Guidance

User Guide to: Immigration system statistics

Updated 29 February 2024

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/user-guide-to-home-office-immigration-statistics--9/user-guide-to-immigration-statistics

1. Introduction

This user guide is designed to be a useful reference document with explanatory notes on the issues and classifications that are important to the production and presentation of the Home Office Immigration system statistics releases (formerly ‘Immigration statistics’, renamed in February 2023).

These statistics have been produced in accordance with the Code of Practice for Statistics.

1.1 Statistics covered

Entry clearance visas granted outside the UK

  • applications for entry clearance visas to the UK
  • outcomes of applications for entry clearance visas to the UK

Sponsorship

  • applicants for both visas and extensions of stay for work who use a Certificate of Sponsorship or a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies
  • sponsoring employers and education institution

Passenger arrivals (admissions)

  • passenger arrivals
  • passengers refused entry at the border

Extensions

  • outcomes of applications of an extension of stay in the UK

Settlement

  • outcomes of applications for Settlement

Citizenship

  • British citizenship applications, grants, and refusals
  • renunciations of British nationality
  • attendances at British citizenship ceremonies
  • Ukraine Visa and Extension Schemes
  • British National Overseas (BN(O)) route
  • resettlement
  • family reunion

Asylum

  • asylum applications, appeals and outcomes
  • age disputes
  • asylum support
  • inadmissibility

Immigration detention

  • people entering, in and leaving immigration detention powers

Returns

  • enforced, voluntary and refused at port and subsequently departed returns
  • Foreign National Offenders (FNOs)

1.2 Where are the latest published statistics?

‘Immigration system statistics’ are published on a quarterly basis, in February, May, August and November each year. Each Immigration system statistics publication and accompanying Immigration system statistics datasets can be found on the Immigration system statistics landing page.

The dates of future editions of Immigration system statistics are pre-announced and can be found on the statistics release calendar.

1.3 Data quality and limitations

These statistics have been designated as ‘National Statistics’ since 2012, following an assessment by the Office for Statistical regulation (OSR) (assessment 177). This means they have been certified as compliant with the Code of Practice for Statistics.

In September 2018, these were reconfirmed as National Statistics, following compliance checks from this OSR report.

All the data received by the Home Office undergoes a strict quality assurance process to ensure the data is fit for purpose and published to the highest possible standard. However, as the data comes from admin data sources, it is subject to some inaccuracies found in any admin data sources.

The data is derived from administrative counts of the Home Office’s casework processes, which are defined in UK legislation and are recorded under detailed categories on the Home Office’s administrative database.

Unless stated, the data does not require a sampling process for the compilation of the figures and hence has no sampling errors. Once the data has been processed by Home Office statisticians, a thorough quality assurance process is undertaken. This includes a cross-check of the tables to ensure accurate totals. Logic checks are undertaken to check for anomalies and for consistency against previous totals. Any significant changes are investigated with Home Office operational and policy teams who undertake both regular and ad hoc data cleansing exercises.

After these reconciliation checks, the publication-ready tables and text are checked against the raw data. The prepared text is also checked against the publication-ready tables. Statisticians are responsible for checking that the commentary appropriately describes the trend seen in the data clearly and transparently. Specific details on data quality can be found in the relevant topic sections.

1.4 Feedback and enquiries

We welcome feedback on the Immigration System Statistics, which can be provided by email to MigrationStatsEnquiries@homeoffice.gov.uk.

Press enquiries should be made via telephone at: 0300 123 3535.

Home Office responsible statistician

Jack Cooper, Programme Director for Migration statistics.

2. Conventions and revisions

2.1 Important terms

Within the ‘background on the statistics’ section of each topic there are a number of important terms deemed important to understanding the statistics. A collection of other relevant terms and definitions can be found in the ‘Glossary’.

2.2 Rounding

Data is mainly provided unrounded in the data tables of the ‘Immigration system statistics’ release. This is to encourage transparency and allow users to investigate the data further.

Caution should be taken when comparing small differences between time periods; while care is taken in collecting and collating all the information obtained, the figures are subject to the inaccuracies found in any large recording system and are not necessarily accurate to the last digit.

If data is published in a table in a rounded form, the footnotes to that table explain the reasons for doing this.

Percentages are rounded to the nearest per cent.

2.3 Use of symbols

The following symbols have been used in the tables:

: Not available.
z Not applicable.
* Number is too small to be shown.

2.4 Using the data

The summary tables include a high-level overview of the data published in each area. The detailed datasets allow users to explore the data in more detail as required. The ‘contents’ page within the summary tables contains an overview of the available datasets (including hyperlinks).

The ‘Immigration system statistics data tables’ page provides a list of all the tables published in the ‘Immigration system statistics release’.

2.5 Revisions to data

Data published in the ‘Immigration system statistics’ is taken from live operational databases, and as such is subject to revision, in line with the published Home Office revisions and corrections policy.

Reasons for scheduled revisions include:

  • late reporting of cases – some cases may be entered onto the system after the time that the data extracts are initially taken
  • changes to cases – as cases progress, some of the details of the case may be updated
  • data cleansing – data cleansing exercises may lead to changes to the data on the source system

Data is revised on an annual basis in the August edition of ‘Immigration system statistics’. For example, data for 2022 was revised in the August 2023 release. The exceptions to this are:

  • citizenship and extension data, which is generally revised in May each year
  • returns data, where data for the last 8 quarters is revised in each release

Until these revisions have occurred, data should be considered provisional. The ‘revisions analysis’ section below provides details on the scale of such revisions.

There may be occasions where unscheduled revisions are required. Any revisions or corrections are dealt with according to the published Home Office revisions and corrections policy.

A large proportion of the data published in the ‘Immigration system statistics’ release has transitioned from the Home Office’s Case Information Database (CID) to the new ‘Atlas’ system over the past year. Therefore, revisions to the annual 2022 figures may see larger changes than usual due to differences between systems.

Further details on the Home Office revisions policy can be found in the Statement of compliance with the code of practice for statistics.

2.6 Revisions analysis

Table 1: Revisions to the annual 2022 figures first published in February 2023

Series Published Feb 23 Revisions Published Aug 23 Percentage change
Asylum applications (main applicants) 74,751 81,130 +8.5%
People claiming asylum (inc. dependants) 89,398 99,939 +11.8%
Asylum initial decisions (main applicants) 18,699 18,811 +0.6%
People entering detention 20,446 20,873 +2.1%
Children entering detention 31 232 +648.4%
People leaving detention 19,447 20,919 +7.6%
Children leaving detention 42 239 +469.0%
Grants of an extension of stay (inc. dependants) 561,354 563,981 +0.5%
Grants of settlement (inc. dependants) 131,728 131,627 -0.1%
Entry clearance visas granted (inc. dependants) 2,836,490 2,823,696 -0.5%
Admissions (total passenger arrivals, millions) 109.0 109.0 0.0%
Passengers refused entry at the border 30,107 30,132 +0.1%

Notes:

  1. Data on the number of people flowing through detention is taken from the latest operational case data and reflects the age recorded on that system. This will normally be the age provided by the individual at the time the case record was completed. Later extracts will reflect changes made to date of birth information about individuals (after reviews, new evidence or ‘Merton’ assessments). This is because the ages recorded in our data are based on the age recorded as of the date of data extraction, which may not match the age initially recorded on the date of entering detention. These changes do not alter the total number of people entering or leaving detention but may increase or decrease the number of children reported as entering or leaving detention.

3. Entry Clearance Visas

3.1 Introduction

The statistics in this section relate to Entry Clearance Visas.

A complete set of published data on Entry Clearance Visas can be found in the ‘Immigration system statistics data tables’.

3.2 Data source

The statistics on entry clearance visas are sourced from 2 immigration case working systems:

  • the Home Office Proviso-Central Referencing System (CRS) visa casework system
  • Atlas

The information is gathered for the purpose of processing entry clearance visa applications.

3.3 Background on the statistics

Before being allowed to travel to the UK, a person may be required to apply for a visa, depending on their nationality, purpose of visit and intended length of stay – this is known as an entry clearance visa.

Visa-nationals require a visa to enter the UK, regardless of length or purpose of stay.

Non-Visa nationals require a visa if they are coming to the UK for a period longer than 6 months, or for most types of work.

Dependants joining/accompanying are dependants applying for a visa on the basis of their relationship with another migrant, who is not a settled person or British citizen.

We have aggregated these visa data into 4 overarching categories:

  1. Work
  2. Study
  3. Family
  4. Other

These categories are descriptive to give the user a general idea of the main routes of entry into the UK, split into topics, with further disaggregation in the detailed datasets allowing for analysis of specific visa type data.

Entry clearance visa data does not show whether, or when, an individual arrived in the UK, what they did on arrival or how long they stayed in the UK.

New immigration system

From 1 January 2021 many of the visa privileges offered to EU, EEA and Swiss citizens were brought in line with those for other international citizens. This comes as part of the UKs new immigration system which treats EU and non-EU citizens equally.

Prior to 1 January 2021 EEA and Swiss citizens did not require a visa to enter, stay, study or work in the UK in most cases. This unique status was changed for all but Irish citizens. EU citizens moving to the UK from 1 January 2021 to live, study or work need to acquire a visa in advance. EU citizens applying for a work visa need to show they have a job offer from an approved employer sponsor and those applying for a study visa need confirmation of acceptance at an approved education institution. However, EEA and Swiss citizens are able to travel to the UK for holidays or short trips without needing a visa.

Frontier Worker permit is eligible for citizens of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein. If a national of a country outside those mentioned applies for the permit then the applicant is contacted by the Home Office and suggested to withdraw their application. If the application is not withdrawn then it is subsequently rejected unless there is clear evidence of dual-nationality from an eligible country.

As a result a small number of nationalities ineligible for the Frontier Worker permit can be seen in applications and refusals. There may be cases where a refusal occurs in a different quarter to the application if the time allowed for the application to be withdrawn expires after a change in quarter from the initial application.

3.4 Work

The work category refers to visas and permits granting entry or extending permissions to stay in the UK for reasons relating to work. This contains visas under:

  • investor, business development and talent (formerly “High value”)
  • worker (formerly “Skilled worker”)
  • temporary worker
  • other work visas and exemptions
  • Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS)

Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) are required by individuals applying for a visa to work in the UK as either a ‘skilled’ or ‘temporary’ worker. See ‘Sponsorship’ section for more details.

Worker

The ‘Worker’ visa category includes sponsored work visas which typically lead to settlement, and is the main visa category for skilled workers.

These visas are Tier 2 routes from the Old Points Based system and their successors: the Skilled Worker, Skilled Worker - Health and Care, ‘Intra-company Transfer’ and International Sportsperson visas. The Senior or Specialist Worker visa, introduced in April 2022 as part of the new Global Business Mobility routes, has also been included as the successor to the ‘Intra-company Transfer’ visa. Additionally, the Scale-up Worker visa, which launched in August 2022, is included in this category.

