UK immigration amnesty could add billions to economy

June 16 2009 by Bryan Palmer

Boris Johnson: UK visa amnesty

London’s City Hall and the London School of Economics claim that granting amnesty to immigrants illegally living in Britain without a valid UK visa could add as much as £3 billion to the nation’s economy.

London Mayor, Boris Johnson, commissioned the study and said it highlighted the fact that immigrants are ”far from a financial burden.” He added, "this new report has introduced some long overdue facts, hard evidence and academic rigour into a debate which has far too often been dominated by myth, anecdote and hearsay.”

The LSE study found that 67% of immigrants who have moved to Britain without a UK visa would be granted the right to live in the UK under the five-year residency plan outlined by City Hall.

The Mayor insists that an amnesty would not lead to increased people trafficking and that tighter border controls are central to the amnesty plan in order to prevent more illegal immigrants coming to Britain without a valid UK visa.

It costs £11,000 per person to deport an illegal immigrant and the National Audit Office claims the cost of deport all the remaining illegal immigrants living in the UK would total £4.7 billion.

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