Get Over Yourselves: Britain Isn’t the Top Choice for Asylum Seekers

Reform UK supporters claim we give asylum seekers the most. But the data tells a very different story. Compared to Europe, Britain offers less money, fewer rights, and harsher conditions.

By Sean Ash

People often claim asylum seekers come to the UK for the benefits. That they choose Britain because we give them everything. But if you actually compare what they receive here to what other countries offer, the argument doesn’t hold.


Asylum seekers in the UK receive just £6.43 per day, which works out to around £45 per week. They are not allowed to work, often for years, and they cannot choose where they live. If they are placed in hotels where meals are provided, their allowance drops to just £1.15 per day, about £8 per week, to cover all other expenses like toiletries, phone credit, transport, and clothing.


Compare that to other EU nations.


Germany offers around €102 per week to single asylum seekers in independent accommodation and €92 for those in shared housing. That is roughly £87 to £97 per week depending on the exchange rate.


The Netherlands provides support valued between €60 and €80 per week.


Sweden and other Scandinavian countries offer higher allowances alongside access to housing, legal aid, education, and language classes.


Even France, which many critics claim asylum seekers should have stayed in, provides slightly better financial support and more generous access to work opportunities.


But it is not just about the benefits.


Let’s look at some broader quality-of-life indicators that influence where anyone, including asylum seekers, might choose to live:

Metric

United Kingdom

Germany

Netherlands

Sweden

Happiness Index (2024)

17th

16th

6th

4th

Income Inequality (Gini Index)

34.4

31.4

28.2

27.0

Employment Rate (2023)

75.7 percent

77.6 percent

81.6 percent

75.2 percent

Average Net Income (OECD)

£33,000

£38,000

£42,000

£40,000

Cost of Living Index

Very High

High

High

High

Right to Work for Asylum Seekers

After 12 months (restricted)

After 3 months

After 6 months

After asylum registration

Britain is not only less generous financially, but its system also delays access to work, lacks proper housing, and costs more to run due to inefficient use of hotels. That’s where the often-quoted figure of £1 billion per month comes from, not from handouts to asylum seekers, but from paying private contractors and hotel firms to house people in limbo.


Despite this, Reform UK and other voices often point to Britain as if it’s being overrun or taken advantage of. But let’s look at the numbers.


In the year ending September 2024, the UK received around 99,790 asylum applications, making it fifth in Europe for total applications, behind Germany (294,000), France (162,000), Italy (162,000), and Spain (161,000). However, when adjusted for population size, the UK ranks just 14th in Europe.


Per capita, the UK received about 16 asylum applications per 10,000 people. The EU average is 22. In comparison:


  • Cyprus received 95 applications per 10,000 people
  • Greece: 71 per 10,000
  • Ireland: 35 per 10,000
  • Spain: 34 per 10,000
  • Luxembourg and Belgium: 33 per 10,000


This shows clearly that the UK is neither the top recipient of asylum seekers nor a particularly generous destination by European standards.


So when people say asylum seekers come here for an easy life or to take advantage of our system, they are wrong. If it were about who gives the most or where life is easiest, they would go elsewhere, and many do.


They come to the UK because they already speak English. Or because they have relatives here. Or because they were mistreated in other EU countries and still believe the UK might offer a sense of fairness or safety.


We are not the most generous country. We are not the most equal. We are not the happiest, cheapest, or easiest place to survive. We are, in fact, one of the hardest places in Europe to get by as an asylum seeker.


It is time more people understood that.


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