Asylum seekers are being offered free or heavily discounted entry to some of Britain’s best-known tourist attractions, while domestic visitors can face the full cost of admission, according to a new report highlighting the increasingly contentious debate over preferential access to public and cultural institutions.
A total of 21 attractions have been identified as offering free or substantially reduced-price entry to asylum seekers, including Kew Gardens, the Roman Baths and Canterbury Cathedral.
An adult paying full price to visit all 21 venues would face a combined bill of £337, according to an analysis by The Sun. An asylum seeker using a Home Office Application Registration Card could pay as little as £28.
At Canterbury Cathedral, the card provides free admission, compared with an £18.50 adult ticket. At the Roman Baths, asylum seekers can enter without charge while other adults can pay as much as £33.
Kew Gardens offers asylum seekers entry for 85p, compared with £24.50 for most other visitors.
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Other attractions in cities including Bristol, Nottingham and Oxford also offer concessions to asylum seekers, meaning that families paying the standard admission price can face substantially higher costs for visits to some of the country’s most prominent cultural sites.
The arrangements have become politically sensitive as ministers face growing pressure over the cost of supporting asylum seekers and the wider migration system.
Rob Bates of the Centre for Migration Control said the findings demonstrated what he described as an increasingly unequal system.
“This is yet more proof that we live in a two-tier society that prioritises illegal migrants over British citizens,” he said.
“The chance to enjoy a subsidised summer of fun is yet another reason why migrants are choosing to break into our country.
“These kinds of pull factors need to end if we want the boats to stop.
“Channel migrants enjoy free days out and perks, whilst the British taxpayer is forced to pay through the nose to access their own country’s cultural sites.”
Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, also criticised the arrangements, he fumed: “It is so unfair. Why should asylum seekers get freebies at the expense of the taxpayer?.
“We must leave the ECHR so we can deport all illegal immigrants within a week of arrival.
“It is a shame the Labour Government is too weak to do this.”
The controversy comes as attractions across Britain use targeted concessions to widen access to cultural and educational sites for people on lower incomes or receiving state support.
The latest findings follow an earlier investigation by GB News into discounts available to benefit claimants, which found that millions of pounds in potential savings had been made available over the past year.
More than 24.3 million people receive some form of Department for Work and Pensions support, according to the figures cited by GB News. Yet some major attractions recorded only a few thousand discounted admissions.
The issue has therefore become less about the value of individual concessions than the broader question of who benefits from Britain’s cultural infrastructure — and who ultimately pays for it.
William Yarwood, campaigns director at the Taxpayers’ Alliance, described the arrangements as “yet another example of a growing two-tier Britain where those paying in increasingly feel they get less back than those drawing from the system”.
“Ministers need to put an end to these endless perks and discounts,” he added.
The debate is likely to intensify as Britain grapples with record levels of migration, rising pressure on public services and growing demands from taxpayers for greater value from the state.
For the attractions themselves, discounted admission can form part of wider access programmes intended to remove financial barriers. But politically, the perception that asylum seekers can receive cheaper access than ordinary families paying the standard price risks becoming another flashpoint in Britain’s increasingly polarised migration debate.
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