An image depicting a six-month-old infant being placed onto a small boat in northern France has brought the ongoing migrant crisis across the English Channel into sharp focus. The child, dressed in a white romper and bib, was seen being lifted onto the vessel with men in life jackets, as a baby bottle was thrown into the boat. This incident occurred on a beach in northern France as the boat prepared to cross to Britain.
This event occurs amid a backdrop of significant loss of life among children attempting the crossing. Since the crisis began in 2018, approximately 34 children have died trying to reach Britain from continental Europe, according to the International Organisation for Migration. Notable incidents include a capsize off Cape Gris-Nez in September 2024 that claimed the lives of six children, and the drowning of a Kurdish-Iranian family, including two young children, in October 2020.
The presence of vulnerable individuals, including infants, on these dangerous journeys raises concerns not only about immediate safety but also about the long-term financial impact on the UK. While the immediate future of the infant, tentatively named 'Dylan', remains unknown, analyses suggest that asylum seekers can represent a significant long-term cost to public funds.
Reports from the government's Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) indicate that individuals entering the UK through asylum and refugee routes have a lower economic contribution compared to the general population. Research cited by the MAC from the Netherlands suggests a lifetime net fiscal impact of minus £390,000 per asylum seeker, with a similar Australian study estimating a figure of minus £198,000. MAC chairman Professor Brian Bell indicated that figures for the UK could be of a similar order of magnitude.
The MAC report attributed this negative fiscal impact to factors such as low employment rates, high economic inactivity, and exemptions from the 'no recourse to public funds' rule. Data from the Migration Observatory at Oxford University suggested that 56% of asylum seekers of working age were employed, compared to 75% of the UK-born population. Median annual salaries for asylum seekers in employment were also reported as lower than for the UK-born population.
Home Office analysis from September has also shown significantly lower employment rates among refugees who arrived via the asylum route. Just over 37% of these refugees were in employment, compared to 57% of the working-age population in England and Wales in 2021.
Beyond employment figures, the costs associated with processing asylum claims are substantial. The Home Office disclosed last month that the average bill for processing an asylum application, including accommodation and living costs, amounts to £18,700. For families whose claims are rejected but cannot be deported, the annual cost can average £158,000. Given that only about 5% of small-boat migrants are removed, the long-term costs for individuals like the infant in the photograph are likely to be considerable.
Further public expenditure includes healthcare costs, with the average NHS cost per capita in England standing at £3,492 annually. Educational costs, averaging £6,771 per pupil per year, would add over £81,000 for 12 years of full-time education, not including potential additional support for language acquisition.
In a worst-case scenario, where an individual relies on welfare benefits for an extended period, the cumulative cost could exceed £1 million. This estimate includes welfare benefits and state pension costs over a lifetime. However, the article acknowledges that if the individual becomes an economic success, a significant portion of these costs could be recouped through tax revenue.
The article also questions why parents who risk their children's lives on dangerous journeys are not subjected to the same legal standards as parents who endanger children within the UK, suggesting that prosecution for neglect could act as a deterrent. The ongoing nature of the crisis, which saw a record 230 migrants on a single vessel recently, suggests that such perilous journeys and the associated costs are likely to continue.