Migrants are 'shopping around' EU countries to see which one will pay them the most to be sent home, Brussels has warned.

Every year tens of thousands of European migrants are paid cash incentives and benefits to return to their home countries in so-called voluntary return schemes.

But because the amount they are paid varies from nation to nation, EU bureaucrats say this has created a perverse incentive for migrants to end up in a country with more generous handouts.

EU migrants are 'shopping around' to see which country will pay them the most to return home, according to bureaucrats in Brussels

In a memo sent from the European Commission to EU politicians earlier this month, officials say countries should agree a single payment to stop this from happening.

While Politico reports that the idea has been well received, there is little sign that such a scheme is about to be adopted.

EU policy states that, wherever possible, voluntary return schemes are preferable to forced return schemes.

Despite the name, voluntary return does not mean the person has chosen to leave of their own free will, but only that they have made their own arrangements after being ordered to leave.

Currently, the UK offers up to £550 in cash and another £1,600 of in-kind benefits for those choosing the voluntary route.

Every year tens of migrants are paid cash incentives or benefits in order to return home, with the UK offering £550 in cash and £1,600 in in-kind payments

Meanwhile France offers the same cash benefit but their in-kind payments are much higher, at £6,000.

Norway is the most generous, offering £2,250 in cash and another £4,300 in-kind, while by contrast, the Czech Republic offers nothing.

In 2015 the UK sent more than 1,600 migrants home through a voluntary return programme, according to Home Office statistics.

It is not clear how much these people were paid, while the true number of payments may also be higher, since the Home Office sometimes pays toward travel for those categorised as enforced removals.

Politico reports that it is uncommon for migrants to be paid the full amount.