Temporary Worker

The ‘Temporary Worker’ visa type includes shorter-term work visas which do not typically lead to settlement.

Tier 5 was implemented in November 2008 to provide a route for those coming to the UK for primarily non-economic reasons. The Tier 5 routes were closed at the end of 2020 and replaced by equivalent ‘Youth Mobility Scheme’ and ‘Temporary Worker’ routes.

The Seasonal Worker route was opened to new applicants from January 2019. The quota has increased in each year from 2,500 visas in 2019 to a current quota of 47,000 visas in 2023.

The Creative Worker visa launched in October 2021 and replaces the creative element of the Tier 5 (Creative and Sporting) visa.

The UK Expansion Worker, Secondment Worker, Service Supplier, and Graduate Trainee visas from the Global Business Mobility routes, launched in April 2022, are also included in this visa category.

Data on sponsored work entry clearance visas by occupation and industry was first published as part of the Immigration System Statistics quarterly report on 25 May 2023. The dataset is created by matching entry clearance visas data and sponsorship data using a common variable – the Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) reference number. The data is sourced from the Home Office Proviso-Central Referencing System (CRS) and Atlas caseworking systems (for entry clearance visas) and the Home Office’s Sponsorship Management System (for sponsorship data).

Each sponsored work entry clearance visa should match to a corresponding CoS. The matching between records only occurs where there is an exact match in the CoS reference number. There are a small number of cases where matching does not occur. The 2 main reasons are: (1) entry clearance visas where no CoS reference number was entered, and (2) entry clearance visas where the CoS reference number was incorrectly formatted (for example, missing characters or numbers, or typographical errors). Visas that are unable to be matched are excluded from the final occupation detailed dataset. In the latest report, this corresponds to 1.3% of applications and 0.7% of grants removed.

The dataset only includes sponsored work routes that were available after the introduction of the points-based immigration system, so does not include older Tier 2 routes.

Cases where occupation unit group, by visa type subgroup, by quarter equal less than 5, have been suppressed and are instead grouped together under the ‘Other occupations’ category. This means that 0s in the dataset may instead be occurrences where there were less than 5 grants or applications for that occupation in the period. Cell suppression is a form of ‘statistical disclosure control’ and has been employed to ensure the confidentiality of individuals. The implementation of statistical disclosure control will be kept under review.

3.5 Family

The family category refers to visas and permits granting entry or extending permissions to stay in the UK for reasons relating to family. This contains visas under:

  • family-related visas (for partners, children and other dependants)
  • EEA family permits
  • EU Settlement Scheme family permits

EU Settlement Scheme family permit is an entry clearance route that launched on 30 March 2019. It is not an application to the EU Settlement Scheme, but allows a dependent to join, or accompany, an EEA or Swiss citizen who has been granted indefinite or limited leave under the EUSS.

The EU Settlement Scheme closed on 8 August 2023 to those applying as a family member of a qualifying British citizen, however the permit is open to some groups, such as family of EU, EEA and Swiss nationals, who can continue to apply via the family route.

EEA family permit provides for entry into the UK of a non-EEA citizen family member of an EEA or Swiss citizen who is exercising Treaty rights, as implemented in UK law through the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2016 (the EEA Regulations).

Applications and outcomes data for both the EEA and EUSS Family Permits was revised in the August 2023 publication, for data back to April 2018 when the first EUSS Family Permit applications are recorded from subsequent EEA Family Permit appeals. This is due to a reclassification of a number of EEA Family Permit applications and case outcomes into EUSS Family Permits.

Table 2: Revisions to applications and case outcome1 decisions of EEA and EUSS permits2 between April 2018 and March 2023

Series Published May 23 Revisions Published August 23 Change Percentage change
EEA Family Permit applications 211,679 208,054 -3,625 -2%
EEA Family Permit case outcomes 215,903 211,321 -4,582 -2%
EUSS Permit applications 223,928 227,543 +3,615 +2%
EUSS Permit case outcomes 227,402 219,430 -7,972 -4%

Notes:

  1. Includes Issued, Refused, Withdrawn and Lapsed case outcomes
  2. Includes both EUSS Family and Travel permits

3.6 Study

The study category refers to visas granting entry or extending permissions to stay in the UK for reasons relating to study. This contains visas under:

  • sponsored study
  • short-term students
  • Confirmation of Acceptance of Studies (CAS)

Confirmation of Acceptance of Studies (CAS) are required when applying for a student visa or extension to study in the UK. See ‘Sponsorship’ section for more details.

Student (sponsored study)

The Student visa has replaced the Tier 4 (General) Student visa as of 5 October 2020. It provides a route for students aged 16 and over to study with an approved education provider in the UK. 

Child Student (sponsored study)

The Child Student visa has replaced the Tier 4 (Child) Student visa as of 5 October 2020. It provides a route for students between the ages of 4 and 17 years old to study at an approved independent school in the UK. 

Tier 4 (sponsored study)

Tier 4 (sponsored study) provided a route for students to study with an approved education provider. It was implemented from 31 March 2009, replacing previous entry routes for study. It has been discontinued since 5 October 2020 and has been replaced with the Student and Child Student routes.

3.7 Other

The Other category refers to miscellaneous visas outside the categories of work, family and study. The main visa type within this category is the visitor visa.

3.8 Changes to data affecting the statistics

Between April to June 2008 and January to March 2011, improvements were made to the presentation of the statistics. The latest release provides comparable data for all time periods back to January to March 2005.

Due to a change of database in 2004, comparable data is not available for years prior to 2004.

For the release of entry clearance visa statistics in ‘Immigration system statistics, year ending September 2019’, the published tables were revised to comprise summary tables and underlying datasets to improve usability and transparency of the data.

As of the April to June 2022 publication, following on from the changes made to the January to March 2021 publication, further revisions to categories have been made. These changes are shown below.

Category of leave:

Work

  • ‘skilled worker’ changed to ‘Worker’
  • ‘High value’ changed to ’Investor, business development and talent’

Other

  • ‘EU Settlement Scheme family permit’ to ‘EU Settlement Scheme permits’

Category of leave subgroup:

  • ‘Students – other’ changed to ‘Student - legacy route’
  • ‘Entrepreneurs (previously Tier 1)’ changed to ‘Tier 1 – Entrepreneur’
  • ‘Domestic workers in Private Households’ changed to ‘Overseas Domestic Worker’
  • ‘Ministers of religion or missionary’ changed to ‘Minister of Religion, Missionary or Member of a Religious Order’
  • ‘Work Permit Holders’ changed to ‘Work Permit’
  • ‘Youth Mobility (previously Tier 5)’ changed to ‘Youth Mobility Scheme (previously Tier 5)’
  • ‘Tier 2 - Intra-Company Transfers Long Term’ changed to ‘Tier 2 - Intra-company Transfer (Long-term Staff)’
  • ‘Tier 2 - Intra-Company Transfers Short Term’ changed to ‘Tier 2 - Intra-company Transfer (Short-term Staff)’

In addition, the ‘visitor’ category is now shown a separate visa type, distinct from the ‘other’ grouping.

As of the January to March 2021 publication the entry clearance visas tables have been adapted to reflect changes in the immigration rules. Part of these changes included renaming some values in the category of leave subgroup and category of leave variables. These changes are shown below.

Category of leave:

Study

  • ‘Non-PBS study’ changed to ‘Other Study’
  • ‘Tier 4 (Sponsored study)’ changed to ‘Sponsored study’

Work

  • ‘Tier 1 (High value)’ changed to ‘High value’
  • ‘Non-PBS work’ changed to ‘Other work visas and exemptions’
  • ‘Tier 2 (Skilled)’ changed to ‘Skilled worker’
  • ‘Tier 5 (Youth mobility and temporary worker)’ changed to ‘Temporary worker’

Category of leave subgroup:

  • ‘Tier 1 - Entrepreneurs’ changed to ‘Entrepreneurs (previously Tier 1)’
  • ‘Tier 1 - Investor’ changed to ‘Investor (previously Tier 1)’
  • ‘Tier 2 - Ministers of Religion’ changed to ‘Ministers of Religion (previously Tier 2)’
  • ‘Tier 2 - Sportsperson’ changed to ‘Sportsperson (previously Tier 2)’
  • ‘Tier 5 - Charity Workers’ changed to ‘Charity Workers (previously Tier 5)’
  • ‘Tier 5 - Creative and Sporting’ changed to ‘Creative and Sporting (previously Tier 5)’
  • ‘Tier 5 - Government Authorised Exchange’ changed to ‘Government Authorised Exchange (previously Tier 5)’
  • ‘Tier 5 - International Agreement’ changed to ‘International Agreement (previously Tier 5)’
  • ‘Tier 5 - Religious Worker’ changed to ‘Religious Worker (previously Tier 5)’
  • ‘Tier 5 – Seasonal Worker’ changed to ‘Seasonal Worker (previously Tier 5)’
  • ‘Tier 5 – Youth Mobility’ changed to ‘Youth Mobility (previously Tier 5)’
  • ‘Tier 5 - Dependant’ changed to ‘Dependant – Temporary Worker (previously Tier 5)’

Innovator, Start up and Global Talent were previously included in Non-PBS work; they are now included in High Value.

Students were previously included in Non-PBS study; they are now included in Sponsored study. ‘Students’ in the category of leave ‘Sponsored study’ includes students in pre-PBS routes.

Trainees – doctors and dentists were previously included in Non-PBS study; they are now included in Other study.

Some variables were also recoded:

  • applicant type of ‘Visitors’ changed from either ‘Main’ or ‘Dependent’ to ‘All’
  • visit visas are now included under a new ‘Visitors’ visa type instead of ‘Other temporary visas’, they remain under the ‘Other’ visa type group
  • EEA family permits are now included under a new ‘EEA family permit’ visa type instead of ‘Other temporary visas’, they remain under the ‘Other’ visa type group
  • EU Settlement Scheme family permits are now included under a new ‘EU Settlement Scheme family permit’ visa type instead of ‘Other temporary visas’, they remain under the ‘Other’ visa type group

Short-term students

The Standard Visitor visa rules were changed in December 2020 to allow students, studying courses for up to 6 months, to come to the UK.

Previously they applied for a Short-term Study visa and those were captured in the ‘Short-term study (previously Student Visitor)’ subgroup in the published statistics. They are now captured in the Visitor category.

Since December 2020, the Short-term Study subgroup will be primarily those coming to the UK on English language courses (for 6 to 11 months) only.

3.9 Data quality

Overall, the data quality for the total numbers of entry clearance visas is considered to be high. These data:

  • are administrative counts of the Home Office’s casework processes
  • are scrutinised closely as part of the performance monitoring of the Home Office
  • are regularly assessed as part of the Home Office’s Quality Assurance Framework
  • undergo a reconciliation process

The main types of errors and other potential quality issues are thought to relate to recording and classification issues. The level of missing data on related fields such as nationality is very low, with such missing data reported as unknown.

