Family returns from the UK between 1 January 2023 and 31 December 2025
Updated 5 March 2026
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/returns-from-the-uk-and-illegal-working-activity-since-july-2024/family-returns-from-the-uk-between-1-january-2023-and-31-december-2025
This note provides an overview of the number of families, including foreign national offenders (FNOs) and others without lawful status, who have been returned from the UK between 1 January 2023 and 31 December 2025. It is intended to provide the public with clear and timely statistics in an area of high public interest.
The data summarised in this note is provisional and taken from live operational systems. The next immigration system statistics quarterly release will be published on 21 May 2026, providing comprehensive statistics on the number of returns from the UK.
Returns
Between 1 January 2023 and 31 December 2025, a total of 2,437 family group returns were recorded (including both enforced and voluntary returns), which totalled 7,575 people.
| Year | Return Type | Enforced | Voluntary (assisted/controlled) | Other verified returns | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Family groups | 1 | 390 | 28 | 419 |
| Total family group size | 2 | 1,200 | 83 | 1,285 | |
| 2024 | Family groups | 9 | 823 | 27 | 859 |
| Total family group size | 28 | 2,559 | 83 | 2,670 | |
| 2025 | Family groups | 17 | 1,123 | 19 | 1,159 |
| Total family group size | 54 | 3,509 | 57 | 3,620 |
Notes
The data and statistics contained within this notice are provisional and taken from live operational systems on 23 February 2026 and as a result, figures are subject to further revision and change.
A family group is defined by multiple people being linked to the same return record, and at least one of those people being under the age of 18 at the time of departure. Our system requires a manual connection of individuals/records; therefore, it is possible that there are additional family group returns that aren’t yet captured in these figures.
Some individuals who have been told to leave the UK will not notify the Home Office of their departure from the UK. In such cases, it can take some time for the Home Office to become aware of such a departure and update the system. As a result, data for more recent periods will initially undercount the total number of returns and will increase as additional cases are retrospectively recorded. ‘Other verified returns’ (a subset of voluntary returns) are particularly affected by this. For this reason, comparisons of more recent periods to earlier periods should be made with caution.
The Home Office publishes comprehensive statistics on immigration enforcement activity, including the number of returns, in its immigration system statistics quarterly release.
More information relating to the Family Returns process (FRP) can be found on GOV.UK.