What was claimed
New analysis has estimated that migrants’ partners cost Britain £5.6 billion over their lifetime.
Our verdict
Incorrect. This figure is actually an estimate of the total net lifetime fiscal cost of people who arrived in the UK in 2022/23 through the Partner route of the Family visa—which includes the partners of some UK-born British citizens.
The Times has corrected a headline that wrongly claimed analysis found that “migrants’ partners cost Britain £5.6 billion over their lifetime”, after being contacted by Full Fact.
The analysis in question included the foreign-born partners of some UK-born British citizens—so did not just refer to the cost of the partners of “migrants”.
The £5.6 billion figure comes from a report published on Wednesday by the government’s Migration Advisory Committee. It is an estimate of the total net lifetime fiscal cost of people who arrived in the UK in 2022/23 through the Partner route of the Family visa.
This works out at an average net lifetime fiscal cost of £109,000 per applicant.
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However, the report states that this is an estimate for “the 2022/23 cohort of successful applicants to the Partner route, which consists of the partners of British citizens and settled residents”.
The Migration Advisory Committee confirmed to Full Fact this means that partners of UK-born British citizens are also included in the sum, as well as the partners of eligible migrants (though it's worth noting many migrants go on to become British citizens).
The Times has since changed its original headline to say “Migrant partners cost Britain £5.6 billion over their lifetime”. We’re grateful for the correction.
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