Where visa endorsements have been replaced, or are no longer used, data for the new endorsement codes is aggregated as far as possible to be comparable with existing data; the data for the new endorsements is presented alongside data for existing endorsements, accompanied by a note to explain the change.

3.10 Limitations

As with all administrative data, there will be a small number of cases where data is missing or has been input incorrectly.

The figures of entry clearance visas granted show intentions to visit rather than actual arrivals and individuals can arrive at any time during the period that the visa is valid. Entry clearance visa data therefore provides an indication of the number of people who have an intention to enter the UK.

Figures published in ‘Immigration system statistics’ releases are shown by quarter and calendar year within the tables and underlying datasets, and on a rolling-year basis in the topic commentary, due to the seasonality of much of the data.

Data in this section refer to the number of Entry clearance visas granted. If an individual was granted a visa more than once in a given period, this has been counted as multiple grants in the statistics. If an individual entered the UK multiple times within the period for which a visa was valid, this has been counted as one grant in the visa statistics.

The data does not show whether, or when, an individual arrived in the UK, what they did on arrival or how long they stayed in the UK.

Year-on-year comparisons of the number of decisions can be affected by quarterly fluctuations in the data. These fluctuations can be examined in the quarterly data in the published tables.

We are unable to show which country an individual has travelled from. While in many cases the nationality of a person arriving into the UK and the country travelled from will be the same, this is not always the case and so nationality and country travelled from cannot be assumed to be equivalent.

The Immigration system statistics quarterly release also includes data on the following topics:

  • entry clearance visas, passenger arrivals and the British Nationals Overseas BN(O) route - see ‘How many people come to the UK each year’ topic
  • work, study and family visa routes - see the ‘Work’, ‘Study’ and ‘Family’ topics
  • extensions of stay - see the ‘Work’, ‘Study’ and ‘Family’ topics
  • sponsorship - see the ‘Work’ and ‘Study’ topics

Further related statistics include:

  • data on migration applications decided within published standards, and the cost per decision for all permanent and temporary migration applications - Official Statistics available as part of the Home Office migration performance data
  • data on entry clearance visas has been released in a variety of publications; between 1979 and 2002 entry clearance statistics were published in the ‘Control of Immigration: United Kingdom’ and in ‘Entry Clearance Statistics’, a financial year publication, between 2001 and the financial year ending 2009; and since April to June 2008 within the ‘Immigration system statistics’ release and its predecessor
  • visa statistics dating back to the financial year ending 2002 (National Archives), originally published by the UK Border Agency of the Home Office

4. Sponsorship

4.1 Introduction

The statistics in this section relate to Sponsorship.

Published data tables on Sponsorship can be found on the Immigration system statistics data tables page.

4.2 Data source

The statistics on Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) and Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) used are extracted from the Home Office’s Sponsorship Management system (SMS). The data derived from SMS is administrative information used by sponsors to allocate certificates.

4.3 Background on the statistics

Within the topic briefs for work and study, the use of CoS and CAS are referred to as ‘sponsored visa applications’.

Certificates of Sponsorship

Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) are required by individuals applying for a visa or to extend a visa to work in the UK as either a ‘Worker’ or ‘Temporary Worker’. Previously CoS were used for applications on the Tier 2 and Tier 5 routes.

After an employer (sponsor) has been accepted onto the Register of licensed sponsors:

  1. A sponsor is able to apply to the Home Office for an annual allocation of CoS.
  2. The Home Office then allocates a number of CoS to the sponsor.
  3. The sponsor then assigns a CoS to an individual (who may be applying for a visa from outside the UK or for an extension of stay if already in the UK).
  4. The individual then uses the CoS as part of a visa application (or application for an extension of stay).

Sponsors are given an A-rating when they join the register. An A-rating may be downgraded to a B-rating at a later stage if the sponsor does not continue to meet their sponsor duties. Sponsors may apply for, and be granted, a premium level of customer service from the Home Office and as such have an A (Premium) rating.

A sponsor may be licensed under more than one route and may have different ratings for each tier.

The provisional rating is unique to Global Business Mobility UK Expansion Worker sponsors. The provisional sponsor is permitted only to sponsor a single worker. This must be a senior executive who will be the Authorising Officer and the Level 1 User. Once that worker has had their visa granted and are in the UK, the sponsor can then apply to get its licence re-rated to A and add other categories to its licence.

Industry sector has been classified using the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) listed on the Office for National Statistics website

For further information about CoS see UK visa sponsorship for employers.

Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies

Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) are required when applying for a study visa or to extend a study visa in the UK, in a 4-step process similar to the one outlined above for CoS.

All Student sponsors are expected to be education providers who can meet the standards the Home Office have set. A sponsor is given Probationary Sponsor status when it is first granted a licence. When a Probationary Sponsor applies for, and passes, its first annual Basic Compliance Assessment, it will be given Student Sponsor status.

Legacy sponsors cannot sponsor any new students. They can continue to sponsor existing students who are already studying with them until they finish their course or until their licence expires, whichever happens first

A sponsor may be licensed under more than one category.

In August 2017 data in tables cs_09; cs_09_q; cs_10; and cs_10_q was updated to show a time series for students applying for visas or extensions of stay to study at Russell Group Universities. The Russell Group Universities describe themselves as representing 24 leading UK universities.

For further information about CAS see Student sponsor guidance.

4.4 Changes to the data affecting the statistics

In 2015, changes were made to the terminology used for the different types of education provider in Tier 4. The changes ensured that policies that were introduced to only affect certain types of sponsors (for instance, only apply to independent schools) delivered the intended policy impact.

4.5 Data Quality

Overall, the data quality for the numbers of ‘sponsors on the register’ and ‘CoS used’ and ‘CAS used’ is considered to be high. This data:

  • is administrative counts of the Home Office’s casework processes, which are defined in UK legislation and are recorded under detailed categories on the Home Office’s administrative database
  • is scrutinised closely as part of the performance monitoring of the Home Office
  • includes register totals produced directly from the Home Office’s published list (register) of sponsors which is subject to scrutiny by the sponsors themselves, providing external scrutiny checking of the sponsor status, for example
  • undergoes a reconciliation process (total numbers of sponsors matches published totals produced independently by the Home Office)

The main types of errors are thought to relate to recording and classification errors. The level of missing data on related fields such as nationality is very low, with such missing data reported as unknown.

Information on sponsors’ industry category is self-completed and may be subject to classification errors (particularly at more detailed levels).

4.6 Limitations

From October to December 2019, the method for extracting in-country and out-of-country CoS and CAS data has changed.

Data quality issues identified as part of this change in methodology has meant that some cases from October to December 2019 onwards are unable to be separately identified as either a visa or extension case, and so have been categorised as ‘unknown’.

Changes as part of the new points-based immigration system introduced at the end of 2020 have affected some the previous naming conventions in the sponsorship data.

For work-related sponsorship, the Tier 2 and Tier 5 naming system have been replaced with Skilled Worker and Temporary Worker categories respectively. This affects data from 1 January 2021 (January to March 2021 onwards).

The ‘Industry’ field is self-assigned by a sponsor, meaning the ‘Industry’ of a sponsor may not align with the primary reason for sponsorship. Changes within each sector should, therefore, be treated with caution.

The Immigration system statistics quarterly release also includes data on the following topics:

  • entry clearance visas, and passenger arrivals - see ‘How many people come to the UK each year’ topic
  • work, study and family visa routes - see the ‘Work’, ‘Study’ and ‘Family’ topics
  • extensions of stay - see the ‘Work’, ‘Study’ and ‘Family’ topics

5. Admissions

5.1 Introduction

The statistics in this section relate to passenger arrivals and passengers refused entry at the border.

A complete list of published data on arrivals and passengers refused entry at the border can be found in the ‘Immigration system statistics data tables’.

5.2 Data source

The total number of passengers entering the UK is derived from monthly returns made by Border Force staff based at border control points (ports). Data from smaller ports is included in the returns made by larger ports. Where data is not provided by a port, data is sourced from other organisations (for example, Department for Transport; and Eurotunnel).

On 5 August 2017, the Home Office published its ‘Consultation on Home Office’s Immigration Statistics - arrivals data’, on the proposal to end the requirement for non-EEA passengers to present a paper landing card on arrival into the UK from 1 October 2017. The consultation set out the statistical implications of the change and closed on 2 September 2017. The government confirmed in the Spring Statement 2019 that to coincide with the ePassport gates expansion, the government would begin to abolish landing cards for non-EEA travellers. The government’s response to the consultation was published in May 2019. On 20 May 2019, the Home Office removed the need for all non-EEA travellers to fill in landing cards upon arrival in the UK and expanded the use of ePassport gates to 7 more countries.

Data relating to Non-EEA nationals was historically sourced from landing cards completed by passengers arriving at UK ports until their discontinuation in May 2019; the withdrawal of landing cards has resulted in a temporary loss to the passenger arrival data broken down by nationality and reason for travel. The last set of published data on non-EEA nationals arriving in the UK (based on Landing Cards), cover the period 2004 to 2018 and are available in ‘Immigration system statistics, year ending June 2019 second edition’.

EEA nationals (excluding British) were historically sourced from quarterly data from the International Passenger Survey produced by the Office for National Statistics.

British nationals were historically derived from subtracting the non-British arrival data (EEA and non-EEA) from the total arrival data.

5.3 Background on the statistics

Data on passengers refused entry at the border relates to cases where an IS82 form has been issued. Passengers stopped at the border are issued a form (in most cases an ‘IS81’), which enables a Border Force officer to temporarily stop them for further questioning, usually for up to 24 hours, to determine whether they have valid leave to enter, or for other operational reasons. Those who are subsequently refused entry are then issued with a second form (an IS82).

Data on passengers refused entry at the border does not include those who are initially stopped but are later permitted entry. It also excludes asylum cases dealt with at ports of entry.

The UK has several agreements with France, allowing the UK authorities to carry out immigration and other controls on French territory, called juxtaposed controls, allowing immigration controls to be carried out before a person physically enters the country.

Passengers returning includes both people who are settled in the UK and who have been absent for less than 2 years, and those subject to a limited leave to enter who have returned within the time limit of that leave.

Refugees, exceptional leave cases and their dependants covers people who have applied for asylum at ports (and their accompanying dependants) and who have been granted asylum, humanitarian protection, discretionary leave or who have been allowed to stay under the Family Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) Exercise and are hence given leave to enter.

Others given leave to enter includes people of independent means and their dependants, non-EEA family members of EEA nationals, members of international organisations treated as exempt and serving forces and their dependants.

5.4 Changes to data affecting the statistics

From June 2023, the datasets previously referred to as ‘Passengers initially stopped at the border’ will now be referred to as ‘Passengers refused entry at the border’ to better explain what the data shows.

