Illegal working and enforcement activity to the end of June 2026
Updated 7 August 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/illegal-working-and-enforcement-activity-to-the-end-of-june-2026
This note provides statistics relating to Immigration Enforcement activity to tackle illegal working in the UK. It is intended to provide the public with clear and timely information in an area of high public interest, and is supplementary to the previous data releases on 12 January 2026 and 4 February 2026 (see notes below).
Immigration Enforcement have continued to respond to the threat from illegal working. Between 1 January and 30 June 2026, 7,270 illegal working visits were carried out resulting in 4,756 arrests, a 31% increase on visits and a 20% increase on arrests compared to the same period in 2025, making this the most successful start to a year on record for illegal working enforcement activity.
Over this period, more than 1,200 businesses found to be employing people illegally have been issued with a Civil Penalty, which means they face significant fines of over £74 million. In addition, 10 Closure Notices and 55 Alcohol and Late-Night Refreshment Licence reviews have been pursued.
We have also supported the nationwide crackdown on organised immigration crime, carried out between June 15 and June 20, which led to the disruption of wider criminality associated with the grey economy. The grey economy is not limited to tax and regulatory non-compliance. It is also linked to wider societal harms and organised criminality, including illegal working, money laundering, and labour exploitation. Immigration Enforcement and 39 police forces visited over 900 businesses, engaging 4,000 individuals. Outcomes included 326 arrests (269 immigration-related, including 57 linked to small boat arrivals), £1m in cash seized, 73 Civil Penalty Referral Notices issued, 92 cars and 31 e-bikes and scooters seized.
Between 1 July 2024 and 30 June 2026, Immigration Enforcement teams have now made over 17,000 arrests on illegal working visits, a 122% increase on the two-year period immediately prior. Teams have carried out almost 25,000 visits across the UK to businesses suspected of using illegal workers, marking a 111% increase. Of those arrested, 2,357 people have been returned so far, a 50% increase on the 1,570 people returned from visits between 1 July 2022 and 30 June 2024.
Our intelligence led activity has continued to be focused on employment sectors associated with high levels of illegal working. Increases have been seen in the warehousing, distribution and delivery services sector where between 1 January and 30 June 2026, Immigration Enforcement carried out 635 illegal working visits resulting in 635 arrests, a 147% increase on visits and a 70% increase on arrests compared to the same period in 2025.
This activity comes as the Government has passed new laws to extend right to work checks and employer sanctions for non-compliance to cover companies who use flexible worker models, as seen in the warehousing, distribution and delivery services sector.
Between 1 July 2024 and 30 June 2026 teams have now made almost 2,000 arrests on illegal working visits in the warehousing, distribution and delivery services sector, a 325% increase on the two-year period immediately prior. Teams have carried out over 1,500 visits across the UK to businesses in this sector suspected of using illegal workers, marking a 446% increase.
The Home Office encourages employers to ensure they are carrying out compliant Right to Work checks to prevent illegal working. Guidance on how to complete these checks is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/right-to-work-checks-employers-guide.
The volume of Right to Work status checks undertaken by employers and job seekers, alongside ‘View and Prove’ status checks, is published within the Migration Transparency Data for January to March 2026, available via the Transaction Explorer.
Report suspected immigration crime, including illegal working and the employment of individuals who do not have the right to work in the UK, at: https://www.gov.uk/report-immigration-crime.
Illegal working visits and arrests by region
| Illegal working visits by region | Jan-25 to Jun-25 | Jan-26 to Jun-26 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| England – total | 4,666 | 6,124 | 31% |
| England - East Midlands | 274 | 282 | 3% |
| England - East of England | 233 | 341 | 46% |
| England - London | 1,260 | 1,814 | 44% |
| England - North East | 221 | 216 | -2% |
| England - North West | 801 | 752 | -6% |
| England - South East | 518 | 660 | 27% |
| England - South West | 556 | 895 | 61% |
| England - West Midlands | 593 | 884 | 49% |
| England - Yorkshire and The Humber | 210 | 280 | 33% |
| Northern Ireland - total | 72 | 103 | 43% |
| Scotland - total | 272 | 287 | 6% |
| Wales – total | 544 | 756 | 39% |
| Grand total | 5,554 | 7,270 | 31% |
| Illegal working arrests by region | Jan-25 to Jun-25 | Jan-26 to Jun-26 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| England - total | 3,356 | 4,143 | 23% |
| England - East Midlands | 90 | 151 | 68% |
| England - East of England | 169 | 273 | 62% |
| England - London | 953 | 1,256 | 32% |
| England - North East | 114 | 91 | -20% |
| England - North West | 357 | 393 | 10% |
| England - South East | 383 | 390 | 2% |
| England - South West | 480 | 693 | 44% |
| England - West Midlands | 574 | 701 | 22% |
| England - Yorkshire and The Humber | 236 | 195 | -17% |
| Northern Ireland - total | 106 | 123 | 16% |
| Scotland - total | 187 | 177 | -5% |
| Wales - total | 320 | 313 | -2% |
| Grand total | 3,969 | 4,756 | 20% |
