(UK)Asylum seekers are offered £2,000 cash to go home

[Geezah]

Thousands of asylum seekers are to be offered millions of pounds in cash to return to their home countries under a scheme announced yesterday by the Home Office.

The Government expects to spend about £6 million over six months encouraging around 3,000 refugees, who have been refused permission to stay or are awaiting decisions, to return home.

As an incentive, they will be offered up to £2,000 cash and a further £1,000 worth of help "in kind" for reintegration, to fund education or training. A pilot scheme will make the cash available to those who agree to leave in the six months between this month and June.

The Home Office is advertising the scheme to 54,000 people receiving benefits and accommodation from the National Asylum Support Service and will publicise it in asylum detention and reporting centres.

Tony McNulty, the immigration minister, said in a written statement to the Commons that "all those who leave under this scheme will be offered an additional £2,000 which they can choose to take as either additional reintegration assistance or cash grants.

"This offer will be available only to those who leave between Jan 1 and June 30, 2006, and no one who made an application for asylum after Dec 31, 2005, will be eligible.

"It is anticipated that such an offer could increase the number of predicted returns from about 1,950 to over 3,000 for the six-month period."

Mr McNulty added that the £3,000 cost per person was "good value for money" compared with the £11,000 average cost of a forced deportation.

The lobby group, Migration Watch, warned that the scheme might attract people to apply for asylum in order to get the cash. Sir Andrew Green, the group's chairman, said: "The Government is clearly desperate to improve its removal figures, even at the risk of encouraging or stimulating further illegal immigration in the future."

David Davis, the shadow home secretary, said: "This may be a sensible move but it has largely been brought about by the Government's failure to deport failed asylum seekers."

Link (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/01/13/nasy13.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/01/13/ixhome.html)

Another great idea from the Labour Guberment......

[Violet Fashion by Mindy]

Well this is a good idea.

Compared to the strain on society and government if they stay in the country.

[babydave]

great idea....then they will come back in a couple of years and abuse the system again.

kick out the failed asylum seekers, dont pay them, and spend the money on improving the immigration system.

[Geezah]

great idea....then they will come back in a couple of years and abuse the system again.

kick out the failed asylum seekers, dont pay them, and spend the money on improving the immigration system.

Exactly, why would you reward someone for failing to prove their claim if legitimate. Kick them out, it's not like the British Guberment owes them anything.

[ed316]

Why reward them for this behaver if they failed the asylum hearing then why would they get that money? How about giving it to law abiding citizens if you are going to throw cash around like that.

[martinexsquaddie]

as it possibly cheaper than actually catching them and forcing them out the country £2 grands probably a cheap

[CMNot]

...and I suppose a Tory Government would solve all problems with a simple click of the fingers. Wake up.

Don't see too many stories about the millions of illegals in the US being forcibly kicked out. You might want to make sure your own house is in order before choosing a change of topic.

[ed316]

...and I suppose a Tory Government would solve all problems with a simple click of the fingers. Wake up.

Don't see too many stories about the millions of illegals in the US being forcibly kicked out. You might want to make sure your own house is in order before choosing a change of topic.

we don't give money to illegals and the illegals hide when la Migra (immagration) rolls by. Of course you don't hear about it because they are to busy reporting on Angelina Jolies pregnacy. The ones that are caught are near the border are taken back to the border, but once they are far from the borders that a whole other mess. WE DON"T GIVE MONEY TO ASYLUM SEEKERS!

[babydave]

at least the US tightened up its borders after 9/11, for some reason we failed to do this.

[Indawo]

Paying people, who are in many cases in the country illegally, to leave can only encourage more to try the same.

It may cost substantially more (£11K vs £2K) to forcefully deport an individual, but it is probably value for money in that the message that goes out is a strong one and is more likely to deter future false claims for asylum.

[martinexsquaddie]

-although if you were evil like me you'd advertise it at £100000
when they turn up nick them and kick them out of the countrty bwhahahahhahahaha

[Pindeho]

Exactly, why would you reward someone for failing to prove their claim if legitimate. Kick them out, it's not like the British Guberment owes them anything.

Geez, it's just the way the government work, they don't see how bad it is in some areas of London, they don't see how unhappy we are with them(seekers), they don't see what we see. But this is ridiculous, 2k to f*** off home. I deserve that 2k for starting my up when in the Marines. Damn them. I just hope the guberment wakes up and smells the "****e," because I can only see a bad oder coming from this.

[king_nothing100]

I think we should use the money to build a giant mangonel on the cliffs of Dover, and see if we can fire them back.

[Pindeho]

I think we should use the money to build a giant mangonel on the cliffs of Dover, and see if we can fire them back.

Jahha, thats a cool idea.

[MrScruff]

Fair enough if they want to get away from abuse etc., but the thing that really grates me about asylum seekers is how many perfectly safe countries they go through to get to the UK.

[Uninen]

Thats like 4000 Euros? I just might give it a try. p-)