Between February 2006 and May 2008, estimates were used to count non-controlled, non-EEA nationals arriving at Stansted Airport rather than processing individual landing cards. Data relating to controlled arrivals was processed in the normal way.

For 2006 data it was possible to estimate Stansted non-controlled arrivals by category and nationality using 2005 actual figures, but this method could not be used to estimate 2007 and 2008 data. Instead, a very broad estimate has been produced for non-controlled non-EEA arrivals at Stansted that shows total arrivals and the category a passenger was granted leave to enter in. This does not, however, allow an estimation of the greater detail needed for some of the tables, for example nationality by reason of entry.

5.5 Data quality

Overall, the data quality for the passenger arrivals at UK ports of entry is considered to be high. This data:

  • is largely based on administrative counts of the Home Office arrivals processes for non-EEA nationals at UK ports
  • is scrutinised closely as part of the performance monitoring of the Home Office
  • is regularly assessed as part of the Home Office’s Quality Assurance Framework
  • undergoes a detailed checking process, including comparison with alternative sources of data at the port level for previous periods, and validation checks

There are data quality issues concerning a very small fraction (<1%) of the admissions totals, for example:

  • out of the total 20.4 million arrivals in 2018 in the ‘Other category’ (Table ‘adm_03’), a very small proportion (189,180) were arrivals where the category of arrival was not known; it has not been possible to revisit this data; this issue has occurred in previous years when: 50,145 arrivals in 2017; 65,050 arrivals in 2016; 30,800 arrivals in 2015; 19,800 arrivals in 2014; 30,000 arrivals in 2013; and 59,700 arrivals in 2012 were recorded as category unknown
  • a few admissions were shown as being in PBS categories before the start of the PBS; it is not possible to determine the correct category of entry, so these 8 admissions have been included within the category ‘Others given leave to enter’

5.6 Limitations

Non-controlled landing cards relating to arrivals at Heathrow and Gatwick terminals were sampled due to the large volume of arrivals at these ports, leading to an estimated total which will differ slightly from the actual total.

Port asylum applicants are usually given temporary admission initially while their claim is being considered, and the grant of leave to enter may therefore occur sometime after the initial entry to the country. These figures are not directly comparable with those in the asylum data since they exclude grants to in-country asylum applicants and include dependants.

Historical data on visitors, students, passengers in transit and passengers returning (previously settled) is based, mainly or partly depending on the category, on a sample of such people.

The Immigration system statistics quarterly release also includes data on the following topics:

  • entry clearance visas, and passenger arrivals - see ‘How many people come to the UK each year’ topic
  • work, study and family visa routes - see the ‘Work’, ‘Study’ and ‘Family’ topics
  • extensions of stay - see the ‘Work’, ‘Study’ and ‘Family’ topics

Further related statistics include:

6. Extensions

6.1 Introduction

The statistics in this section relate to grants and refusals of (in-country) extensions of stay. They refer to individuals in the UK who wish to extend, or change the status of, their right to remain in the UK. An individual is required to apply for an extension or change in status before their existing permission to enter or stay in the UK expires. One individual may have made multiple applications for an extension, so may account for multiple decisions. Data in this section includes dependants and takes account of the outcomes of reconsiderations and appeals.

Published data tables on Extensions can be found on the Immigration system statistics data tables page. Data on Extensions for each category of leave, can be found in the relevant section of each ‘Immigration system statistics’ quarterly release:

  • Why do people come to the UK - To work
  • Why do people come to the UK - To study
  • Why do people come to the UK – For family reasons

The ‘Immigration system statistics’ release does not show the number of people applying to extend their temporary stay in the UK, nor do they show how long an individual stayed in the UK following their extension.

6.2 Data source

The statistics on grants and refusals of extensions of stay are extracted from 2 immigration case working systems: the Home Office’s Case Information Database (CID) and Atlas. The data is derived from administrative information used for the processing of applications for extension of stay. Statistics on grants of extensions by previous category are sourced from CID, and from the Migrant journey report. Further information can be found in section 6.6 ‘Limitations’.

6.3 Background on statistics

Statistics on extensions of stay (also known as “after-entry applications to vary leave to remain”) relate to people wishing to extend or change the status of their stay in the UK. An individual is required to apply for an extension or change in status before their existing permission to enter or stay expires. An individual may make more than one application in any given year.

The statistics in the previous immigration category of students granted an extension were estimated for 2013 to 2016, and 2018. Data for 2017 is unaffected.

On the 31 March 2020, as part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the government announced that NHS frontline workers visas would be extended. On 29 April 2020, it was announced that other frontline health and care workers would also receive visa extensions. Healthcare professionals whose visas were due to expire between 31 March 2020 and 1 October 2020 were given a free, year-long extension. On 20 November, it was announced that this had been extended to cover visas expiring between 1 October 2020 and 31 March 2021. On 9 April it was announced that this would be extended to cover visas expiring up until 30 September 2021. Home Office Management Information indicates that there was a total of 19,912 extensions granted to health workers and care workers and their dependants, under these policies.

Prior to 1 January 2021, Swiss and EEA nationals were not subject to immigration control so were not included in the figures.

The data in the briefing includes dependants, except where stated otherwise, and takes account of the outcomes of reconsiderations and appeals.

In the grants of an extension of stay by previous category table, ‘Exe_D02’, the ‘current category’ is the category (work, study, family, other) to which an individual extended into in the stated year. Where an individual has extended their leave in the same category, the text describes the extension as a grant allowing an individual to continue as a worker, student or individual in the family route. Where the applicant has extended their leave from their ‘previous category’ to a different ‘current category’, this is described as ‘switching’.

The ‘previous category’ is the category in which an individual was in prior to extending their leave. Individuals in a previous category may be described in the text as a previous or former student (or a previous worker). It is not possible to separately distinguish cases with previous leave that follow:

  1. An entry clearance visa granted outside the UK.
  2. Admission at the border without a visa.
  3. Previous grant of an extension.

The previous category data relates to main applicants only. Since dependants are granted or refused an extension in line with the main applicant, the results for main applicants broadly apply for their dependants also.

Data in this section should be viewed in the context of wider policy and legislative changes, which can impact the number of applications and decisions. Availability and allocation of resources within the Home Office should also be considered. This can affect the number of decisions made in a given period. For example, fewer citizenship decisions were made in 2015 when UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) resources were used to assist HM Passport Office.

The statistics should not be used to make inferences about the size of the non-British population in the UK. The data does not show whether, or for how long, an individual remains in the UK once their right to remain has been extended or made permanent. Statistics on resident foreign populations in the UK are published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

6.4 Changes to data affecting the statistics

Following on from the changes made to the January to March 2021 publication (see below), further revisions to categories have been made in the April to June 2022 publication, and the October to December 2023 publication. These changes are shown below.

Category of leave:

Work

  • ‘Skilled worker’ changed to ‘Worker’
  • ‘High value’ changed to ’Investor, business development and talent’

Category of leave subgroup:

  • ‘Students – other’ changed to ‘Student - legacy route’
  • ‘Entrepreneurs (previously Tier 1)’ changed to ‘Tier 1 – Entrepreneur’
  • ‘Domestic workers in Private Households’ changed to ‘Overseas Domestic Worker’
  • ‘Ministers of religion or missionary’ changed to ‘Minister of Religion, Missionary or Member of a Religious Order’
  • ‘Work Permit Holders’ changed to ‘Work Permit’
  • ‘Youth Mobility (previously Tier 5)’ changed to ‘Youth Mobility Scheme (previously Tier 5)’
  • Data for the Youth Mobility Scheme was shown as a separate subgroup in the October to December 2023 publication, for the first time. This data was shown separately for the 2 most recent quarters, July to September 2023 and October to December 2023.
  • ‘Tier 2 - Intra-Company Transfers Long Term’ changed to ‘Tier 2 - Intra-company Transfer (Long-term Staff)’
  • ‘Tier 2 - Intra-Company Transfers Short Term’ changed to ‘Tier 2 - Intra-company Transfer (Short-term Staff)’

As of the January to March 2021 publication the extensions tables have been adapted to reflect changes in the immigration rules. Part of these changes included renaming some values in the category of leave subgroup and category of leave variables. These changes are shown below.

Category of leave:

Study

  • ‘Non-PBS study’ changed to ‘Other Study’
  • ‘Tier 4 (Sponsored study)’ changed to ‘Sponsored study’

Work

  • ‘Tier 1 (High value)’ changed to ‘High value’
  • ‘Non-PBS work’ changed to ‘Other work visas and exemptions’
  • ‘Tier 2 (Skilled)’ changed to ‘Skilled worker’
  • ‘Tier 5 (Youth mobility and temporary worker)’ changed to ‘Temporary worker’

Category of leave subgroup:

  • ‘Tier 1 - Entrepreneurs’ changed to ‘Entrepreneurs (previously Tier 1)’
  • ‘Tier 1 - Investor’ changed to ‘Investor (previously Tier 1)’
  • ‘Tier 2 - Ministers of Religion’ changed to ‘Ministers of Religion (previously Tier 2)’
  • ‘Tier 2 - Sportsperson’ changed to ‘Sportsperson (previously Tier 2)’
  • ‘Tier 5 - Charity Workers’ changed to ‘Charity Workers (previously Tier 5)’
  • ‘Tier 5 - Creative and Sporting’ changed to ‘Creative and Sporting (previously Tier 5)’
  • ‘Tier 5 - Government Authorised Exchange’ changed to ‘Government Authorised Exchange (previously Tier 5)’
  • ‘Tier 5 - International Agreement’ changed to ‘International Agreement (previously Tier 5)’
  • ‘Tier 5 - Religious Worker’ changed to ‘Religious Worker (previously Tier 5)’
  • ‘Tier 5 – Seasonal Worker’ changed to ‘Seasonal Worker (previously Tier 5)’
  • ‘Tier 5 – Youth Mobility’ changed to ‘Youth Mobility (previously Tier 5)’
  • ‘Tier 5 - Dependant’ changed to ‘Dependant – Temporary Worker (previously Tier 5)’

Innovator, Start up and Global Talent were previously included in Non-PBS work; they are now included in High Value. Students were previously included in Non-PBS study; they are now included in Sponsored study. ‘Students’ in the category of leave ‘Sponsored study’ includes students in pre-PBS routes.

Trainees – doctors and dentists were previously included in Non-PBS study; they are now included in Other study.

Some variables were also recoded:

  • applicant type of ‘Visitors’ changed from either ‘Main’ or ‘Dependent’ to ‘All’
  • visit visas now are included under a new ‘Visitors’ category of leave, instead of ‘Other’

6.5 Data quality

Overall, the data quality for the total numbers of those granted an extension of stay is considered to be high. The data:

  • is an administrative count of the Home Office’s casework processes
  • is scrutinised closely as part of the performance monitoring of the Home Office
  • is regularly assessed as part of the Home Office’s Quality Assurance Framework

The main types of errors are thought to relate to recording and classification errors. The level of missing data on related fields such as sex, category and nationality is low, with such missing data reported as unknown.

