EU Immigrants pay more than £1 billion a year more into the public purse than they take out, new research has found.

In a report put together by Rapid Formations, it was revealed in 2011, EU migrants put 13.5 per cent more directly into the public purse than they took out, which adds up to £463.35 every second.

The research comes in the face of a rise of anti-immigration politics, in which parties such as Ukip have cited increased immigration as a detrimental factor to our economy.

Last year, it was found that 28 EU migrants entered the country every hour, but according to immigration experts at the Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM) the overall benefit to the UK is about £50 a second.

According to the report public spending on EU migrants sits at about £12.9 billion, while the revenues raised by EU workers sat at just above £14.6 billion a year.

The report states EU migrants actually earn a higher average wage than UK-born workers, and are also 6.8 per cent more likely to start a company in the UK.

A spokesman for the Scottish Greens said: “We believe Scotland is a welcoming country and immigrants are an asset to our economy and good for our culture. We oppose the appalling rhetoric used by too many politicians against migrants.”

James Howell, director of company formation agency Rapid Formations, said it is “crucial that voters aren’t swayed by mis-truths surrounding European immigration”.

Howell said: “Not only are EU migrants better educated and more likely to be employed than UK citizens, but they’re making money – lots of money. That goes on to fuel economic activity, bringing new investment into the country, starting up new companies and creating much-needed jobs.”

“There appears to be this damning portrait of EU migrants lazing about the streets in search of benefits, but in truth, those individuals are putting more into the system than we are – and they’re taking out less, too.

“Immigration has always been a contentious dinner party topic, and negative media coverage continues to shine recent migrants in a terrible light. The truth is, they’re one of the greatest financial assets the UK has got,” he added.

The report also showed that immigration to Scotland only accounted for 5.6 per cent of the UK total, with the highest percentage of migrants choosing London, Manchester and Birmingham. Glasgow and Edinburgh are the two most popular destinations in Scotland.

Ukip spokesman Patrick O’Flynn said that people had been “betrayed” by the recent lack of action towards immigration, adding that our “EU membership means there is an almost unlimited reserve army of cheap labour available to big employers”.

However, recent research from the British Election Study (BES) said that fewer people would be likely to see immigration as a burden if they understood the underlying economic principles.

Robert Wright, Professor of Economics at the University of Strathclyde, was one of the authors of the report and said the more you understand the “more positive you are towards immigration”.

Wright added: “What is really interesting about this immigration stuff is that the more you understand how labour markets work, and how taxes work and are spent, the more positive you are towards immigration. It’s as simple as that.”

“You can always find one person who has lost out to some immigrant, some guy from Poland, but generally it’s not the case – many immigrants end up in jobs that wouldn’t be filled anyway,” he added.

The issue of immigration has repeatedly found itself at the heart of the debate in the run up to this election campaign, with the main Westminster parties all promising to cut down on EU migration to the UK.