What was claimed
Asylum seekers in hotel accommodation have the choice between an iPhone or Samsung mobile on arrival, paid for by UK taxpayers, and receive £70 a week in addition to meals.
Our verdict
Asylum seekers are eligible for asylum support from the government, but this does not include a mobile phone, although phones were given to asylum seekers during the coronavirus pandemic and some charities also provide phones to asylum seekers. Asylum seekers receive £9.95 per person a week if their meals are provided with their accommodation, and £49.18 a week if not.
Social media posts sharing a viral interview with a man who is supposedly a former employee at hotels accommodating asylum seekers makes a number of claims about what they receive. He claims they get free mobile phones paid for by “taxpayers” and £70 a week in addition to free meals. But neither of these claims is quite correct.
The six minute video features a man being interviewed by someone behind the camera, as well as drone footage of a small protest and what appears to be a hotel accommodating asylum seekers. Multiple social media posts have shared the video with the caption: “Former migrant hotel employee speaks out”.
At 44 seconds into the clip, the man, referring to asylum seekers, says: “Now, when they first arrive, they get a choice of Samsungs or iPhones. Now, as most people know, neither of them phones are cheap, and obviously they're all paid for by the taxpayers of this country [sic]. They get 70 pound cash every week into their pocket as well as all their meals”.
While it’s true that the government provides accommodation and living support to asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute, it is not correct that they receive free mobile phones paid for by taxpayers, or as much as £70 each per week.
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Asylum support from the government does not usually include phones
Asylum seekers do not generally receive a free mobile phone—of any sort—as part of the general package of asylum support provided by the Home Office. A Home Office spokesperson told Full Fact in February 2024 that asylum seekers are not given a mobile phone because it’s not considered an essential need.
As we’ve explained before, those in catered accommodation will have means to communicate included with where they’re staying, for example to contact solicitors and monitor the progress of their asylum claims, but they are not given a personal mobile device. Asylum seekers in self-catered accommodation are expected to use their asylum support payments to cover the cost of accessing some form of communication.
During the coronavirus pandemic, however, around 14,000 mobile phones were reportedly handed out to asylum seekers because immigration staff were unable to interview individuals face to face due to lockdown restrictions. This was a temporary measure, but it’s possible that this coincided with the period in which the man interviewed was employed at these hotels.
Moreover, some charities do provide asylum seekers with phones that have typically been donated, so it's possible some asylum seekers may have access to an iPhone or Samsung device through such schemes.
Financial support is less than £70
The amount of financial support an asylum seeker receives as part of their asylum support package depends on whether or not the accommodation they’re placed in provides food, but it’s never as much as £70 per person per week.
From 2 June 2025, those in catered accommodation, where their meals are being provided, receive £9.95 a week per person—not £70. Even if an asylum seeker is in self-catered accommodation, where meals are not provided, they do not receive £70 a week. They receive £49.18 a week per person, which is expected to cover things like food, clothing and toiletries.
There are additional payments available to certain asylum seekers. Pregnant mothers and children aged between one and three get an extra £5.25 a week, and babies under one get an extra £9.50 a week. If an asylum seeker is pregnant and the baby is due in 11 weeks or less or they have a baby under six weeks old, they can get a one-off maternity payment of £300.
This is loaded onto a prepaid Aspen debit card, which can be used to take out cash or pay in shops, but can’t make contactless, telephone or internet payments or be used abroad.
Asylum seekers are not eligible for mainstream benefits and are generally not allowed to work either.
Claims like this can spread quickly online and may cause people to form beliefs based on inaccurate information. Our toolkit gives you advice on how to navigate bad information online.
You can also find more of our work debunking misinformation relating to immigration on Full Fact’s website.