6.6 Limitations

The ‘previous immigration category’ field is non-mandatory, meaning caseworkers are not required to complete this field to process a case. As a result, the previous category is not recorded in the system for all grants of extension.

Following the introduction of a new administrative database, the previous immigration category of some Tier 4 General and Tier 4 Child students granted an extension was not recorded as part of the Tier 4 decision making process between 2013 and 2016. The previous immigration category for these cases was estimated. Grants in the work, family and other categories were not affected by this.

In 2018, a further new administrative database called Atlas was introduced which does not record the previous immigration category. As a result, the previous immigration category of some Tier 4 General students (58%), Tier 2 General (10%), Tier 2 Intra Company Transfers (less than 0.5%) and Tier 2 Ministers of Religion (2%) granted an extension was not recorded as part of the decision-making process. The previous category of these cases has been estimated based on the proportions for those cases where previous category information had been recorded.

In 2019, the previous category information was not recorded for a higher proportion of cases as more case working was transferred to Atlas. The Migrant journey dataset, which examines migrants’ journeys through the immigration system, was used to provide a previous category for the vast majority of Atlas cases where a previous category was not recorded.

The Immigration system statistics quarterly release also includes data on the following topics:

  • entry clearance visas, and passenger arrivals - see ‘How many people come to the UK each year’ topic
  • work, study and family visa routes - see the ‘Work’, ‘Study’ and ‘Family’ topics

Further related statistics include:

  • a short statistical article on ‘Extensions of stay by previous category’, updated by information in the Immigration System Statistics, year ending March 2019
  • data on migration applications decided within published standards, and the cost per decision for all permanent and temporary migration applications - Official Statistics available as part of the Home Office migration performance data

7. Settlement

7.1 Introduction

The statistics in this section relate to grants and refusals of settlement. They refer to individuals who have leave to remain in the UK, and who wish to make permanent their right to remain in the UK. Numbers of applications for settlement are not published within the ‘Immigration system statistics’ releases.

Published data tables on Settlement can be found on the Immigration system statistics data tables page. Data on Settlement can be found in the ‘How many people are granted settlement or citizenship’ section of each ‘Immigration system statistics’ quarterly release.

7.2 Data source

The statistics on grants and refusals of settlement are extracted from 2 immigration case working systems: the Home Office’s Case Information Database (CID) and Atlas. The data is derived from administrative information used for the processing of applications for settlement.

7.3 Background on statistics

The settlement figures comprise people granted settlement on arrival (also known as ‘indefinite leave to enter’), and people who have applied for settlement having lived in the UK for a certain length of time (also known as ‘on removal of time limit’ or ‘indefinite leave to remain). Settlement generally occurs after a period of 5 or more years of residency in the UK. Following changes in immigration legislation in the 1980s, the majority of grants are to people already in the country.

Grants are counted once in the year in which they occur. If a settled person is absent from the UK for more than 2 years, they will be treated as a new arrival unless there are special circumstances; immediate settlement may be granted again, in which case the person would be counted in more than one year’s figures of settlement, or the person might be re-admitted with limited leave.

Granted settlement in own right means that the individual was eligible to apply for settlement under one of the provisions of the Immigration Rules and this was not dependent on their relationship to another person (for example, a spouse or parent) already settled or settling at the same time.

Other grants on a discretionary basis include grants after a long period of continuous residence in the UK. It also includes those people granted settlement after applying under the regularisation scheme for overstayers (people who had permission to enter or remain in the UK for a limited time only and who had remained beyond the time allowed) and people granted indefinite leave outside the Immigration Rules under measures aimed at clearing the backlog of outstanding unresolved cases from before March 2007 involving unsuccessful asylum applicants.

Claim to right of abode upheld and other grants includes grants to those previously settled but then were absent from the UK for some time and who, on return, were initially re-admitted with limited leave.

Grants of settlement to refugees and exceptional leave, humanitarian protection and discretionary leave cases are of those granted settlement after a period of residence in the UK. Between July 1998 and 30 August 2005, it also includes grants of settlement at the time of the grant of asylum.

Prior to 1 January 2021, Swiss and EEA nationals were not subject to immigration control so were not included in the figures.

Historically landing cards were used as a data source for grants of settlement until their discontinuation in May 2019.

The availability and allocation of resources within the Home Office can also affect the number of decisions.

For the settlement tables, the term ‘Foreign’ means ‘non-Commonwealth’ up to 1998 and ‘non-Commonwealth and non-EEA’ from 1999 onwards.

7.4 Changes to the data affecting the statistics

The following changes have affected the statistics:

  • family formation and reunion grants in 2003 to 2005 and from 2015 are likely to have been affected by the increase in the qualifying period for settlement, delaying grants that may otherwise have occurred earlier
  • work-related grants in 2006 to 2008 are likely to have been affected by the increase in the qualifying period in April 2006, delaying grants that may otherwise have occurred earlier
  • asylum-related grants of settlement were at high levels between 2004 and 2007 due to the Family Indefinite Leave to Remain exercise and due to grants to people given exceptional leave 4 years previously
  • from 2003 onwards, dependants of EEA and Swiss nationals in confirmed relationships may be shown separately in figures on issues and refusals of permanent residence documents, rather than in figures about settlement’ additionally, from 28 August 2018 dependants of EEA and Swiss nationals in confirmed relationships may also be shown in figures relating to the EU Settlement Scheme
  • ‘Asylum’ category of leave has been renamed to ‘Refugee’ as it includes grants under the Family ILR exercise and also grants under resettlement schemes

7.5 Data quality

Overall, the data quality for the total numbers of those granted an extension of stay is considered to be high. The data is:

  • an administrative count of the Home Office’s casework processes
  • scrutinised closely as part of the performance monitoring of the Home Office
  • regularly assessed as part of the Home Office’s Quality Assurance Framework

The main types of errors are thought to relate to recording and classification errors. The level of missing data on related fields such as sex, category and nationality is low, with such missing data reported as unknown.

7.6 Limitations

Table ‘se_05’ provides data on grants of settlement following a stay in the UK (on removal of time limit) by age. The age profile is not representative of the age profile of everyone granted settlement, as a relatively high proportion of those aged 16 and under are granted settlement on arrival.

When comparing some aspects of settlement data, changes over time in levels of those entering the country, significant changes in the Immigration Rules, enlargement of the European Union, and various Home Office programmes need to be considered.

The Immigration system statistics quarterly release also includes data on the following topics:

  • entry clearance visas, and passenger arrivals - see ‘How many people come to the UK each year’ topic
  • work, study and family visa routes - see the ‘Work’, ‘Study’ and ‘Family’ topics
  • extensions of stay - see the ‘Work’, ‘Study’ and ‘Family’ topics

Further related statistics include:

8. Citizenship

8.1 Introduction

The statistics in this section relate to British Citizenship.

A complete list of published data on citizenship can be found in the ‘Immigration system statistics data tables’.

8.2 Data source

Data from 2021 onwards is sourced from 2 immigration caseworking systems: Home Office’s Case Information Database (CID) and Atlas. Data from late 2001 onwards is extracted from CID, after caseworkers have entered information relating to the applications, decisions and ceremonies attended. Data for 1990 to mid to late 2001 is derived from the legacy administrative database of citizenship grants used before the introduction of CID. Figures for 1962 to 1989 are drawn from the relevant published statistical bulletins or Command Papers for those years.

8.3 Background on the statistics

There are currently 6 forms of British nationality:

  • British citizens are the majority. They have that citizenship usually through: birth, adoption, descent, registration, or naturalisation; and have the right of abode in the UK
  • British overseas territories citizens (BOTCs) have citizenship through a connection with a British overseas territory; on 21 May 2002, BOTCs became British citizens (known as British dependent territories citizens (BDTCs) before February 2002)
  • British overseas citizens (BOCs) are a smaller group connected with the former British colonies who, for the most part, did not acquire citizenship of the new country when it attained independence
  • British nationals (overseas) (BN(O)s) are a separate sub-group of former Hong Kong BDTCs entitled to hold a British passport; the vast majority of British Nationals (Overseas) are ethnically Chinese who became Chinese on 1 July 1997
  • British subjects (BSs) are a reducing group of people who normally hold that status either by virtue of their birth in Eire (now the Irish Republic) before 1 January 1949 or because they were BSs before 1 January 1949 through a connection with a place which became a Commonwealth country on that date and, although they were potentially citizens of that country, did not acquire citizenship of that or any other country before 1 January 1983
  • British protected persons (BPPs) are a small group of people who hold that status through a connection (normally birth) with a place which was either a UK protectorate, protected state, mandated or trust territory

Further information on the types of British nationality can be found at Types of British nationality on the Home Office web site.

Citizenship is granted under the ‘British Nationality Act 1981’ which came into force on 1 January 1983, subsequently amended by the ‘Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002’. Categories of grants relate to the section of the British Nationality Act 1981 under which citizenship was acquired.

8.4 Changes to data affecting the statistics

Reported figures of applications have previously included both British citizenship and right of abode in the UK as a Commonwealth national, although right of abode decisions are not included in the tables on decisions. From 2002, it has been possible to separately identify right of abode and British citizenship applications allowing the figures to be presented separately.

The figures relating to grants of British citizenship to residents of Hong Kong in the UK from 2006 to 2018 were drawn from a different data source. It is understood that figures for 2005 and earlier years significantly undercount grants of this type. There is, therefore, a break in the series between 2005 and 2006.

The reported number of British citizenship ceremonies attended, 2004 to 2015, were subject to minor revisions in ‘Immigration system statistics’ January to March 2017. A further 1,761 persons attending ceremonies in 2015 were added due to late reporting by some authorities, increasing the total by 2.1% from 82,960 to 84,721.

The number of British citizenship ceremonies attended was again revised in May 2020, when the data was updated for the first time in the new format of data tables for the entire period covered by them. There were no significant changes in this revision.

Figures for citizenship applications and decisions in 2015 and 2016 were revised in May 2017, correcting an issue found in the data extraction process that had led to incorrect biographic details (date of birth, sex and nationality) being included in the reported data in some cases. The headline totals for these periods change very little due to this revision. The revisions main impact is in the calculated ages of persons granted British citizenship shown in table ‘cz_05’.

When originally published in May 2016 table ‘cz_05’ showed 8,472 male children aged 15 and under and 8,154 female children aged 15 and under granted British citizenship in 2015. After revision these figures rose to 13,936 and 13,281 respectively; increases of 64.5% and 62.9%. The adult age bands consequently reduced in the revised data.

Citizenship grants for 2010 to 2014 were revised in the May 2017 release to include small numbers of decisions under section 4D of the British Nationality Act 1981 previously excluded because of an oversight in the computer code used to categorise records for publication purposes.

