Migrants Face 200 Daily Sanctions for Universal Credit Non-Compliance

About two hundred sanctions hit migrants daily for breaking Universal Credit rules, new data shows. Claimants must agree to job searches, CV building, and advisor meetings—failing any of that gets you sanctioned. Think tank Centre for Migration Control found 198,771 migrants got sanctioned from January 2023 to April 2025—that’s 200 a day, 1,600 a week. Out of 1,356,226 total sanctions, migrants made up 14.6 percent. Sanctions range from pausing payments until a missed appointment’s rescheduled to cutting them off for three months. Nearly 500 migrants join benefits daily, with 1.3 million foreign nationals on UC, up 6.7 percent last year. Robert Bates from CMC calls it insulting, saying many migrants just want handouts and should lose access to welfare by scrapping Indefinite Leave to Remain. Sanctions hit 50,655 in April 2025, with 15 percent—7,752—going to migrants, a 41 percent jump from January 2023’s 5,494. UC costs for foreign nationals hit £10 billion last year, nearing £25 billion from March 2022 to March 2025.