UK migration data at a glance

Net migration (change in population), January 2025 to December 2025

171,000*

down 48% over 12 months

ONS data, as of 21 May 2026

Immigration (people arriving), January 2025 to December 2025

813,000

down 20% over 12 months

ONS data, as of 21 May 2026

Emigration (people leaving), January 2025 to December 2025

642,000

down 6% over 12 months

ONS data, as of 21 May 2026

Asylum applications, April 2025 to March 2026

93,525

down 12% over 12 months

Home Office data, as of 21 May 2026

Returns and deportations from the UK, April 2025 to March 2026

39,007

up 7% over 12 months

Home Office data, as of 21 May 2026

Arrivals by small boat, 1 January 2026 to 20 May 2026

7,576

down 41% same period 2025

Home Office data, as of 21 May 2026

Small boat crossings and other illegal arrivals

Tap the questions below

How many people cross the English Channel in small boats?

Between 1 January and 20 May 2026, a total of 7,576 people crossed the English Channel by small boat from France. This was down by 41% on the same period the previous year.

These crossings have become the most common way for people to be detected entering the UK illegally since 2020.

Nearly all those who arrive by small boat claim asylum. Under international law, this means they are allowed to stay in the country while their asylum application is considered.

Small boat arrivals made up 42% of asylum applications between April 2025 to March 2026.

A step chart of small boat crossings over a calendar year for each year starting in 2021. The year-end totals were as follows 2021: 28,526, 2022: 45,755, 2023: 29,437, 2024: 36,816, 2025: 41,472. As of 8 May, there have been 7,380 small boat crossings to the UK in 2026. Out of the years plotted, this is the fourth highest number of small boat arrivals by this date.

Boats that arrived in the UK from 21 May 2025 to 20 May 2026 carried an average of 65 people. This has more than doubled since 2021.

Experts say overcrowding in boats makes crossings riskier. At least 84 people died while attempting to cross the Channel in 2024, according to the United Nations (UN).

When looking at the scale of small boats crossings, the number of these arrivals is about 5% of the size of total immigration into the UK from January 2025 to December 2025.

The government has pledged to “smash the gangs” behind these crossings in order to reduce the numbers.

Who is arriving in the UK on small boats?

People from Eritrea accounted for 18% of all arrivals from April 2025 to March 2026.

A horizontal bar chart of the top five countries from which the UK receives most arrivals by small boat. The countries and corresponding arrivals detected are as follows: Eritrea with 7042 arrivals detected, Afghanistan with 4490 arrivals detected, Iran with 4378 arrivals detected, Sudan with 4389 arrivals detected, and Somalia with 3740 arrivals detected. The figures are for April 2025 to March 2026.

In the latest figures covering January 2025 to December 2025, at least 2,000 people who arrived by small boat were found to be potential victims of human trafficking or other forms of modern slavery, according to the Home Office.

How else do people stay in the UK without permission?

Another 4,535 people were detected entering the UK without permission via other methods including hiding in vehicles, travelling on ferries or through airports from April 2025 to March 2026. This was down by 22% on the same period the previous year.

There are also individuals who arrive legally, for example via a work or study visa, and then overstay their limit.

The total number of people who live in the UK illegally after arriving legally is not known.

Asylum applications and hotels

Tap the questions below

How many people are in asylum accommodation?

An asylum seeker is someone who wants to be in the UK because they say they cannot live safely in their own country due to persecution or violence.

The government must house an asylum seeker if they cannot financially support themselves while their claim is being considered. There were 93,653 people in asylum accommodation as of March 2026.

About 22% of those people, 20,885, were in hotels. These are used when there is not enough shared housing available, such as houses of multiple occupation (HMOs) or former military sites.

The government has pledged to stop the use of hotels by 2029.

More people are in hotels across the south of England than elsewhere in the UK, while HMOs are more common in the north of England and Scotland.

Numbers of asylum seekers in hotels by council area

A modern browser with JavaScript and a stable internet connection is required to view this interactive

How many people apply for asylum in the UK?

