BBC documentary alleges some asylum seekers have babies to boost passport chances amid costly taxi rides for NHS appointments

A BBC documentary reports that some asylum seekers housed in government hotels are having babies in the belief it would help them obtain a British passport, a claim the programme says is misguided. The segment notes that while a child can affect certain processes, it does not guarantee a passport or immunity from deportation, and officials say migrants with children can still be removed if their asylum claims fail, though extra safeguards exist for families.

The programme, part of the BBC File on Four series, visits four hotels and includes accounts of migrants who say they have been sent hundreds of miles by taxi for NHS appointments at public expense. One Iraqi man described a 250-mile trip that cost about £600 for a knee consultation, a ride he said he had little choice but to accept because the taxi was booked by the hotel under an automated system. The report also highlights that migrants reportedly continue to work in Britain despite employment bans and that some have said they have pursued strategies such as religious conversion to bolster their chances of staying.

In the case of the Bell Hotel in Epping, protesters have drawn attention to conditions around asylum housing, while the Home Office says the site remains open while legal challenges proceed. The BBC said journalists and the public are barred from the migrant hotels, but it gained access through contacts who had themselves traveled from France.

Around the hotels, some interviewees spoke of long waits for asylum decisions and described living in two adjoining hotel rooms. The programme also features accounts of migrants who say they have engaged in informal work, sometimes for very low pay, to support themselves while awaiting a decision, with money sent home to relatives in their home countries.

Government data show the scale of asylum accommodation and applications. By the end of June, just over 32,000 people were living in taxpayer-funded hotels, up eight percent from a year earlier. The Home Office reported 111,084 asylum applications lodged in the year to June, up 14 percent. Total asylum-support costs for 2024-25 fell to £4.76 billion, down from £5.38 billion the previous year, though spending remains far higher than a decade ago.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood asked officials to urgently review the use of taxis to move asylum seekers between sites. The government says it is examining arrangements while Labour has pledged to close all migrant hotels by 2029. The BBC report notes that the hotel at The Bell has been the subject of prior court actions; an injunction temporarily blocked new placements there, but the Court of Appeal allowed continued operation pending further action.