£4 Billion Spent on Illegal Migration in a Year

author: FutureCar Staff    

The cost of managing the illegal immigrant influx in the UK has significantly increased, reaching £3.97 billion within a year. This marks a rise of £1.85 billion compared to the previous year and is almost four times the Home Office spending on illegal migration a decade ago, which was £500.2 million in 2013.

The release of immigration statistics also revealed a record high number of backlogged asylum cases. More than 80 percent of individuals waiting for an initial decision on their claim have been waiting for six months or more. At the end of June 2023, there were a total of 175,457 people waiting for an initial decision, a 44 percent increase from the previous year. This is the highest figure since records began in 2010, with 139,961 individuals waiting longer than six months, a 57 percent increase from the previous year.

Stephen Kinnock, the Shadow immigration minister, criticized the figures, describing them as a "disastrous record" for the prime minister and home secretary. He claimed that the UK's asylum system is in "complete chaos" and expressed concern about the high cost of hotel rooms for those left in limbo, which currently amounts to £6 million per day.

In addition to the increase in asylum cases, there has been a rise in the number of migrants receiving government support. As of June 2023, there were 117,450 individuals receiving asylum help, a 26 percent increase compared to the previous year. Over 50,500 of these individuals were in hotel accommodation, 62,728 were in "other" accommodation, and 4,176 were receiving subsistence support. The Home Office attributes this rise to a long-term trend of increasing numbers and rising asylum applications.

Albania was the most common nationality among asylum applicants in the UK, with 11,790 Albanian nationals making asylum claims. While there was a substantial rise in Albanian small boat arrivals and asylum applications in 2022, the Home Office states that these numbers have since reduced and are now below the levels seen in 2021. Afghan nationals have also seen an increase in asylum applications, with almost 10,000 applications made in the year ending June 2023, nearly double the number from the previous year. Iranian nationals were the third most common nationality to claim asylum in the UK, with 7,776 applications in the same period, a 29 percent decrease compared to the previous year.

Regarding removals, the majority of individuals forcibly removed from the UK last year were foreign national offenders. Over 3,100 individuals were removed in the year ending March 2023, accounting for 72 percent of enforced returns. Of these, 26 percent were from Albania, 18 percent from Romania, and 11 percent from Brazil. Asylum-related returns accounted for 8 percent of total forced returns, up from 6 percent in the previous year. There were 3,354 asylum-related returns in the year ending March 2023, a 68 percent increase from the previous year, primarily due to a 122 percent rise in returns of Albanians who had claimed asylum.

Small boat arrivals continue to be a significant issue, with 40,386 out of 97,390 asylum applications raised in the year ending June 2023 being from individuals who arrived on small boats. Adult males aged 18 to 49 accounted for 60 percent of asylum applicants, while children aged 17 and under made up nearly one-fifth of those claiming asylum.

These new immigration statistics come as small boat crossings have surpassed 19,000 for the year so far. On Wednesday alone, 345 people made the crossing in six boats, bringing the total for the week to 1,217 and the overall total for 2023 to 19,174. The average number of people per boat on Wednesday was 58.

FutureCar Staff