Refugees to pay Ksh.1.6 million towards UK accommodation costs

It was among tough new rules introduced to parliament Tuesday in a bid to clamp down on the numbers of irregular immigrants, which will start being put into place towards the end of the year.

"Britain has always offered sanctuary to those fleeing war and persecution," interior minister Shabana Mahmood said in a statement.

"But this system only survives if the public trusts that it is fair, controlled, and not open to abuse."

The interior ministry did not say how much people would need to earn before being required to make the monthly payments.

Immigration is a hot-button political issue and has helped to fuel the rise of the anti-immigrant Reform UK party, with polls suggesting it could win the next general election, not due until 2029.

The interior ministry maintains "new safe and legal refugee routes", alongside reforms to human rights and modern slavery laws will "prevent abuse of the asylum system".

The government said it had spent some £4 billion on accommodation and support for asylum seekers in 2025, with the Home Office estimating the average cost per person per night ranged between £23.25 to £144.

The cost was "too high," said Mahmood.

- 'Extra tax' -

Madeleine Sumption, director of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, said it was unlikely many refugees would earn enough to be able to refund any costs.

"A relatively small share of people granted asylum would earn enough to make contributions to the scheme," she told the Press Association.

The impact "on public finances is likely to be relatively small, because it is a means-tested payment for a very low-income population".

Imran Hussain, director of external affairs at the Refugee Council, said it would amount "to an extra tax on refugees" and would be "unfair, impractical and make it much harder for families to rebuild their lives and stand on their own feet".

The government says it has already made £1 billion in savings by transferring asylum seekers out of hotels into other accommodation such as former military barracks.

"But it is also right that we ask those who can contribute to do so," Mahmood said.

"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."

A new community sponsorship scheme will also be introduced allowing communities to sponsor refugees to resettle in their area.

And trusted universities will be able to directly sponsor refugees through a study route.

Applications will open later this year for organisations to sponsor refugees, with the first arrivals due in late 2027.

Interior ministry figures last month showed a 12 percent drop in the number of people who claimed asylum in the UK in the year to March.

Some 94,000 people applied for asylum over that period, the figures showed.