Primarily based on the 1951 Conference on Refugees, anybody who has a well-founded worry of persecution can declare asylum within the UK, be that primarily based on their race, faith, nationality, sexuality or different purpose. They have to be within the UK to take action.
A file 111,084 folks claimed asylum within the UK within the newest yr to June 2025, the very best quantity in figures collected since 2002. Round two in 5 – 41,870 – of these had been made by individuals who arrived in small boats.
The rise in claims has principally been pushed by folks in search of asylum from international locations in South Asia, the Center East, and sub-Saharan Africa.
The variety of claims was comparatively low between 2006 and 2021, earlier than growing quickly lately.
Over the entire interval from 2002 to 2025, the highest 5 nationalities of these claiming asylum had been Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and Eritrea. Asylum claims from Center Japanese international locations had been highest between 2022 and 2023, whereas asylum claims from Eritreans and Pakistanis have continued to extend lately.
The most typical nationalities of these in search of asylum are sometimes these from international locations experiencing conflict and violent persecution, seen, for instance, within the surge in refugees coming from Afghanistan following the Taliban’s takeover in 2021.
Rising numbers of asylum seekers have arrived within the UK by irregular routes, totally on small boats throughout the English Channel – with Afghans and Eritreans making up the most important proportion of small boat arrivals within the final yr.
Within the newest yr to June 2025, the best variety of asylum claims had been from folks from Pakistan, at 11,234, adopted by Afghanistan at 8,281, Iran at 7,746, and Eritrea at 7,433.
The vast majority of asylum claims come from youthful males aged below 50, who represented 59% of asylum seekers within the newest figures, adopted by kids, at 22%.
There have been 19,471 kids amongst folks claiming asylum, greater than double from 7,672 a decade earlier, whereas the variety of males below 30 quadrupled to 41,553 over the identical interval.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer says he needs to ‘smash the gangs’ and disrupt the networks of organised criminals who make small boat journeys doable.
However as with the Conservative authorities that got here earlier than him, he has not been profitable. The variety of small boat crossings to this point this yr, at just below 29,000, is greater than by the identical level in any earlier yr.
However whereas half of asylum seekers arrived irregularly by small boat or with out documentation, the remainder arrive by extra typical routes.
At 41,100, an nearly similar variety of folks claimed asylum who initially arrived on a piece, examine, or different legitimate visa because the 41,870 who arrived ‘irregularly’.
One other authorities promise on immigration is growing the variety of deportations and removals of people that don’t have any authorized standing within the UK, which in addition they say will act as a deterrent to others.
This contains the ‘one-in-one-out’ scheme lately agreed with France, below which, on a trial foundation, a small quantity of people that arrive in small boats are returned to France in alternate for asylum seekers on secure and authorized routes. The federal government say that 100 folks have been detained in preparation to be despatched to France.
Who will get asylum within the UK?
Within the yr to June 2025, 51,997 folks got a grant of safety or different go away, 39% of 134,037 preliminary asylum choices made.
That is in comparison with the upper determine of 57,905 who had been refused asylum, 43% of the whole. The remaining both withdrew their declare or it was closed for different administrative causes.
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK say that whether it is elected, it plans to deport everybody who has arrived irregularly within the UK, resembling by crossing the channel in a small boat or hid in a lorry.
Nevertheless, asylum claims from those that arrived in small boats usually tend to be accredited in contrast with these made by individuals who overstayed their visa.
At 53%, greater than half of the asylum claims by individuals who arrived in small boats had been granted within the newest yr, of these the place an preliminary choice has been made, better than the 39% grant fee general for all asylum functions.
That is primarily based on preliminary choices – although a few of these whose asylum has been rejected could go on to attraction the choice.
The federal government has not lately revealed figures on asylum appeals, however primarily based on historic figures, round half of appeals are profitable.
The nation with essentially the most refused asylum claims within the newest yr was Pakistan, at 6,313, carefully adopted by Afghanistan, at 6,066, Bangladesh at 4,614 and Iran at 4,223.
Rejected asylum seekers are at present unlikely to be deported, primarily based on present returns figures. Doing so would require an settlement with the international locations concerned, says Dr Peter Walsh, a senior researcher on the Migration Observatory, a analysis institute on the College of Oxford.
“This can be a problem that is been getting tougher lately, and it is largely as a result of [rejected asylum seekers] international locations of origin. You probably have an Afghan asylum claimant who’s been refused, we do not at present have relationships with the Taliban or any sort of returns agreements,” he mentioned.
Germany lately returned a small variety of Iranian nationals to Iran, deporting 14 folks there in 2024 and an additional 11 within the first half of 2025.
“It isn’t unattainable, however definitely there could be quite a lot of diplomatic work that must be carried out to safe that sort of returns deal. Iran is at present below sanction. You’ll be able to think about the diplomatic challenges in making an attempt to safe a returns settlement with the Iranian regime.”
“And, it’s a must to think about that truly fairly an honest share of people who’ve left these international locations could be prone to persecution,” he added.
Who’s deported from the UK?
The federal government has been profitable in its intention to extend the variety of returns and deportations from the UK.
Within the newest yr to June 2025, there have been 35,833 folks returned. Most of these folks had been both voluntarily or forcibly returned to their house nation.
That is better than the 30,939 returned within the yr earlier than, and the very best it has been since 2016, although under a peak of over 47,000 returns within the yr to June 2012.
Round one in six of the folks returned had been international nationwide offenders. Nevertheless, with restricted element within the figures, it’s not doable to say precisely what quantity of the remainder of the folks returned had been failed asylum seekers or not.
Three-quarters of these returned left voluntarily, whereas the remaining 9,072 had been forcibly eliminated. Nearly all of them had been despatched from detention centres, which can embody international nationwide offenders, or individuals who by no means made an asylum declare and had been detained by immigration enforcement.
Greater than two-thirds of the 35,833 returns within the newest yr had been to seven international locations: India, Brazil, Albania, Romania, China, Nigeria, and Pakistan.
“Labour is deciding extra asylum circumstances, and success charges are in step with EU neighbours,” Professor Nando Sigona of the College of Birmingham advised Sky Information.
“It’s tough to take away folks to international locations with political unrest and human rights crises. Removals are growing, however principally in direction of international locations with which now we have higher diplomatic relations. Most of these eliminated will not be the irregular crossers however visa overstayers.”
The Data and Forensics crew is a multi-skilled unit devoted to offering clear journalism from Sky Information. We collect, analyse and visualise information to inform data-driven tales. We mix conventional reporting expertise with superior evaluation of satellite tv for pc photographs, social media and different open supply info. By way of multimedia storytelling we intention to raised clarify the world whereas additionally exhibiting how our journalism is finished.
