Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

Asylum claims to UK reach highest level in nearly 20 years

Asylum claims to UK reach highest level in nearly 20 years

Asylum applications to the UK have reached their highest level since 2004, according to official estimates.

Claims were up 18% on 2020 - when Covid travel limits were in place - but it is only a small increase on 2019 levels.

But net migration - which does not include asylum claims or refugees - fell by 88% last year after Covid.

The figures come after 27 people drowned crossing the channel, sparking renewed calls for changes to the way those seeking refuge are treated.

So far this year, more than 23,000 people have attempted the crossing from France to the UK by boat.

A government spokesperson said the asylum statistics "demonstrate the complex scale of the global migration crisis".

They claimed that the government's Nationality and Borders Bill - currently making its way through Parliament - would "ensure we are fair to those in genuine need and break the business model of criminal trafficking networks".

However, Labour has said the bill would breach international law on refugees and "damage the UK's standing around the world".

Conservative MP Tim Loughton said the bill was not a "panacea", adding: "What it will end up doing is replacing putting people up in hotels with putting people in prison."

The Home Office figures also reveal a big backlog of asylum claims waiting to be heard, with 67,547 cases yet to have an initial decision.

Dr Peter William Walsh, of Oxford University's Migration Observatory, said: "The situation in the channel yesterday (Wednesday) is an unspeakable tragedy.

"The increase in claims for asylum is driven by arrivals from Eritrea, Iran and Syria, all of which have very high acceptance rates for asylum in the UK.

"The backlog in the number of asylum seekers is increasing both as a result of this increase and the slow processing of asylum claims."

Afghanistan resettlement


Asylum applications in the UK were "substantially lower" than in France, which received 31,000 applicants in the third quarter of 2021, according to the Migration Observatory.

People can claim for asylum in the UK if they fear persecution in their own country.

Children in a refugee camp in Syria


There were 37,562 asylum applications in the year to September - compared to nearly 32,000 in 2020 and 35,737 in 2019.

The Home Office said this year's increase was partly linked to the easing of global travel restrictions introduced during the pandemic, but also to "an increase in small boat arrivals to the UK (of which almost all claim asylum)".

The department's figures say that last year it offered protection to 13,210 people in the form of asylum and other schemes, representing a 2% increase on the previous year.

Iran was the top nationality claiming asylum, as it has been every year since 2016, with 6,002 applications.

Applications from Eritrean nationals rose by 97%, while claims from Syrians increased by 74% and by 39% for Afghans and Albanians.

The figures do not include those who came to the UK via the Afghanistan Citizens Resettlement Scheme, which supported Afghans who had worked with the UK government in their home country.

Asylum applications last peaked in 2002 when demand was driven by conflict or unrest in Iraq, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe and Somalia.

Numbers fell in subsequent years and have since fluctuated between 20,000 and 40,000.

Net migration falls


Separate figures, released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), suggest a dramatic drop in net migration to the UK last year, due to Covid travel restrictions.

Net migration - the difference between people coming to live in the UK and emigrating to other countries - was 34,000 in 2020, compared with 271,000 the previous year.

Brexit was also a factor in the 88% fall in numbers, but the ONS stressed that there was "no evidence of an exodus" from the UK.

In March 2020, the public were told to stop all non-essential travel in a bid to prevent the spread of coronavirus, and air travel to and from the UK dropped by 95% in the early months of the pandemic.

Net migration in 2020 from the EU was negative, with 94,000 more EU nationals thought to have left the UK than to have arrived, the ONS statistics suggest.

But 5.5 million EU nationals were granted permission to remain in the UK through the post-Brexit settlement scheme, according to Home Office figures. with more than 300,000 cases still being processed.

So far, 180,000 EU nationals have been refused permission to remain in the UK.


The ONS warned that its net migration figures were based on "experimental research" and "subject to a high level of uncertainty".

The organisation was forced to suspend the International Passenger Survey, the traditional method of measuring migration through surveys at ports and airports. due to the pandemic.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
United States Sells Luxury Yacht Amadea, Valued at Approximately $325 Million, in First Sale of a Seized Russian Yacht Since the Invasion of Ukraine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
×