UK’s Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood has announced a new pilot scheme that will offer some migrant families up to £40,000 to voluntarily leave United Kingdom, as part of a broader overhaul of the country’s migration system.
Under the proposal, up to 150 migrants will be eligible to receive £10,000 per person, including children, with a maximum payment of £40,000 per family if they agree to leave Britain within seven days. Mahmood said the increased incentive would be offered to failed asylum seekers and argued the policy could reduce the cost of supporting migrants who remain in the country.
“Failed asylum seekers will now be offered an increased incentive payment of £10,000 per person, and up to a maximum of £40,000 per family,” she said while outlining the reforms in Westminster. “To put that in important context, today, a family of three asylum hotel accommodation costs up to £158,000 per year.”
“Should these incentives prove effective, they will represent a significant saving to the taxpayer.” She added that migrants who refuse voluntary removal could face enforced deportation. “Where a voluntary removal is refused, we will escalate to an enforced removal for those who can be returned to their safe home country,” she said.
The announcement forms part of a wider migration crackdown being introduced by the government of Keir Starmer. Mahmood said the reforms aim to balance compassion with stronger border control measures. “At the same time as showing generosity, we must wrest control over migration back from the smugglers and restore order and control at our border,” she said.
The policy has already sparked debate within the governing Labour Party, with more than 100 Labour MPs reportedly signing a letter urging the prime minister to reconsider parts of the migration crackdown.
Mahmood acknowledged the tensions within the party but defended the reforms. “Of course, we should be more Labour. The real question is, what does more Labour mean,” she said. “More Labour doesn’t mean more Green, just like more Labour doesn’t mean more Reform.” She also criticised proposals from other political figures, referencing Zack Polanski and Nigel Farage.
“They are no invitation to the fairy tale of open borders as Zack Polanski’s revolutionary Green Party demands, and neither are they the nightmare of Nigel Farage pulling up the drawbridge and shutting out the world,” Mahmood said.
Alongside the voluntary return payments, the new migration rules include stricter settlement requirements. Migrants seeking permanent residency will need to demonstrate English language proficiency at A-level standard, while the typical pathway to settlement will increase from five years to ten years under a proposed “earned settlement model.”
Refugees granted protection will no longer automatically receive long-term status but will instead be placed on temporary 30-month protection visas subject to periodic review.
Under the policy, asylum seekers who commit crimes, work illegally or are able to support themselves may lose access to taxpayer-funded accommodation and financial support. Officials said the measures are intended to reduce the country’s £4 billion annual asylum support bill while restoring what Mahmood described as “order and control” at Britain’s borders.
Some of the more controversial changes are expected to be introduced through legislation in the upcoming King’s Speech in May, with skilled public service workers such as doctors and nurses expected to retain a faster five-year pathway to settlement.