Sending asylum seekers abroad would cost $210k per person: UK

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
27 Jun 2023 15:24

UK government says up to £165,000 could be recouped due to saved costs from reduced asylum support.

Migrants are picked up off the coast of Dover by a UK Border Force boat (AFP)

The controversial UK proposal to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda will cost £169,000 ($210,000) per person, despite the government's insistence that it would recover most of the expenses, as per an impact assessment published Tuesday.

The UK's Conservative government has promised to make immigration a top priority as the country left the European Union.

It wants to outlaw asylum claims by all irregular arrivals and transfer them to "safe" third countries, such as Rwanda, to stop thousands of migrants from crossing the Channel on small boats.

The government said up to £165,000 could be recouped due to saved costs from reduced asylum support.

London also hopes the program will act as a deterrent.

To get support for the law in parliament, the administration has emphasized the expense of hosting asylum seekers while their claims are being adjudicated.

According to an evaluation by the Interior Ministry, the first cost of moving a person to a third country would be roughly £169,000, which includes a payment of £105,000 to the host nation, as well as airfare and administrative fees.

Additionally, it stated that sending each asylum applicant to Rwanda or another third country would save an estimated £106,000 in expenditures over the course of four years.

If lodging expenses continue to climb at the trend pace seen since 2019, this might increase to £165,000, it was stated.

The evaluation said the numbers were "highly uncertain" and that in order for the expenditures to be recovered, the strategy would need to prevent about 37% of small boat crossings.

Criticized migrant deportation deal

A dangerous route that has seen a surge in traffic every year since 2018 brought more than 45,000 migrants to the coast of southeast England in tiny boats in 2022.

In addition to its expense, the new bill, which is presently up for consideration in parliament, has drawn criticism for how it would affect refugees in Rwanda.

"If enacted in its current form, the bill would leave tens of thousands of refugees unable to access the protection they are entitled to under international law," said Enver Solomon, head of the Refugee Council.

"It would cause hardship, cost billions of pounds, and do nothing to alleviate the current crisis and pressures within the asylum system."

The Rwanda proposal, announced by the EU's independent European Court of Human Rights last year, was abruptly halted. Boris Johnson was the then-Prime Minister.

The government plan is still bogged down in legal issues. There haven't been any deportation flights to Rwanda to date.

On Thursday, judges in London will issue their ruling about the scheme's legality.

Rights groups accuse Rwanda -- ruled with an iron fist by President Paul Kagame since the end of the 1994 genocide that killed around 800,000 people -- of cracking down on free speech and opposition.