Fact check: Are illegal migrants better off than British citizens?

Illegal migration has rarely been out of the headlines over the past few years, as tens of thousands of people have made their way to the UK on small boats.

Polls show the issue has steadily crept up the list of priorities for British voters, with more than half ranking it among their top three in YouGov’s most recent findings.

Yesterday, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood unveiled her dramatic and ambitious plans for making the UK less appealing to illegal migrants.

They involve changing the law so the government can choose not to provide asylum support in certain circumstances, and making refugee status temporary.

With such a politically charged issue, it can be hard to sort fact from fiction.

Figures such as independent MP Rupert Lowe, formerly of Reform, have claimed illegal migrants are treated ‘better than actual taxpaying British men and women’.

But does that claim stand up to scrutiny?

What is an illegal migrant?

First things first – ‘illegal migrant’ is a term widely used in the media for a person who is living in a country through an unauthorised route.

You might find the term ‘irregular migrant’ used more often in official sources like government documents.

Many – but not all – of the people in this category are asylum seekers, meaning they have come to the UK to claim political asylum.

Some of these people are genuinely fleeing current or imminent war, torture or persecution. Some of them are not.

The UK asylum system tries to sort the genuine claims from the false ones. If they’re accepted, the person is granted refugee status and they can stay in the country; if not, they must leave.

What is life like for illegal migrants in the UK?

Many people in many different situations can fall into the category of ‘illegal migrant’ – for example, they might include people who entered the UK on a visa but have overstayed.

So, it’s difficult to pin down a single experience to compare with British citizens.

However, much of the attention has been focused on those living in government accommodation awaiting a decision on their asylum claims.

These people are only granted support if they are considered destitute, meaning they do not have adequate accommodation and/or they can’t meet their basic living needs.

That support includes:

• Free housing, in an area of the country they cannot choose
• £49.18 a week for food, clothing and toiletries, per person in the household (or £9.95 if food is provided by the accommodation)
• Free NHS healthcare – as well as free prescriptions, free dental care and free eye tests through an HC2 certificate
• Limited free transport to medical and Home Office appointments – though the government has said it will phase out the use of taxis
• Other services such as gym memberships and driving lessons are offered free or at a discount in parts of the country, though these are typically provided by local councils or charities

Meanwhile, asylum seekers are not legally allowed to work until they have been waiting for their claim to be processed for more than 12 months.

How does that compare to British citizens?

Let’s look at Universal Credit – a single person aged below 25 will get around £79.25 a week while a single person aged over 25 will get around £100.04 a week.

Those figures change for people in different circumstances – for example, if they’re living with their partner, if they have a disability, or if they have kids.

Obviously, regular citizens are expected to pay for their own housing unlike asylum seekers. Those struggling to afford it can apply for a top-up to their benefits.

For people in full-time work, the median weekly pay was £767 in April this year. Most people, working or not, pay tax on income above £12,750.

Asylum seekers must also pay tax on money they earn if they start working after waiting for 12 months.

Perhaps the biggest difference between British citizens and illegal migrants is freedom – those living legally in the UK are free to choose where they live and how they earn money.

Those waiting to hear back on their asylum claims are banned from working and must stay in a house, facility or hotel which is often in a very poor condition and located in an unfamiliar part of the country.

That’s before you take into account that many will be deeply in debt to dangerous people smugglers – and again, some will be traumatised from real danger which they felt compelled to escape.

Some may compare the treatment of asylum seekers to the way the UK treats destitute British citizens.

British people experiencing homelessness can apply through their local council for emergency housing, which is not the same housing as that provided to asylum seekers so there is no priority between the two groups.

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