British taxpayers are footing over £10 billion in annual welfare subsidies to migrants, with new government figures revealing that one in every six pounds spent on the country’s Universal Credit program went to foreign nationals in 2024.
According to internal data obtained by the Daily Telegraph through Freedom of Information Act requests, £10.1 billion of the £61.2 billion Universal Credit budget—aimed at supporting the unemployed and low-income earners—was allocated to migrants last year. That represents a 16.5% share of all payments, a significant increase from £6.3 billion in 2022 and £7.9 billion in 2023.
The report does not include spending on migrants who have since acquired British citizenship, second-generation migrants, or separate public funding allocated to migrants through housing, education, and healthcare programs. Nor does it account for asylum seekers housed in hotels and provided with food at taxpayer expense.
Universal Credit is generally restricted to individuals who have held “indefinite leave to remain” in the UK, requiring at least five years of residency. As such, the data omits the large influx of migrants who arrived post-Brexit under the immigration reforms initiated by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
A separate analysis by the Centre for Policy Studies estimates the lifetime fiscal impact of post-2021 migrants could cost UK taxpayers £234 billion—roughly £8,200 per household—though they caution that the real cost may be even higher depending on future residency grants.
In response, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has proposed replacing indefinite leave to remain with a five-year U.S.-style work visa, stating that welfare payments should be reserved for British citizens. He has also called for stronger immigration controls to limit the long-term burden on the welfare state.
While Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has previously acknowledged that mass immigration has failed to deliver promised economic benefits, he recently criticized Farage’s proposals, accusing them of unfairly targeting new arrivals despite mounting financial concerns.