A total of 93,525 people applied for asylum in the UK from April 2025 to March 2026. This was down by 12% on the same period in the previous year.

A bar chart of the total number of people applying for asylum in the UK, including main applicants and dependents, from April to March in the years 2001-2002 to 2025-2026. In the 12 months to September 2002, there were 93371 claims. By 2005, this figure had more than halved. Applications hovered under or around 40,000 until 2022, when they reached 88,213. Levels swelled to around 100,000 in 2023 and 2024. From April 2025 to March 2026 there were 93525 asylum applications.

Most people who arrive in the UK by small boat claim asylum, but they were only 42% of all asylum seekers from April 2025 to March 2026.

The rest include people who arrived by other illegal means or who came to the UK legally and applied for asylum while holding, or just after holding, a valid visa.

How big is the asylum backlog?

It can take years for the government to decide whether someone should be granted asylum.

In March 2026, 48,758 people - across 35,744 asylum applications - were waiting for an initial decision. The number of people awaiting an initial decision was down by 55% on the previous year.

As of December 2025, a further 80,333 refused asylum applications were part of a second backlog, waiting the outcome of an appeal in the courts. This was up by 91% on the previous year.

Together, these initial decision and appeal cases form the government’s total asylum applications backlog, which it has pledged to clear.

A stacked bar chart of applications awaiting a first decision and appeals caseload at first-tier tribunal, by quarter from, June 2015 to March 2026 The backlog increased from around 25,000 in 2015 to around 180,000 in 2023. This was largely due to more applications awaiting an initial decision. Since 2023, the number of applicants awaiting an initial decision has declined, but the appeals caseload has widened. In March 2026 there were 35,744 initial decisions. Appeals data for March 2026 is not available.

Refugee status was granted in about 39% of asylum decisions made by the Home Office from April 2025 to March 2026.

About 39% of asylum appeal cases concluded between January 2025 to December 2025 resulted in a previous refusal decision being overturned.

Returns and deportations from the UK

Tap the questions below

How many people are returned or deported from the UK?

The government requires people who are in the UK, but no longer have permission to live or work in the country, to leave.

This is called a return and can happen voluntarily or involuntarily.

People can lose the right to be in the UK for different reasons, such as a visa expiring, an asylum claim being refused, or by receiving a criminal conviction that results in deportation.

There were 39,007 returns from April 2025 to March 2026. This was up by 7% on the same period the previous year.

That number of returns is equivalent to about 6% of total emigration from the UK from January 2025 to December 2025.

Who is returned from the UK?

Of all returns from April 2025 to March 2026:

5,858 had been convicted of a criminal offence
11,918 had lodged an asylum claim at some point
2,750 had arrived in the UK by small boat

People from India made up 26% of all returns from April 2025 to March 2026.

A horizontal bar chart of the top five countries by number of returns from the UK, from April 2025 to March 2026. The countries and their figures are as follows: India: 10176, Brazil: 5607, Albania: 4168, Romania: 2111, and Nigeria: 1406

What is the 'one in, one out' deal with France?

The UK is trialing a scheme with France to return people who arrived in the country on a small boat.

For every person the UK sends back to France, the UK will accept an equal number of asylum seekers.

This is called the "one in, one out" deal. As of 22 April 2026, 551 people have been returned through this arrangement.

How do people leave the UK under immigration control?

Returns can happen in different ways. "Enforced returns", which includes deportations, means the government arranges transport to return people to a different country. In some cases, people are escorted by officers.

All other returns are "voluntary". This means a person has agreed to leave and may receive government help with travel and other costs to help facilitate the return.

Some people classed as leaving the country voluntarily do so completely independently and without any government knowledge or involvement.

Independent returns made up 33% of the total from April 2025 to March 2026.

