A family accused of masquerading as Afghans to illegally claim asylum in the UK are living in a £575,000 luxury house in an exclusive Home Counties commuter town having cost the taxpayer £160,000 over the past year, MailOnline can reveal today.
Gurbakhsh Singh, 72, his wife Ardet Kaur, 68, their son Guljeet Singh, 43, and his wife Kawaljeet Kaur, 37, all appeared on bail at Croydon Magistrates Court earlier this month.
The Singh Kaurs are said to have made the claim of being from the Taliban-led country when they arrived at Heathrow Airport just before Christmas last year.
But they have been accused of twice having failed to obtain visas to come to Britain as Indian citizens earlier in 2023.
They appeared in court for the first time earlier this month. During the hearing they were provided with both Dari and Punjabi interpreters.
Until recently they were living at Wembley’s Holiday Inn in north London, which has been completely booked by the Home Office for asylum seekers and is currently not accepting any customers.
But they are now all residing together in a new home in Hemel Hempstead, where they have all been ordered to remain as a condition of bail.
The 1,136 sq ft property, which has four bedrooms, an open plan ground floor and with ‘luxurious’ fitted kitchen with top-end appliances, was put up for sale for £575,000 in March 2023. It was sold in 2022 for £467,000, according to the Land Registry.
Father and son Gurbakhsh Singh (L) & Guljeet Singh (R) leaving Croydon Magistrates’ Court where they denied making a false statement or representation at Heathrow , namely requesting asylum as Afghan citizens when Home Office records confirm they are Indian nationals
Kawaljeet Kaur (L) and Ardet Kaur (r) outside court. Kawaljeet and her mother in law face the same charges. The family will appear in court again in January
While on bail the family are listed as living in this £575,000 home in Hemel Hempstead
It has plush deep-pile carpets, new wooden floors and a 341 sq ft loft room with views of Hertfordshire.
The modern property, within half a mile of outstanding schools and close to Hemel Hempstead’s amenities and railway station, also benefits from a newly landscaped garden to the rear and two parking spaces.
MailOnline asked the Government to comment on the case – and the cost to the taxpayer of housing them in a hotel and now their new property for the past 12 months.
A recent report from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) found that the cost of housing an asylum keeper went from £17,000 per person in 2019/20 to £41,000 in 2023/24.
Based on these figures, the family-of-four at the centre of the case would cost £164,000-a-year to house since they arrived a year ago.
A Home Office spokesperson said: ‘It would be inappropriate to comment on an ongoing investigation’.
But added: ‘Where there are concerns of abuse of the asylum system, we ensure that these are thoroughly investigated and appropriate action is taken.’
All four Singh Kaurs are charged with seeking leave to enter the UK by deceptive means, contrary to the Immigration Act, namely by claiming asylum as Afghan nationals on December 12, 2023.
The husband, wife, son and daughter-in-law are said to have made the claim they were Afghans when they arrived at Heathrow Airport last year.
The property, put up for sale last year for £575,000, has four bedrooms and a lovely open plan kitchen and living area
There is also loft room with views of Hertfordshire
It also has a landscaped garden and spaces for two cars
It is alleged they had all previously declared themselves to be Indian nationals and provided documentary evidence in two failed visa applications three months earlier.
They are also all charged with making a false statement or representation at Heathrow , namely requesting asylum as Afghan citizens when Home Office records confirm they are Indian nationals, contrary to the Immigration and Asylum Act.
All four are also charged with knowingly entering the UK without leave on December 23, last year, contrary to the Immigration Act.
They have pleaded not guilty to all charges and elected trial at Croydon Crown Court, where they were bailed to appear again on January 2, next year.
