Exploring Solutions to the UK’s Asylum Crisis
Recent reports have indicated that Home Office officials are considering offering asylum seekers £100 per week to leave hotels and live with family or friends. This initiative is part of a broader effort to meet Labour’s goal of ending the use of asylum hotels by 2029. However, the proposal has sparked debate among experts and policymakers.
At the end of June, there were 32,059 asylum seekers staying in UK hotels, marking an 8% increase compared to the previous year. This growing number highlights the urgent need for more sustainable solutions to accommodate those seeking refuge.
Sarah Singer, a professor of refugee law at the University of London’s Refugee Law Initiative, expressed skepticism about the feasibility of the £100 weekly payment. “I’m not sure anyone would get that far with £100 in the UK,” she said. Instead, she advocated for a more pragmatic approach, such as speeding up the consideration of asylum claims. She also suggested that schemes used in the US could help curb the number of migrants illegally crossing the Channel.
Setting Up Offices Abroad to Vet Applicants
Jonathan Collinson, a law lecturer at the University of Sheffield, acknowledged the potential cost savings of the new scheme but raised concerns about its scalability. “The primary problem is scale,” he said. “The number of willing and suitable hosts is likely to be relatively small, and the Home Office would need to ensure suitable vetting of hosts to prevent exploitation and abuse of vulnerable people.”
Singer pointed to a successful model in the United States, where Safe Mobility Offices (SMOs) were established in countries like Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Ecuador. These offices allowed applicants for protection to be assessed in their home countries without making dangerous journeys. Over 26,000 vetted refugees arrived in the US under this scheme before it was dismantled by Donald Trump in January 2025.
Handling Migration Claims Through an App
Singer also highlighted the potential of mobile phone apps to improve the efficiency of the migration process. The CBP One app, introduced in the US in January 2023, aimed to handle asylum claims by scheduling appointments at legal ports of entry. However, despite its initial success, the app faced challenges and was eventually shut down by Trump.
The lack of a similar system in the UK, according to Singer, encourages illegal migrants to cross the Channel in small boats. “At the moment, migrants in Calais can apply to be considered under the ‘one-in, one-out’ UK-France scheme, but spaces are very limited,” she said. “So people will continue to cross the Channel, particularly those under 18 as there is no other route.”
How the UK Can Learn from Other Countries
The UK Home Office’s one-in, one-out policy, which came into effect in September, aims to turn away individuals who have arrived in small boats from France while agreeing to take in the same number of asylum seekers who had not already tried to enter illegally. However, Singer noted that the number of people expected to be returned through this scheme is relatively low, around 50 people a month.
She also compared the tactic to the EU-Turkey deal signed in March 2016, which facilitated the resettling of over 32,000 Syrian refugees from Turkey to EU member states. However, the agreement faced criticism when Greece’s top court concluded that Turkey was not a safe country to send people back to.
Germany’s Approach to Integration
Ruvi Ziegler, an associate professor in international refugee law at the University of Reading, highlighted the differences between the UK and Germany’s approaches to integration. He pointed out that in Germany, asylum seekers receive support and services from the moment they arrive, including initial assessments and dispersal across states. In contrast, the UK lacks a comprehensive strategy for integrating asylum seekers.
Ziegler criticized the UK’s asylum hotel model, stating that living in small hotel rooms for months on end is difficult for families and individuals. “The framing of removing them is correct, but the question is what we are replacing it with,” he said.
Overall, the UK faces significant challenges in managing its asylum system. While various proposals have been made, experts agree that a more holistic and sustainable approach is needed to address the complex issues surrounding migration and asylum.