Introduction

Illegal immigration has become a significant point of discussion within the United Kingdom, with concerns about its financial impact on public services and government budgets. This report aims to provide a clear overview of the estimated costs to the British taxpayer, specifically focusing on hotel accommodation, social benefits, NHS expenditure, and the scale of illegal immigration in recent years.

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Understanding Illegal Immigration

Illegal immigration refers to the act of entering or residing in the UK without legal permission, which can encompass individuals who overstay their visas, enter clandestinely, or seek asylum but remain after a failed application. This group is distinct from those who arrive through legal migration channels or who have formal refugee status.

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Costs of Hotel Accommodation

One of the most visible costs associated with illegal and asylum-related migration in recent years has been the use of hotels to house migrants awaiting resolution of their status. Due to a shortage of suitable accommodation and delays in processing, many individuals have been placed in hotels at significant cost.

It is estimated has reported that the cost of housing asylum seekers (which includes both legal and those with unresolved status) in hotels has reached over £8 million per day as of 2025.
This equates to roughly £2.84 billion per year spent on hotel accommodation alone.

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Benefits and Public Assistance

Generally, illegal immigrants are not eligible for mainstream public benefits such as Universal Credit, housing benefit, or child benefit. However, those with pending asylum claims may receive a subsistence allowance and accommodation through the asylum support system.

Asylum seekers who are awaiting a decision are provided with basic support, amounting to around £45 per week per person, on top of accommodation. Additional cost to taxpayer over £1Billion per year.
For those without recourse to public funds, only emergency assistance or support for children may be provided.
The overall expenditure on such support has increased in recent years, largely due to the rise in case backlogs.

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NHS Costs

Healthcare costs related to illegal immigration are difficult to calculate precisely, as emergency care is provided to all individuals in the UK regardless of status, while non-urgent care is chargeable for undocumented migrants. However, enforcement of these charges is inconsistent, and some costs fall onto the NHS.

Estimates of the cost of NHS care for all visitors and temporary migrants (including illegal immigrants) are in the range of £300–£400 million per year, though only a portion of this is directly attributable to people without legal status.
Emergency care, maternity, and certain infectious disease treatments are provided free of charge to protect public health.

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Numbers of Illegal Immigrants

Accurately quantifying the number of illegal immigrants is inherently challenging due to the nature of their status. However, several estimates and government data points exist.

In 2019, the Pew Research Center estimated there were between 800,000 and 1.2 million undocumented migrants living in the UK.
Since 2018, the number of people arriving in the UK by small boats across the English Channel has increased each year. In 2022 alone, over 45,000 people crossed in small boats.
Cumulatively, it is estimated that over 175,000 people have arrived via small boats since 2018.

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Asylum Grants

The number of people granted asylum fluctuates each year, depending on application rates and government policy.

Over the past five years, approximately 80,000 individuals have been granted asylum or humanitarian protection in the UK.

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Illegal Migrants Working

There is plenty of evidence that many illegal Migrants are working as fast food delivery riders. In this situation, not only are they not paying taxes, they are taking employment away from someone else.

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Summary

Hotel accommodation for migrants now costs the UK taxpayer over £4 billion per year.
Direct benefit payments to illegal immigrants are limited, but support for asylum seekers does represent a notable public expense, at least £1 Billion.
NHS expenditures for undocumented migrants are hard to pinpoint, but total costs for all visitors and temporary migrants is around £0.5 Billion annually.
The number of illegal immigrants in the UK is estimated to be between 800,000 and 1.2 million, that is over 1.5% of the population. More significantly, that is 2.7% of the working age population.
Small boat arrivals have surpassed 175,000 since 2018.
Over 80,000 people have been granted asylum in the last five years.

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Conclusion

The country cannot continue to support the illegal migrants as it currently does. I should be remembered the word “illegal” ,these people should not be here. We should not tolerate illegal, let alone support it. The cost is at least £5 billion and is continuing to grow with the increase in migrants.

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So What would I do

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Well, we never tried Rwanda, so that is where I would start (or something similar). Any illegal immigrant would have a choice: return home or go to Rwanda for assessment. As they have come here illegally, they will not have permission to stay, so it’s straight to the airport.

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Illegal Immigrants would not be put up in Hotels. I would utilise empty warehouses, or even build purpose made warehouse that could be equipped with basic facilities. I can already hear people commenting but this would be far better than the shanty town camp site we have seen in Europe / Calais. We should be providing “adequate”, not very comfortable hotels.

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Any companies employing “illegal” immigrants will be fined £10,000 for each occurrence, however it is caused. This should never happen, but it is clear the correct checks are not being done. There will be a fast track court to deal with this that will run 7 days per week with a simple threshold for guilt, have they worked without permission and has the company paid them. Furthermore, those who have been caught of illegal working are deported.

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The UK currently only spent £2 billion on border force. I would double this to provide a significant number of additional officers and administration. The Border force powers will be enhanced so that they can work closely with the police and have the same powers (arrest, search and seizure) but directed towards illegal immigration.

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Where would I get the money from? Well, I have come up with ways to save money in my other blogs but in this case, this will be an investment that will after a period of time, be offset by the saving in the illegal immigration cost.

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These actions may appear harsh to some, but we should not tolerate any illegal activity from foreign nationals, If you do not want to comply with the UK Laws, do not bother coming.

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France’s President Macron made a comment that basically said the UK was a “soft touch.”. He is right and the government needs to deal with this. However, I have no confidence that this Labour government has the ability to take action. So, we wait for another 4 years of matters getting worse causing the country to become more divided than ever.

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There is so much more that can be said on the subject and I am sure further comments will be made in future.