Each migrant deportation to Rwanda to cost British taxpayers over £170,000

AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali

A recent report from the National Audit Office (NAO) has unveiled the significant expenses associated with the U.K.'s plan to deport migrants to Rwanda, revealing that the cost to the British taxpayer for each migrant relocated to the West African country will be at least £171,000 ($217,000 USD).

The report, released on Friday, indicates that the U.K. government has already transferred £220 million to Rwanda through the Economic Transformation and Integration Fund (ETIF) aimed at fostering economic development in Rwanda, even though no migrants have yet been moved to Kigali. Additionally, the agreement includes yearly payments of £50 million until 2027 and a one-time payment of £120 million as part of the Migration and Economic Development Partnership, which will be made once Rwanda has accepted 300 migrants from the U.K.

For each migrant accepted, the receiving country will receive a lump sum payment of £20,000, ($25,000 USD) in addition to £150,874 per person spread over five years to cover processing and operational expenses.

Under this financial agreement, the British government may end up spending £541 million to transfer merely 300 migrants, amounting to a cost of £1.8 million per migrant for the British taxpayer. This figure only accounts for payments to the Rwandan government and excludes expenses related to housing migrants before deportation, legal costs, or the expenses of flights, which the Home Office predicts could be about £11,000 per migrant, covering fuel and the chartering of planes.

The Home Office has projected additional expenses of £12.6 million for this year to train personnel tasked with escorting migrants to the African country, along with an ongoing cost of £1 million annually for staffing. Furthermore, it has already incurred £15.3 million in initial expenses, a total that is expected to increase to £23.5 million by the year's end.

In justification of the program, a representative from the Home Office stated that undertaking the deportation of illegal migrants was always anticipated to entail "significant costs."

“Unless we act, the cost of housing asylum seekers is set to reach £11 billion per year by 2026. Illegal migration costs lives and perpetuates human trafficking, and it is therefore right that we fund solutions to break this unsustainable cycle."

“We have a strong relationship with Rwanda and both sides remain absolutely determined to deliver on this partnership,” they added, the Guardian reported.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is urgently working to get crucial legislation approved to enable deportation flights before the upcoming general election, which is due within the next ten months. The government's Safety of Rwanda Bill is now under consideration by the House of Lords, the upper house of Britain's bicameral parliament.

In response to the increase in illegal migration to England's southern coasts in recent years, the U.K. government is now allocating approximately £7 million daily for the accommodation of migrants who enter the country illegally and then seek asylum.