Citizenship grants for the first 3 quarters of 2018 were revised in the February 2019 release to include grants made under Schedule 2 Paragraph 3 of the British Nationality Act 1981 relating to the registration of stateless minors, which were initially overlooked due to the way they were recorded in the administrative database.

In the May 2019 release grants in 2017 were revised to include a small number of grants (137) made under Schedule 2 Paragraph 3 of the British Nationality Act 1981.

The number of decisions made in 2008 was comparatively low when staff resources were temporarily transferred from decision-making to deal with the administration of new applications.

Grant levels reduced in the second and third quarters of 2014 as UKVI resources were used to assist HM Passport Office.

Grant rates fell in 2015 following the introduction of enhanced checks on cases requiring higher levels of assurance in April 2015.

8.5 Data quality

Overall, the data quality for the total number of those granted and refused British citizenship is considered to be high. These are:

  • administrative counts of the Home Office’s casework processes
  • scrutinised closely as part of the performance monitoring of the Home Office
  • regularly assessed as part of the Home Office’s Quality Assurance Framework

The main types of errors are thought to relate to recording and classification errors. The level of missing data on related fields such as sex and nationality is very low, with such missing data reported as unknown. The following are known data quality issues which affect a small number of cases (under 0.1%):

  • in a small number of cases (under 0.01% annually) data appears inconsistent; these records are excluded from the published data and, where resources allow, are passed back to UK Visas and Immigration for investigation and correction
  • in Table ‘cz_05’ data for 2002 includes a significant proportion of records (27%) for which the sex of the applicant was not recorded; this was due to the introduction of a new administrative database (the Case Information Database – CID) in late 2001; processes for the capture of this information were introduced during 2002, reducing missing values to 2% or less of the total in 2003 and subsequent years

8.6 Limitations

The data includes the outcome of reconsidered decisions. These may result in outcomes recorded in later periods, for example, a refusal which is followed by a reconsidered decision may be shown as a grant in a later period. Such reconsiderations appear to make little difference to the overall trends in the data, based on the size of revisions made. Administrative reconsideration affects only a small (0.01%) proportion of cases.

Further related statistics include:

9.1 Introduction

Information on safe and legal (humanitarian) routes is included in the ‘Safe and legal (humanitarian) routes to the UK’ section of the statistics release. The statistics cover:

  • Ukraine Visa and Extension Schemes
  • British National Overseas (BN(O)) route
  • Resettlement and relocation
  • Family reunion

9.2 Ukraine Visa and Extension Schemes

During March 2022 the UK Government introduced 2 new routes to allow persons affected by the crisis in Ukraine to come to the UK. Introduced on 4 March 2022, the Ukraine Family Scheme allows applicants to join family members or extend their stay in the UK. The Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme was introduced on 18 March 2022 and allows Ukrainian nationals and their family members to come to the UK if they have a named sponsor under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme.

Provisional data was made available to the public, initially on a daily and then weekly basis. The data in this report has had further time to be quality assured and have discrepancies eliminated from the provisional data. The latest provisional data is published at Ukraine Family Scheme and Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme: visa data.

Ukraine arrival figures have been rounded to the nearest 100 and relate to individuals who arrived into the UK, where the arrival has been linked to a Ukraine scheme visa. Where individuals have multiple visits, their earliest arrival after the grant has been taken. This data therefore counts people, rather than arrivals which may differ from arrivals data elsewhere. Individuals arriving during the latest quarter may have received their grant in an earlier quarter. The data used to record arrivals on a Ukraine scheme may undercount the total number of arrivals. For example, arrivals of those travelling into the UK from the Common Travel Area (from Ireland) will not be captured in the data. See the Home Office statistics on exit checks: user guide for more details.

Regional and local authority breakdowns for arrivals via the Homes for Ukraine Scheme can be found in the Regional and local authority immigration data tables.

9.3 British National Overseas (BN(O)) route

In January 2021, the UK government introduced a new immigration route for British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) status holders, providing the opportunity for them and their family members to live, work and study in the UK. This route opened on 31 January 2021 and is open to individuals who hold a BN(O) passport and are, or have recently been, resident in Hong Kong, and their dependants.

Further statistics on the ‘Hong Kong British Nationals (Overseas) route’ (including applications to enter or remain in the UK, decisions on those applications and number of arrivals to the UK) are included in the ‘Safe and legal (humanitarian) routes to the UK’ chapter of this statistics release.

9.4 Resettlement

Resettlement is the transfer of refugees from the country in which they have sought refuge to another State that has agreed to admit them. The UNHCR identifies refugees registered with them and assesses their protection needs. Those determined by UNHCR to be in need of resettlement may be referred to the UK for consideration. Resettlement is provided as a durable solution when integration in the host country or a safe return to a person’s country of origin is not possible.

This release includes data on the number of people brought to the UK through various resettlement schemes: Gateway Protection Programme, Mandate Resettlement Scheme, Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (VPRS), Vulnerable Children’s Resettlement Scheme (VCRS), UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS) and the Community Sponsorship Scheme.

Data for the VPRS, VCRS, Mandate Resettlement scheme (from 2021 onwards), UKRS and Community Sponsorship is available with a breakdown of the local authority the resettled individuals are allocated to, as recorded at the time the data was extracted from the Home Office database. This breakdown is available from October to December 2015 onwards.

To aid the operation of the resettlement schemes, people are allocated to a lead local authority in advance of resettlement and will be recorded on the database as such. However, after arrival in the UK, a small number of cases may move to a different local authority to that originally recorded. The statistics count the local authority recorded at the time of data extraction.

Open resettlement schemes

The Mandate Resettlement Scheme resettles UNHCR recognised refugees from anywhere in the world who have a close family member in the UK, who is willing and able to accommodate them. The UK relative does not need to hold refugee status.

The UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS) commenced on 25 February 2021, replacing the VPRS, VCRS and Gateway Protection Programme. The UKRS aims to broaden its geographical focus beyond the Middle East and North Africa to expand resettlement to vulnerable refugees across the world.

The Community Sponsorship Scheme enables community groups, charities, and faith groups to support resettled refugees directly.

Afghan resettlement

Data on those under the Afghan schemes is provisional and subject to change whilst work continues to ensure all data related to relocated individuals is recorded on caseworking systems.

The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) opened in January 2022, with the first eligible person relocated under the scheme on 6 January 2022. The Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) launched on 1 April 2021. Following the evacuation from Afghanistan over the summer, work is underway to ensure information relating to all the individuals relocated are recorded on case working systems. Individuals relocated under Pathway 1, Pathway 2 and Pathway 3 of the ACRS and under ARAP are included in the statistics.

Resettlement under the ACRS specifically focuses on providing assistance for those affected by events in Afghanistan, particularly those who are vulnerable, including UNHCR-referred refugees. The ACRS aims to resettle eligible individuals in the UK, offering them protection and support to rebuild their lives in the UK.

The ACRS is split into 3 separate pathways:

Under Pathway 1, vulnerable and at-risk individuals who arrived in the UK under the Operation Pitting evacuation programme have been the first to be settled under the ACRS. Eligible people who were notified by the UK government that they had been called forward or specifically authorised for evacuation, but were not able to board flights, will also be offered a place under the scheme if they subsequently come to the UK.

Under Pathway 2, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will refer vulnerable refugees who have fled Afghanistan for resettlement to the UK. UNHCR will refer individuals in accordance with their standard resettlement submission criteria, which are based on an assessment of protection needs and vulnerabilities.

Pathway 3 was designed to offer a route to resettlement for those at risk who supported the UK and international community effort in Afghanistan, as well as those who are particularly vulnerable, such as women and girls at risk and members of minority groups. There are 1,500 places available in the first year under Pathway 3. This number includes the principal applicants and their eligible family members.

The ARAP provides for Afghan citizens who worked for, or with the UK Government in Afghanistan and their family members, and can include an offer of relocation to the UK for those who are eligible.

Relocation under ARAP refers to the process of assisting Afghan personnel who worked for or with the UK Government in Afghanistan in exposed or meaningful roles. It provides an opportunity to relocate to the UK for those deemed eligible by the Ministry of Defence and suitable for relocation by the Home Office. This programme aims to ensure the safety and security of these individuals and their families by offering them a pathway to live in the UK.

Further details on the ACRS and ARAP can be found in the FACTSHEET: ACRS and other routes and Operation Warm Welcome: progress update.

Regional and local authority breakdowns for:

i) arrivals via the Homes for Ukraine Scheme ii) individuals settled or in bridging accommodation under the Afghan resettlement and relocation schemes iii) asylum seekers in receipt of support, can be found in the Regional and Local Authority immigration data tables

Closed resettlement schemes

The Gateway Protection Programme, which closed in March 2020, aimed to resettle 750 refugees per (financial) year who had been living in a protracted refugee situation for over 5 years and offered support to those with an urgent need for resettlement. This scheme was replaced by the UKRS.

The Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (VPRS) was launched in January 2014 with the aim of resettling Syrians fleeing the Syrian conflict. It was expanded in September 2015 with a target to resettle 20,000 Syrians in need of protection (in addition to the 239 people already settled by the scheme up until that point). In July 2017, the scope was extended to include refugees of other nationalities, who lived in Middle East and North Africa region (specifically: Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey), and who also fled the conflict in Syria (after March 2011).

The Vulnerable Children Resettlement Scheme (VCRS) was launched in April 2016, with the aim of resettling up to 3,000 ’at-risk’ refugee children and their family members from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

The VPRS and VCRS came to an end after the 20,000 target was reached by the VPRS (in February 2021, delayed due to the pandemic), and the schemes were replaced by the UKRS. More information on the VPRS and VCRS can be found in the VPRS and VCRS factsheet.

9.5 Family reunion visas

A family reunion visa allows a spouse or partner and children aged 17 and under of those granted refugee status or humanitarian protection in the UK to reunite with them here, providing they formed part of the family unit before the sponsor fled their country of origin or habitual residence.

The sponsor is the individual who has refugee status or humanitarian protection. Those granted under family reunion provisions are granted leave in line with their sponsor and are entitled to the same rights and benefits.

Further information on family reunion can be found in the family reunion guidance.

The number of family reunion visas granted are published in the asylum data tables. These figures relate to the latest case outcome, and therefore include grants of family reunion visas following appeal. These figures do not include grants of leave outside the rules, or grants for family reunion visas where the application was raised in-country.

Information on family reunion entry clearance visas are also included in visas data in the ‘Immigration system statistics’, as a subset of the ‘family: other’ category (see tables ‘vis_D01’ and ‘vis_D02’).

For further information on the quality of the family reunion data, see the Visas section of this document.

10. Asylum

10.1 Introduction

Information on asylum is included in the ‘How many people do we grant protection to?’ section of the statistics release. The statistics cover:

  • asylum applications, appeals and outcomes
  • age disputes
  • asylum support
  • inadmissibility

A complete list of published data on asylum can be found on the data tables page.

