UK plans to pay asylum seekers to move to Rwanda
Al Jazeera
Plans are separate from the ‘Rwanda bill’, a stalled plan to forcibly deport most asylum seekers to the African country.
The United Kingdom’s government is considering plans to pay asylum seekers whose applications have failed up to 3,000 British pounds ($3,840) to move to Rwanda.
The proposed scheme, part of a deal struck with Rwanda, was drawn up by ministers with the aim of clearing a backlog of tens of thousands of asylum seekers who have been refused the right to stay, but cannot be returned to countries deemed unsafe.
The plan is separate from the controversial “Rwanda bill“, an earlier plan to forcibly deport most asylum seekers to Rwanda.
Instead, it extends an existing policy in which people are offered financial assistance to return to their home countries.
According to the Home Office, 19,000 people were removed voluntarily from the UK in the past year. Under the new extension, people will receive the money if they agree to live in Rwanda, which the UK government considers to be a safe third country despite reports from rights groups on political oppression.
