‘Illegal immigrants’ can’t claim Jobseeker’s Allowance

A video circulating on Facebook claims that “illegal immigrants” being housed in a hotel in Reading are claiming Jobseeker’s allowance (JSA).  

The video has overlaid text saying “Her son is a chef at a hotel in Reading housing illegal immigrants. Listen to the luxuries you are paying for” and features a woman who claims “they’ve all signed on so they’re getting Jobseeker’s Allowance”.

There’s no precise legal definition of an “illegal immigrant”, but the term is often used to refer to people who are in the UK without a legal right to be here. And as we’ve explained several times before, people in the UK without a legal right to be here are not entitled to claim any benefits, including JSA. 

Asylum seekers, including those who arrive in the UK on small boats also can’t claim welfare benefits, but do receive some financial support from the government as well as help with housing if they need it. As of June 2024 just under 30,000 people claiming asylum were housed in hotels, although this number has been decreasing recently. 

Support for asylum seekers

Asylum seekers who are homeless or don’t have money to buy food are eligible for asylum support, which can include a place to live, a cash allowance, or both. 

If this is granted and includes accommodation that does not provide meals, an asylum seeker is entitled to a cash allowance of £49.18 per week for each person in a household (with some extra money available for young children and pregnant mothers). This allowance is loaded onto a debit card—known as an ASPEN card—each week, which can be used to withdraw cash to pay for things like food, toiletries and clothing.

This may be what the speaker in the video is referring to when she claims people in the hotel receive “prepaid cards with like £1,000 on them”. Although the support amounts to approximately £2,557 per person, per year, this is not given all at once, but is loaded in small instalments each week. 

For asylum seekers whose accommodation does provide meals, the allowance is £8.86 per week (around £461 per year).

Those who have been refused asylum, but who are unable to leave the UK yet may also be also entitled to weekly money loaded onto a payment card, which is conditional on accepting the government’s offer of accommodation. 

Refugees can claim mainstream benefits

However, if an asylum seeker’s claim is approved and they are granted refugee status in the UK, they are entitled to claim benefits if eligible on the same basis as UK nationals.

Mobile phones

The woman also claims those in the hotel are given mobile phones. 

Asylum seekers do not receive phones as part of their standard support package from the Home Office, though a number of charities do provide donated phones to new arrivals to make it easier for them to contact solicitors and monitor the progress of their claims. 

There have been some exceptions to this, however. Around 14,000 mobile phones were reported to have been handed out to asylum seekers during the course of the pandemic as immigration staff were unable to interview individuals face to face because of Covid-19 restrictions. However, this was a temporary measure. 

The video is old

The video is being shared as if it were recent but Full Fact has found examples of it being shared as far back as 2021, and again in 2023. 

These kinds of posts can undermine understanding of public policy and foster social division based on bad information. Online claims like these can spread fast and far, and are difficult to contain and correct. For help identifying bad information, use our toolkit.