Why do they come to the UK?

Prime Minister Sir Kir Stmper and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed that a “new and innovative solution” is required to deal with the small boat crossing.

The UK is paying millions of pounds from France to prevent boats leaving the French coast, but so far this year, the number of migrants arriving in the UK in this way – most of whom move to claim asylum – have reached a record level.

France has claimed that a factor attracting him is the ability to “work without papers” in the UK economy.

The BBC verified the evidence for this and other “bridge factors”, which is quoted as a destination for refugee select as the reasons for choosing the UK.

The French government has argued that shelters seek in the UK as they believe they will be able to work in its informal economy – where tax is not paid and people are employed without legal status and proper documentation.

Estimating the size of the informal economy is not simple for obvious reasons.

Nevertheless, a recent study of researchers in the European Parliament suggests the size of the UK. About 11% of the total economy in 2022,

This was actually less than their estimate for 14% of France and lower than the average of 31 European countries at 17%.

The UK’s informal economy by its nature provides possible opportunities for asylum seekers – and other irregular migrants – to work illegally – and the UK government has accepted the need for more enforcement in the region.

Home Secretary Yett Cooper It is described Earlier this week as a potential “bridge factor”.

Home office has increased Number of trips to employers Unauthorized workers are suspected of hiring.

There were 10,031 trips and 7,130 arrests a year since the July election, while 6,797 visits and 4,734 were arrested in the same period last year.

The amount and value of the fined has also increased.

March 2025 in the year, 2,171 fine A total of £ 111m was released to employers. In the same period last year, there were 1,676 fines of £ 31m.

There is no data on the type of targeted businesses but Recently home office press release Restaurant, nail bar and construction sites are mentioned.

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair-and many Labor MPs-have called for the UK-wide digital identity to help the government to help deal with “illegal ‘of-the-books’ employment”.

Digital IDs, which exist in many European Union countries, can be used as a tool to examine a person’s right to work and close to illegal work.

But even in view of some of these countries, informal economies appear, this is It is not clear about how much digital ID has in this field.,

Access to the legal labor market for refuge seekers, while they wait for their claims to be processed, are more restrictive in the UK than many major European countries.

In the UK, they can apply for permission to work if they have been waiting for more than a year for an initial decision on their claim.

Medelene Simpution from Oxford University’s Migration Observatory Think Tank said: “I am a little doubt about the story, which you often hear from the French politicians that there is a soft touch on the right-to-work issues about Britain because we have a single set of policies, as we do somewhat and some equal challenges.”

He said that research shows that shelter seekers’ ability to speak English in other European languages ​​and existing family links with the UK are important bridge factors.

Another factor has been cited “The general belief is a good place to live” – ​​a message promoted by people trying to sell the channel crossing.

Most shelter seekers Can not reach welfare benefits in UKBut they get legal protection while waiting for a decision – including housing if they cannot support themselves financially.

They can get £ 49.18 per person per week, if they are in self-earning houses, the pre-paid debit card is loaded. People receiving support in catering housing can get £ 9.95 per person per week.

Requed seekers are usually entitled to free access to NHS and some can get free childcare.

The children of shelter seekers are also entitled to the education of the state and in some circumstances free schools can qualify for food.

It is unlike many migrants in Kallis – expecting to cross into the UK – who have not applied for asylum in France and are not entitled to state support, but receive limited assistance from donations.

Research suggests that benefits are not an important bridge factor for shelter seekers.

A 2021 paper By the University of Aalborg in Denmark, it was found that other factors, such as which countries are most likely to identify the status of the refugee and are also more impressive to reunite with the family.

Another paperWritten by Essex professor Timothy Haton in 2020, stated that limit control and processing policies have significant effects while there are no welfare policies.

Ms. Simpume says conclusions suggest that “Technical tweex for you [benefit] The system is not a major impact, [although] They may have some effect on the margins ”.

When it comes to the overall number of shelter seekers, the researchers also emphasized importance “Push factor“, Such as conflict and repression in their home countries.

Some relevant references are that refuge applications have increased rapidly in recent years, not only in the UK, but in the whole of Europe.

Claims have been in countries such as France, Germany, Spain and Italy since 2020 – and in 2024 they were in full numbers in those countries than the number of claims presented in the UK.

Additional Reporting by Tamara Kovswik and Rob England