10.2 Data source

The data in this section comes from Home Office administrative data systems. As cases progress, caseworkers enter information onto case working systems for operational purposes. These statistics are derived from the information entered by caseworkers. The majority of asylum and resettlement data has transitioned from the Home Office’s Case Information Database (CID) to the new ‘Atlas’ system. Data is transitioning in stages and therefore published numbers may be revised in future quarters following this period of change. From the February 2023 release, data from Atlas was incorporated for the first time. Ongoing data quality checks do not at present suggest any large impacts from these changes will be apparent.

Data on family reunion visas is extracted from the same source as the wider entry clearance visas datasets.

10.3 Background on the statistics

Refugee is someone who meets the definition under the 1951 United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees or ‘Refugee Convention’, having been forced to flee his or her country because of a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group.

Asylum applicant (also referred to as ‘asylum seeker’) is someone who makes a claim to be recognised as a refugee under the Refugee Convention. The core principle of the Convention is that a refugee should not be returned to a country where they face serious threats to their life or freedom. The Convention outlines the definition of the term ‘refugee’, the rights of refugees and the kind of legal protection, other assistance and social rights they should receive from the countries who have signed the document. An individual seeking international protection is expected to claim asylum in the first safe country they reach, or by approaching the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Asylum applicants will receive a decision on their application, which may be a grant of refugee status (or ‘asylum’), humanitarian protection, or another form of permission to stay, or a refusal.

The UK Immigration Rules (paragraph 334) outlines the criteria an asylum applicant must meet to be granted asylum in the UK. An application which does not meet these criteria will be refused. In certain circumstances an applicant may be refused asylum but granted other forms of protection or leave.

The Home Office published an ‘Indicators of Integration framework’ in 2019, which provides a framework to support local and national practitioners in developing strategies and in measuring progress in the integration of refugees and other groups.

Asylum applications and initial decisions

The statistics include both the number of asylum applications (from main applicants) and the number of people applying for asylum (main applicants and their dependants).

Initial decisions on asylum applications relate to the first decision given by the Home Office. An initial decision may subsequently be reconsidered following an appeal.

The statistics provide information on the type of decision on asylum applications, including:

  • grants of refugee permission (or ‘asylum’)
  • grants of temporary refugee permission
  • grants of humanitarian protection (HP)
  • grants of other leave to those who don’t qualify under a ‘protection’ route, including discretionary leave (DL), UASC leave, leave to remain (LTR) under family or private life rules, leave outside of the rules (LOTR)
  • refusals

Provisions within the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 (NABA) (the ‘2022 Act’), which came into force on 28 June 2022, set out the framework to differentiate between 2 groups of refugees who ultimately remain in the UK: “Group 1” and “Group 2”. Section 12 of the 2022 Act outlines that individuals who come to the UK directly, claim asylum without delay, and are able to show good cause for any illegal entry or presence, will be recognised as ‘Group 1 refugees’. Those who fail to meet one or more of these requirements will be ‘Group 2 refugees’ and may be given lesser entitlements as a result.

However, the differentiation policy was paused in the July 2023 Immigration Rules changes. This means we have stopped taking grouping decisions under the differentiated asylum system and those individuals who are successful in their asylum application, including those who are granted humanitarian protection, will receive the same conditions.

The initial decisions tables also include figures on withdrawn applications and resettlement cases.

The statistics include details on age and unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASCs). A child may move between the unaccompanied and accompanied categories while their applications are under consideration, for example, where a child arrives alone but is later united with other family members in the UK; or a child arrives with their parents or close relatives but is later abandoned; or a trafficked child; or one brought in on false papers with an adult claiming to be a relative.

Appeals lodged and determined

Where an application does not result in a grant of refugee permission at initial decision, applicants may appeal the decision. Applications which are withdrawn do not qualify for a right of appeal. The statistics in this release relate to the number of appeals (main applicants) at the First-Tier Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) hears and decides appeals against decisions made by the Home Office. It consists of the First-tier Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber (FTTIAC) and Upper Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber (UTIAC). The First-tier Tribunal Judge will decide whether the appeal against the initial decision is successful or not. Where the courts rule in favour of the appellant, the initial decision may be overturned or reconsidered, and this is known as an ‘allowed’ appeal. Where the courts rule in favour of the Home Office, the initial decision stands – this is known as a ‘dismissed’ appeal.

In the event that either party (the appellant or the Secretary of State) thinks that the First-tier Tribunal made an error of law when reaching its decision, they can apply to appeal to the Upper Tribunal (UTIAC). Following consideration by the Upper Tribunal, either party may request a High Court Judge and, subsequently, the Court of Appeal to consider the case.

Non suspensive appeals (for claims certified under Section 94)

Up to 27 June 2022, cases where the asylum claim has been refused and certified (under Section 94(1) of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002) as ‘clearly unfounded’ were eligible for the non-suspensive appeals process.

Appeals which are exercisable from within the UK generally have a ‘suspensive’ effect: they suspend any requirement to leave the UK and/or the power to remove.

Non suspensive appeals, in contrast, can only be exercised from outside the UK (for example, after removal). Applicants who receive a refusal at initial decision may have the application for asylum termed ‘clearly unfounded’. This may be because their country of nationality is a ‘designated’ state or for other reasons assessed on a case-by-case basis. Where an application is certified as clearly unfounded, any subsequent appeal must be made through the non suspensive appeals process.

The Nationality and Borders Act 2022 removed the out of country right of appeal for any decisions certified under section 94 on or after 28 June 2022. This means that any decision certified after midnight on 27 June will not have a right of appeal against the decision.

For more information on ‘designated’ states, see the Asylum (Designated States) Order 2007. The list of current ‘designated’ states can be found in the guidance on clearly unfounded claims (page 31), within the Immigration appeals policy guidance.

Asylum support

Support is the provision of accommodation and/or subsistence to those in the asylum system, most commonly those awaiting the outcome on an asylum application. The statistics relate to 3 types of support provided under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999:

  • Section 95: to support destitute asylum seekers while they await a decision on their asylum application
  • Section 98: to support destitute asylum seekers who are awaiting a decision on their Section 95 application, or have been approved for Section 95 support and are awaiting transfer to their dispersal accommodation
  • Section 4: to support individuals whose asylum application has been refused but they are destitute and there are reasons that temporarily prevent them from leaving the UK

Asylum applicants who are receiving asylum support can have their support terminated for various reasons:

  • if an asylum seeker is granted protection or leave to remain, they cease to be eligible for support, and become entitled to apply for mainstream benefits
  • if an asylum seeker is refused protection of leave to remain, and has no further right to appeal, they may have their support terminated; to safeguard certain groups, there are some instances where an individual may continue to receive support until they leave the UK, despite being refused; these are typically vulnerable failed asylum seekers including families with children aged 17 and under
  • support can also be terminated or suspended if asylum seekers do not abide by the regulations set out when the support is provided to them, for example, if the asylum seeker does not move into the allocated accommodation

More information can be found on gov.uk Asylum Support page, and in the Asylum Support Appeals Project factsheets for Section 95 support, Section 98 support and Section 4 support.

The statistics published in the release include the number of applications for support, the number of people in receipt of support at the end of each quarter, as well as the type of accommodation they are in, where applicable. The figures relating to asylum seekers in receipt of support include dependants, unless otherwise stated.

Regional and local authority breakdowns for:

i) arrivals via the Homes for Ukraine Scheme ii) individuals settled or in bridging accommodation under the Afghan resettlement and relocation schemes iii) asylum seekers in receipt of support, can be found in the Regional and Local Authority immigration data tables

Dublin regulation

The Dublin Regulation is EU legislation which relates to determining which single State is responsible for examining an asylum claim. The statistics show the number of transfers and requests for transfers ‘in’ (from EU member states to the UK), as well as the number of transfers and requests for transfers ‘out’ (from the UK to EU member states).

As of 31 December 2020, the UK’s transition period for exiting the EU came to an end. As a result, the UK is no longer subject to the Dublin regulation. Although no new cases are expected from 1 January 2021 onwards, there may be a small number of requests made to the UK under the Dublin regulation prior to the end of the transition period that will result in transfers in 2021, where the requests have been sent to the UK prior to the end of the transition period. We continue to return migrants to safe countries on a case-by-case basis. See the section below on inadmissibility for details on statistics published in this space.

The data published in this space will be kept under review in line with future policy developments.

For more information, see the ‘Glossary of terms’ section and Guidance on the Dublin III Regulation.

Inadmissibility

From 1 January 2021, following the UK’s exit from the European Union (EU), the Dublin Regulation no longer applies to the UK. From this date, strengthened inadmissibility rules came into effect, which provide the basis for deeming an asylum claim inadmissible and returning asylum seekers to a safe third country (subject to that country’s agreement), if the person has an earlier presence in, or connection to, that safe third country.

Data on inadmissibility was published for the first time in May 2021. The data covers the following:

‘Identified for consideration’: Where an asylum case might be suitable for a refusal on inadmissibility grounds, case working teams will review available information to determine whether a case may be appropriate for decisions under the third country inadmissibility provisions in the Immigration Rules. If they assess that inadmissibility action might be appropriate, they will issue an individual with a ‘notice of intent’.

‘Notice of intent issued’: This is an information letter to the claimant, to inform them that their claim is being considered under inadmissibility rules. It is not a formal decision.

‘Inadmissibility decision served’ and ‘Removals’: If the case meets the inadmissibility requirements, and another country accepts the applicants return the Home Office will treat the asylum application as inadmissible under the inadmissibility rules and arrange the return. The returns figures include all enforced removals of those entering the inadmissibility process. Some of these removals may have been for reasons other than inadmissibility. For the total number of asylum-related returns (beyond those in the inadmissibility process), see the Returns summary table ‘Ret_05’.

‘Subsequently admitted into UK asylum process’: following consideration on inadmissibility grounds, where there is insufficient evidence to meet the requirements of the inadmissibility rules, or another country has not accepted responsibility for the claim within a reasonable timescale, then the asylum claim will be fully considered in the UK. Cases are counted in our total asylum applications when they initially submit their application, and they are not counted again if they later get subsequently admitted into the UK asylum process following consideration on inadmissibility grounds.

For more information on the quality of the data, see the ‘Data quality’ section.

10.4 Changes to the data affecting the statistics

Non-substantiated withdrawals and Non-compliance refusals

Applications lodged on or after 7 April 2008 may be treated as ‘implicitly withdrawn’ (or non-substantiated withdrawals) if the claimant fails to attend their substantive asylum interview and is unable to demonstrate within a reasonable time that failure to do so was due to circumstances beyond their control, under paragraph 333C of the Immigration Rules. Additionally, applications lodged on or after 26 February 2015 may be treated as implicitly withdrawn if the claimant:

  • fails to complete an asylum questionnaire when requested to do so
  • leaves the UK before a decision is made

Data on non-substantiated withdrawals (a subset of withdrawals) can be found in the data tables relating to initial decisions. Prior to 7 April 2008, these cases would likely have been categorised under refusals (specifically ‘Non-compliance refusal’).