Illegal working civil penalties, ALNR licence reviews and closure notices
Illegal working civil penalty data
| Period | Volume of penalties issued | Value of penalties issued (£m) | Alcohol/Late Night Refreshment licence reviews | closure notices |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Q1 | 561 | £32.6 | 25 | 4 |
| 2026 Q2 | 677 | £42 | 30 | 6 |
Illegal working visits and arrests by visit category
| Illegal working visits by visit category | Jan-25 to Jun-25 | Jan-26 to Jun-26 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Restaurants, takeaways and cafes | 1,675 | 2,195 | 31% |
| Food, drink and tobacco retail | 1,029 | 1,409 | 37% |
| Beauty industry (nail bars, tanning salons, barbers) | 779 | 1,041 | 34% |
| Warehousing, distribution and delivery services | 257 | 635 | 147% |
| Car washes | 330 | 404 | 22% |
| Retail (non-food) | 245 | 343 | 40% |
| Construction | 107 | 268 | 150% |
| Residential | 695 | 48 | -93% |
| All others | 437 | 927 | 112% |
| Grand total | 5,554 | 7,270 | 31% |
| Illegal working arrests by visit category | Jan-25 to Jun-25 | Jan-26 to Jun-26 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Restaurants, takeaways and cafes | 1,210 | 1,589 | 31% |
| Beauty industry (nail bars, tanning salons, barbers) | 421 | 648 | 54% |
| Warehousing, distribution and delivery services | 373 | 635 | 70% |
| Food, drink and tobacco retail | 378 | 389 | 3% |
| Construction | 256 | 331 | 29% |
| Car washes | 343 | 277 | -19% |
| Retail (non-food) | 105 | 127 | 21% |
| Residential | 483 | 46 | -90% |
| All others | 400 | 714 | 79% |
| Grand total | 3,969 | 4,756 | 20% |
Illegal working visits and arrests January 2019 to June 2026 (by half-year)
| Visits and arrests | Jul-22 to Jun-24 | Jul-24 to Jun-26 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illegal working visits | 11,724 | 24,793 | 111% |
| of which, warehousing, distribution and delivery services | 285 | 1,557 | 446% |
| Illegal working arrests | 7,713 | 17,114 | 122% |
| of which, warehousing, distribution and delivery services | 458 | 1,946 | 325% |
| Visits and arrests | Jan-Jun 2019 | Jul-Dec 2019 | Jan-Jun 2020 | Jul-Dec 2020 | Jan-Jun 2021 | Jul-Dec 2021 | Jan-Jun 2022 | Jul-Dec 2022 | Jan-Jun 2023 | Jul-Dec 2023 | Jan-Jun 2024 | Jul-Dec 2024 | Jan-Jun 2025 | Jul-Dec 2025 | Jan-Jun 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illegal working visits | 2,921 | 3,085 | 1,304 | 428 | 435 | 910 | 1,938 | 1,830 | 3,045 | 3,419 | 3,430 | 4,692 | 5,554 | 7,277 | 7,270 |
| of which, warehousing, distribution and delivery services | 23 | 49 | 15 | 9 | 5 | 10 | 34 | 29 | 89 | 92 | 75 | 126 | 257 | 539 | 635 |
| Illegal working arrests | 1,480 | 1,673 | 546 | 150 | 141 | 366 | 726 | 988 | 1,964 | 2,464 | 2,297 | 3,350 | 3,969 | 5,039 | 4,756 |
| of which, warehousing, distribution and delivery services | 22 | 70 | 14 | 6 | <5 | <5 | 46 | 44 | 122 | 148 | 144 | 205 | 373 | 733 | 635 |
Illegal working detentions and returns January 2019 to June 2026 (by half-year)
| Illegal working detentions and returns | Jan-Jun 2019 | Jul-Dec 2019 | Jan-Jun 2020 | Jul-Dec 2020 | Jan-Jun 2021 | Jul-Dec 2021 | Jan-Jun 2022 | Jul-Dec 2022 | Jan-Jun 2023 | Jul-Dec 2023 | Jan-Jun 2024 | Jul-Dec 2024 | Jan-Jun 2025 | Jul-Dec 2025 | Jan-Jun 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detained | 815 | 916 | 280 | 63 | 34 | 87 | 218 | 276 | 641 | 710 | 497 | 1,045 | 920 | 1,338 | 297 |
| Total returned (Enforced and Voluntary) following IW visit | 383 | 386 | 101 | 25 | 23 | 80 | 131 | 194 | 392 | 545 | 439 | 700 | 664 | 721 | 272 |
Notes
The data and statistics contained within this notice are provisional and were taken from live operational systems on 7 July 2026. In addition, the data has been matched to ONS regions based on the location of the event rather than by Immigration Compliance and Enforcement team region. As a result, data may differ from previously published numbers and are subject to further revision and change. This may occur due to open records being updated and closed, or as a result of regular data quality and assurance exercises being undertaken.
In order to protect individual identification, any count that is less than 5 has been replaced with “<5”.
Note that the civil penalties issued within this period may have been as a result of visits which took place in the preceding year, or years, due to the time lags in cases being referred and considered and statutory deadlines for employers to respond to requests for further information. Therefore, no direct correlation should be made to enforcement visits that have taken place in the same period.
Note that not all of these civil penalties are as a result of an enforcement visit, some employers have received a penalty following an intelligence referral from another department or as a result of routine data sharing with HMRC.
The volume and value of illegal working civil penalties data for 1 January 2016 to 30 March 2026 is contained within the Migration transparency data, updated on a quarterly basis: Migration transparency data - GOV.UK (Immigration Enforcement data: January to March; tab CP_02). The next full quarterly civil penalty dataset update, to 30 June 2026, is scheduled to be released late August 2026.
Returns data only captures those people who have left the UK since being arrested on an illegal working visit. Their return cannot be directly attributed to the arrest, with many additional events potentially taking place before their final departure. The Home Office publishes comprehensive statistics on immigration enforcement activity, including the number of returns, in its immigration system statistics quarterly release.