UK asylum seekers to repay £10,000 support under new law

Refugees granted asylum in the UK will be required to repay about £10,000 for the accommodation and support that sustained them while their claims were processed. The charge will be written into the Immigration and Asylum Bill, due before Parliament on Tuesday, and it will fall on adults with refugee status or indefinite leave to remain once they start earning.

The repayment will be collected in instalments above a threshold that ministers have not yet disclosed. The full amount must be paid off before a person can qualify for settled status, and anyone who leaves the UK while owing money will have to clear the debt in full before returning. The Home Secretary will also be able to adjust both the charge and the earnings threshold later, a power meant to keep the system “fair to the taxpayer” without pushing people into destitution.

Shabana Mahmood said asylum support is “a right, but it is also a responsibility,” and that “once people can contribute and repay the generosity of the British people, we expect them to do so.”

The Home Office puts the average cost of housing an asylum seeker at £23.25 a night in dispersal accommodation and £144 a night in hotels, while subsistence payments range from £9.95 to £49.18 a person a week. It puts around £4 billion of taxpayers’ money spent on supporting asylum seekers last year.

In March 2026, the Home Office said asylum seekers who break the law, work illegally, or can support themselves financially could lose accommodation and financial support. The Asylum Support (Amendment) Regulations 2026 allow support to be suspended or ended where there are reasonable grounds to suspect illegal working. At the end of December 2025, 107,003 people were receiving asylum support, including 30,657 in about 200 asylum hotels costing an average of £53,000 a year.

The government’s November 2025 policy statement, Restoring Order and Control, called the system a “significant pull factor” and argued for stronger deterrence. The Refugee Council called it “unfair” and “impractical” and said it amounts to an “extra tax on refugees,” arguing it could make it harder for families to rebuild their lives. UK in a Changing Europe warned that removing the duty to support destitute asylum seekers may not cut costs or deter arrivals, but could instead drive more people into destitution and illegal work.