The Home Office has confirmed that some Home Office staff will receive a 9% pay rise to protect against inflation.
PCS, the union representing civil servants, welcomed the deal, which is almost double the 5 per cent agreed by a majority of civil servants.
The pay increase is aimed at improving staff retention and morale, which are among the lowest in the civil service.
But Conservative MP Neil O’Brien said the pay rise would “haunt” those worried about immigration and crime.
The BBC understands that for senior executives working outside London, the pay rise will be backdated to the beginning of July, ranging from 6% to 9.1%.
The inflation rate is 2.2%, According to the latest data.
But the PCS union said its members “should be paid well above inflation to recoup the wages we have lost through years of below-inflation growth”.
Ministry of Interior latest annual report It shows the cost of employing temporary agency staff has tripled in the past two years to more than £500m, with much of it spent on dealing with illegal immigration and the now-cancelled Rwanda deal.
A Home Office spokesman said the pay rise was in line with civil service pay guidance.
He said: “This year’s pay guidance recognizes the hard work and critical importance of all our staff and is broadly consistent with other public sector pay guidance.
“A relatively junior grade in a particular area received a higher amount to bring them in line with their peers.”
PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote said she would continue to push for a “fair and sustainable long-term pay solution” to make up for “many years” of below-inflation pay.
She said: “Our negotiations with the Home Office have made progress and we welcome the final offer which will bring an overall increase of 5 per cent above the civil service remit at executive and executive staff levels.
“We believe this is the best ruling that can be reached through departmental negotiations alone.”
However, critics have questioned whether the recent performance of Home Office staff justifies the significant pay rise.
The move comes as the number of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats so far this year has topped 29,000, close to the total for all of last year.
“I have no problem with employees being rewarded for good performance,” O’Brien said.
“But with large numbers of people crossing the Channel, crime detection rates being low and dangerous people being released from prison, this huge pay rise will bother a lot of people.”
