MIGRANTS who move to Britain to join their partners are projected to cost the UK economy £5.6 billion over their lifetimes, according to an analysis by the Migration Advisory Committee.
The committee said 51,000 people entered the UK in 2022–23 under partner visas, which allow individuals to live and work in the country. More than half were unemployed. The analysis estimated that each individual would have a net fiscal cost of £109,000 over their lifetime at current values.
By comparison, British residents in the same age group were projected to contribute £110,000 over their lifetimes. The committee said the gap was due to fewer higher earners among migrant partners, resulting in lower tax contributions.
Partners contributed about £8,600 in taxes in their first year in the UK, compared with an average of £18,500 for a British adult. While the group initially has a net positive fiscal impact, this reverses as healthcare use increases and, after gaining indefinite leave to remain, access to most benefits begins.
In the year after gaining permanent residence, an average partner claimed £2,400 annually in benefits. Between years five and six, the cohort was estimated to claim £109 million, with claimants receiving an average of £2,400 per year.
Only the top ten per cent were expected to be a net benefit to taxpayers. The analysis did not include any benefit from their children.
The committee found partners were less likely than work visa holders to leave Britain later in life. Employment rates reached about 65 per cent within five years and stayed at that level until the 50s, with higher rates among men than women.
The report also said asylum and refugee migrants were expected to have an “unambiguously negative” lifetime fiscal impact. In Australia, resettled refugees cost A$400,000 (£300,220) compared with A$85,000 (£63,790) for residents.
MAC chair Brian Bell said it “wouldn’t surprise me” if British figures were “of a similar order of magnitude”. He said net migration could rise to about 300,000 by the end of the decade, from 204,000, driven by overseas students and workers.
Bell said reforms announced by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, including higher English language requirements for skilled workers, would have limited impact. “I don’t think it’ll make much difference really to anyone,” he said.
The analysis covered migrants before the previous government raised the partner salary threshold from £18,600 to £29,000 in April 2024. Plans to increase it to £38,700 were paused after Labour took office.
Mahmood has proposed higher requirements for partners seeking indefinite leave to remain, including earning at least £12,570 for three to five years and demonstrating higher English proficiency.
The committee also found migrants with lower English levels “have worse employment and earnings outcomes and are less engaged in civic life”.
The Home Office said: “We are replacing a broken immigration system built on cheap overseas labour with one that welcomes the world’s brightest and best.
“We thank the Migration Advisory Committee for its comprehensive report. We are considering its findings and will respond in due course.”
