Should Wales be a Nation of Sanctuary for refugees and asylum seekers?

Scrapping the Welsh government's Nation of Sanctuary policy would have "disastrous" consequences for social cohesion in Wales, the head of a Welsh refugee charity has warned.

The scheme aims to help refugees and asylum seekers placed in Wales by the UK government to integrate and access public services.

However, ahead of May's Senedd election, the Welsh Conservatives and Reform UK have pledged to scrap it, citing concerns over the cost and message it sends.

Between 2019-2025 the Welsh government spent 0.05% of its total budget on Nation of Sanctuary. All the other major parties have reiterated their support for the policy.

The Nation of Sanctuary plan has become the focus of political debate, and some of our readers have asked us to take a closer look at it.

Gary Nickson, a retired procurement manager in Padeswood in north Wales, was among those who contacted the BBC's Your Voice project to raise concerns about the policy.

"I can't remember ever seeing a survey or having the opportunity to vote on it," he said, adding that he felt major decisions were being taken "on our behalf" at a time when, in his view, Wales was already struggling with its own domestic challenges.

The Welsh government carried out a three-month consultation in 2018 which found "substantial support" for its proposals.

It received 35 written responses from organisations and individuals, as well as views from people seeking sanctuary.

A year later the government declared that Wales would become "the world's first Nation of Sanctuary".

Ministers pledged to help refugees and asylum seekers to access services such as healthcare and education.

They also set out ways to help people placed in Wales to integrate, by providing opportunities to learn English and Welsh and to learn about Welsh society.

The policy has no bearing on immigration rules or the number of asylum seekers placed in Wales.

Those decisions lie with the UK government.

Between 2019 and 2025 the Welsh government spent £63.87m on Nation of Sanctuary - equivalent to 0.05% of its total budget for that period.

Most of that money - £58.22m - was spent on supporting Ukrainians who came to Wales after fleeing the war in their home country.

According to the latest Home Office figures, as of 30 September 2025 there were 12,687 refugees and asylum-seekers being supported by the policy in Wales, including 8,328 from Ukraine and 1,028 Afghans who supported UK efforts in Afghanistan.

Of the remaining 3,331, there were 99 people being accommodated in so-called asylum hotels in Cardiff at the UK government's expense.

Larysa Martseva arrived in Cardiff with her two teenage children in April 2022 after fleeing the war in Ukraine.

Four years on, she remains grateful for the welcome she received.

"I've never had such kind support in my life," she says.

"It was the expression of kindness, it was the expression of respect.

"I found myself feeling so comfortable, that I start to cry each time I remember this period."

Now working in a community centre in Cardiff, Larysa says the Nation of Sanctuary policy has allowed her and others in her position to become "part of society".

The Welsh Refugee Council is one of the organisations that receives funding via the scheme.

Its chief executive Andrea Cleaver said she understood the concern that some people have around the policy given the cost of living crisis.

However, she warned scrapping the policy would have "disastrous" consequences, including an increase in homelessness.

"We would also see people stopping learning English because they wouldn't have access to it, we would see a decline in volunteering and we would see a decline in people contributing to the economy and getting jobs."

Cleaver believes that for the policy to fully deliver its objectives, more money must be spent on it.

She said that it was "surprising" to see how the policy had been politicised ahead of the election, adding the issue had become "a political football".

She added that perhaps renaming the policy as an "integration plan" or "preparation plan" would make it easier for people to understand the government's ambition.

Welsh Labour said it was "committed to making Wales a Nation of Sanctuary" and Plaid Cymru said the policy was a "commitment to dignity and integration".

The Welsh Liberal Democrats said the party "wholeheartedly" supported the policy, and the Wales Green Party said it would push to make it "easier to settle into life in Wales".

However, the Welsh Conservatives and Reform UK have pledged to scrap it.

Last month the leader of the Conservative group in Cardiff Bay Darren Millar told the Senedd: "Wales has always been, as has the United Kingdom, a place where people have sought sanctuary."

"But we do not need to be wasting tens of millions of pounds on a Nation of Sanctuary plan when we are not responsible in Wales for immigration and we are not responsible for those matters."

Reform UK Member of the Senedd (MS) Laura Anne Jones told the Senedd in January that the "virtue-signalling Nation of Sanctuary policy is effectively holding a neon sign over Wales saying, 'come on in'".

Additional reporting by George Herd