A stacked area chart of the number of immigration returns from the UK each quarter. The area is segmented by the type of return: government involved or independent. Independent includes those who left the country without telling authorities and were discovered later. Excludes those denied entry at a port. The chart covers each quarter from January 2015 to September 2025. In 2015, returns per quarter hovered around 11,000. Returns decreased throughout the latter half of the decade and in the pandemic; total returns were around 2000 in 2020. Independent and government-involved returns, however, have since increased. In the quarter ending March 2026 there were 6159 government involved returns and 3084 independent returns.

Visas for legal migration

Tap the questions below

How do people come to the UK legally?

Most people who come to the UK do so legally, after being granted a visa before they travel.

A visa gives someone permission to enter or stay in the UK for a specific purpose, such as work, study or joining family members.

There were 778,625 entry visas granted from April 2025 to March 2026, not including visitors or people transiting through the UK. This was down by 11% on the same period the previous year.

That does not mean all those people travelled to the UK, only that they were approved to do so.

What are the most common reasons for entry each year?

The most common type of visa issued by the government was for study and made up 53% of all visas approved from April 2025 to March 2026.

A horizontal bar chart of the number of visa entries by type of visa from April 2025 to March 2026. The number of visas by type is as follows: Study: 412825, Work: 252775, Family: 62470, and Other: 50555. For contrast, there were 43806 entries without permission in the same period.

Who gets the most common UK visas?

People from India were the most common group to come to the UK on study visas, making up 22% of the total.

Together, people from China and India accounted for nearly half of all study visas. This has been the case for many years.

A horizontal bar chart of the top five countries who received the most study visas to the UK from April 2025 to March 2026. The countries who receive the most study visas are as follows: India: 92063, China: 89495, Nigeria: 35194, Pakistan: 27121, and Nepal: 19668. Figures include both main applicants and dependants.

Migration to Europe

Tap the questions below

How many people cross to Europe illegally in boats?

The EU and UK monitor the number of people crossing borders in the Mediterranean and English Channel by sea without permission.

There were 169,341 sea arrivals to the UK, Greece, Italy, Spain and Cyprus from April 2025 to March 2026.

Crossings to the UK accounted for about 23% of the combined total.

Sea arrivals into mainland Europe peaked in 2015, when the UN said more than a million people crossed the Mediterranean.

A line chart showing yearly arrivals by sea without permission to European countries from April 2018 to March 2026. Italy has generally had the highest numbers, peaking in March 2024 at around 140,000. Greece, Spain, and the UK have fluctuated around 50,000 a year. Cyprus has remained lower than 8,000 throughout.

How many people apply for asylum in Europe?

The top three countries with the most people claiming asylum from January 2025 to December 2025 were Spain with 141,050, Italy with 126,630 and France with 116,480.

The UK ranked at number five for asylum claims over the same period when compared with 26 other European countries with populations over one million.

When adjusted for population size, the UK ranks at number nine for asylum applications per 100,000 people.

A horizontal bar chart of European countries with the highest asylum applicants per 100,000 residents from January 2025 to December 2025. Applications includes dependents. Only EU+ countries with a population of over a million were and that include asylum and refugee figures in migration data were included.The top five countries and their rate of asylum application per 100,000 residents are as follows: Greece, ranked first: 532, Spain, ranked second: 290, Switzerland, ranked third: 261, Ireland, ranked fourth: 243, and Belgium, ranked fifth: 233. The UK, also shown, ranks ninth, with 145 asylum applicants per 100,000

How does net migration compare across Europe?

Net migration measures the overall change in a country’s population due to migration over a given period. It is everyone coming into the country (immigration) minus everyone who leaves (emigration).

The latest available data to compare the UK with other European nations is January 2024 to December 2024.

At that point, the countries with the biggest increase in their population were Spain with 626,000, Germany with 494,000 and the UK with 331,000, after taking into account the people who left the country, and those who arrived.

When adjusting for population size, the UK was in position 11 for increase in population due to migration, alongside 13 other European countries with comparable data per 100,000 residents.

Latest

Small boats, asylum hotels and visas

Related Posts

Subscribe to Updates