parliament on Tuesday.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood disclosed the plans as Labour faces pressure to rein in asylum spending.

Mahmoud framed the policy as a matter of fairness. “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,” she said.

Migrants will be required to pay off the full amount before becoming eligible for settlement, the Home Office said, though the home secretary will retain power to adjust the charge.

The repayment requirement forms part of a broader overhaul of Britain’s asylum system. According to the reports from the UK House of Commons Library, the legislation builds on a November 2025 policy paper that proposed creating two different types of refugee status — a default “core protection” route and an alternative “protection work and study route” for those who take up employment or study, with the latter offering enhanced family sponsorship rights and a shorter path to permanent residence.

The means-tested scheme, compared by officials to student loans and built into the immigration and asylum bill, has been condemned by charities for placing what they call a tax on refugees fleeing war, torture and famine.

Imran Hussain, director of external affairs at the Refugee Council, said the policy unfairly penalizes people the government itself recognizes as victims of persecution.

“Imposing what amounts to an extra tax on refugees, who the Home Office accepts have arrived here after fleeing persecution, torture and war, is unfair, impractical and makes it much harder for families to rebuild their lives and stand on their own feet,” he said.

He added that the underlying need for asylum support exists largely because the Home Office itself bars asylum seekers from working while their claims are assessed.

Independent analysis suggests the financial yield from the scheme may be modest. An immigration expert noted the amount of money raised will be “relatively small,” because less than 15% of refugees earn more than £20,000 five years after being granted asylum. By comparison, the operational budget of the student loan scheme that inspired the model is £44 million a year, with repayments triggered at an income threshold of £26,900.

Key details of the asylum repayment scheme remain unsettled. A Home Office spokesperson said thresholds and other specifics would be set out in secondary regulations, and that the department could not properly cost the scheme until those details were finalized.

Beyond the repayment provision, the immigration and asylum bill is expected to direct how article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights is applied in immigration and deportation cases, and to set out plans to strengthen age assessments.