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LONDON: The British government is planning to pay up to £3,000 per person to send asylum seekers to Rwanda under a voluntary scheme to help refugees whose applications have been rejected.
As per Reuters, the new deal with Rwanda is separate from the plan to forcibly deport asylum seekers, which was ruled illegal by Britain’s Supreme Court last year.
The new deal reflects an existing government policy, where asylum seekers are offered financial support to leave the UK for their country of origin, but under the new plan, people receive money if they agree to stay in Rwanda.
British minister Kevin Hollenrick said the new policy is a good use of public money because it is cheaper than the cost of caring for people in the UK who have been refused asylum.
He said that there are millions of asylum seekers in Britain, and although 3000 pounds is certainly a lot of money, it is also true that it costs a lot of money to keep such people in Britain.
The British Prime Minister said that Rwanda currently can accept a few hundred refugees from the UK each year, and this capacity could be increased over time. Rishi Sunak said that he wished that the first deportation flights would take off soon so that the project could be implemented.