Applications lodged on or after 26 February 2015 may not be refused on non-compliance grounds, but may instead be treated as non-substantiated withdrawals. As a result, very few initial decisions since 2015 have resulted in a ‘non-compliance refusal’.

Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASC) leave

UASC leave was introduced on 1 April 2013 to provide limited leave to remain to UASC who do not qualify for refugee status or humanitarian protection, and where other requirements are met, as set out in paragraph 352ZC in the immigration rules. Prior to this a UASC may have been granted ‘discretionary leave’, and would have been recorded as such in the published statistics. However, the database used to record information on UASCs was not amended to include this new outcome until July 2013, so very few cases appear in the data prior to this.

Change of definition: UASCs

From 2012 onwards, the definition of a UASC changed. Previously, all asylum applicants who had ever been recorded on the system as an unaccompanied minor were counted as a UASC. The new definition counts only those who were unaccompanied for at least one day between the date of application and the date of initial decision. The new definition will not count cases where the applicant:

  • was considered an unaccompanied minor only in the period before the asylum application was raised
  • was considered a UASC for less than 1 day
  • is recorded as aged 18 or over at the time of application, but remain recorded as an unaccompanied minor on the administrative database
  • was recorded as a UASC after the initial decision was made

As a result of the change, data on the number of UASC applications and decisions prior to 2012 is not directly comparable with data from 2012 onwards. Data prior to 2012 will include a number of cases that would not be included from 2012 onwards.

Change of definition: age disputes

From 2012, the definition of an age dispute was refined. Previously, age disputes were counted even if they were resolved before the date of the asylum application. In addition, if there were multiple age dispute cases relating to the same individual, these would only be counted as one dispute. The new definition excludes cases where the dispute is resolved before the date of the asylum application, and also counts each separate age dispute on the same person. The numbers now relate to the quarter when the individual becomes an asylum applicant with an age dispute rather than the quarter the asylum application is made.

There was little difference to the number of age disputes counted in the published figures as a result of the change.

Discontinued data - Detained Fast-Track (DFT)

The DFT process was an expedited process for considering the asylum claims of those claimants who were held in detention. A decision on the asylum case, including appeal, was normally concluded within 14 days under the former process.

Prior to May 2016, the Home Office published data on the DFT process. On 2 July 2015, the government suspended the operation of the DFT policy, following the Court of Appeal ruling the policy unlawful. As a result, the data series was discontinued.

Historic data relating to asylum applicants accepted onto the Fast-Track process is available in the asylum data tables, volume 3.

Asylum support

In March 2018, asylum support data was recorded on the new asylum casework system (Atlas), moving away from the previous system (ASYS). Due to differences in the systems data from April to June 2018 onwards is not directly comparable with earlier periods.

Data on the number of people in receipt of support by local authority is available for Section 95 (from 2014 onwards) and Section 4 (from 2018 onwards).

In 2021, a new method of determining local authority (using postcode data) was introduced, and applied retrospectively to the support data for 2018 to 2021 (published in ‘Immigration system statistics, year ending December 2021’ release). This reduced the number of cases in these years where the local authority was listed as ‘unknown’. Therefore, the number of cases listed against each local authority may have changed from previously published figures, although the total number of people in receipt of support remains the same.

The 2018 to 2021 data on support by local authority uses the list of Local Authority District names and codes as published by ONS for December 2021. Local authority names and boundaries are subject to change. Using the December 2021 list for data from 2018 to 2021 means that a small number of cases may be listed under more recent name for the Local Authority. There are few changes in Local Authority names and boundaries over the years, so the impact of this is regarded to be small.

10.5 Data quality

Overall, and unless stated below, the quality of the data is considered to be high. Data is subject to revisions but have not, in recent years, had to be altered significantly between initial provisional totals released in February each year and subsequent revised totals released in the following August.

There are low levels of missing data, with such missing data reported as ‘unknown’.

The main types of errors in the data relate to recording and classification errors. The following issues affect a small number of cases:

  • incomplete or incorrect date of birth information entered which would affect the recorded age of an applicant
  • incorrect outcomes recorded - for example, exceptional leave to remain selected after 1 April 2003 (by which time it had been replaced by HP and DL), or humanitarian protection (HP) and discretionary leave (DL) selected before 1 April 2003 (before these outcomes had been introduced)

Age of dependants

The number of dependants recorded on a case is subject to change, as dependants may join a main applicant after the date the application was raised (for example, a spouse or child joining a main applicant, or a child being born, after the application was raised). Such changes will be reflected following data revisions each August.

UASCs and age disputes

As a result of age disputes, an individual’s status as a UASC may change. Where a UASC is later assessed to be 18 years or older and therefore not an unaccompanied child, the records for these individuals should subsequently be updated to reflect this. It is possible that an applicant will appear as a UASC in the applications data in one quarter, but appear as non-UASC in the initial decisions data in a subsequent quarter, following the outcome of an age dispute. In these cases, the applicant would appear as a UASC in the applications dataset until the data for that year is revised in the following August.

Age dispute data is considered to be medium quality. Not all age disputes are fully recorded as closed following an age assessment, so data quality is not considered as high for resolved age disputes as other asylum data sets.

Dublin regulation

The data on Dublin transfers recorded on CID is reconciled against manual records (maintained for monitoring purposes), to ensure data extracted from CID is complete and accurate. A small number of cases will be excluded from the published statistics due to data quality issues, which commonly include:

  • incomplete or missing entries on CID
  • input errors (such as entering incorrect case types)
  • cases being duplicated
  • delays in entering data onto the system

Data on Dublin transfers out of the UK is a subset of the wider returns data. This is reconciled prior to publication. However, the figures may differ slightly due to data extracts being taken at different times.

Inadmissibility

Data on inadmissibility was published for the first time in May 2021. This data was taken from internal management information records and should be considered provisional. Further work is underway to integrate data recording onto wider case working systems. The content and presentation of inadmissibility statistics will be reviewed in line with that work.

10.6 Limitations

The data is extracted from a live database each quarter and reflect the information as it was recorded on the database at the time of extraction. Changes to data from previously published quarters will not be captured until the data for the calendar year is revised in August of the following year.

Data on the age of applicants, in the absence of any robust evidence to the contrary, is based on the self-declared age of the individual. This may not always be accurate, for example, the number of applicants aged 16 to 17 may be higher due to individuals that claim to be children.

Local authority (LA) data will relate to registered address (or the LA which accepted the individuals, in the case of resettlement). However, this may not be the same as the LA in which the individual currently lives.

In addition to the information published on asylum and resettlement, the ‘Immigration system statistics’ release also includes data on:

The Home Office also publishes Migration transparency data, which includes asylum performance framework measures and data on the controlled asylum archive.

Statistics on immigration and asylum appeals are available from the Ministry of Justice’s Tribunal statistics collection. These statistics provide counts of principal appellants sourced from the HM Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) database. Within these statistics, there tend to be higher numbers of principal appellants than main asylum applicant appeals (in the quarterly Immigration system statistics release) because:

  • HMCTS has a wider definition of asylum appeals, including some human rights cases and appeals on extensions of asylum, humanitarian protection and discretionary leave
  • principal appellants include some individuals classed as dependants by the Home Office

Data on appellate cases heard by a High Court Judge or the Court of Appeal is available from the Ministry of Justice’s Courts and Sentencing statistics collection.

Eurostat produce asylum related publications and data tables featuring international comparisons (covering EU member states, EEA states, Switzerland, and UK). The data includes asylum applications, decisions, the Dublin regulation, and unaccompanied minors (UASCs), with breakdowns by age, sex, citizenship, and time period (monthly and annual).

There are differences between definitions of the asylum figures in ‘Immigration system statistics’ and those provided to Eurostat:

  • the figures in Immigration system statistics can be broken down to show main applicants and dependants separately, whereas the Eurostat figures combine main applicants and dependants and do not provide this breakdown
  • the figures on applications and decisions published in ‘Immigration system statistics’ only show information relating to first applications, whereas Eurostat figures for applications and decisions include re-applications as well
  • the ‘Immigration system statistics’ figures on pending applications include withdrawn applications, while figures provided to Eurostat exclude these
  • data in the ‘Immigration system statistics’ is extracted from a live system so there may be small differences when compared to Eurostat data due to time of data extraction

Data on international refugee trends is also available from the UNHCR and the IGC. UNHCR and IGC use the same definitions as Eurostat, so the above differences also apply to these datasets.

11. Immigration detention

11.1 Introduction

The statistics in this section relate to the number of people entering and leaving detention, as well as the number of people in immigration detention at the end of each quarter. The data counts the number of entries, rather than individuals. One individual may be detained more than once in a given period and, if that was the case, would be counted more than once in the statistics. Similarly, a person may leave detention more than once.

Published data tables on Detention can be found on the Immigration system statistics data tables page. Data on Detention can be found in the ‘How many people are detained or returned’ section of each ‘Immigration system statistics’ quarterly release.

11.2 Data source

Data on detention comes from Home Office administrative data systems, specifically the Case Information Database (CID) and a new system: Atlas. Data is transitioning from CID to Atlas in stages and therefore the published numbers may be revised in future quarters following this period of change. From the February 2023 release, data from Atlas was incorporated for the first time with data from mid-October 2022 being from Atlas and data prior to this being from CID.

As cases progress, caseworkers enter information onto case working systems for operational purposes. The detention statistics are derived from the information entered by case workers.

Data on deaths in detention is monitored and recorded on a separate database. Information on deaths of individuals who have died after being released from detention will be collated from various sources including litigation, Immigration Enforcement teams, or other credible means.

11.3 Background on the statistics

An individual may be detained under immigration powers under certain circumstances. This includes, whilst their identity is being established, where there is a risk of absconding, or in support of the return of an individual with no legal right to be in the UK. Where an individual is being detained in support of a return, detention may continue lawfully only for as long as there is a realistic prospect of removal within a reasonable time period.

The detention statistics relate to those detained solely under Immigration Act powers, in immigration removal centres (IRCs), short-term holding facilities (STHFs), pre-departure accommodation (PDA) and HM Prisons (HMPs).

In addition, the statistics exclude those held under immigration powers in HM prisons (prior to July 2017), police cells, short-term holding rooms at ports and airports (including Manston immigration processing centre), and those recorded as detained under both criminal and immigration powers and their dependants.

The detention estate as at 31 December 2023:

  • Brook House IRC, Tinsley House IRC, Harmondsworth IRC, Swinderby STHF – male only
  • Derwentside IRC – female only
  • Colnbrook IRC, Dungavel IRC, Yarl’s Wood IRC, Manchester STHF, Larne House STHF and HM Prisons – male and female
  • Colnbrook STHF is currently closed for refurbishment
  • Yarl’s Wood also has a residential Short-Term Holding Facility (STHF) which was used from July 2022 up until 25 July 2023, in which male irregular entrants were held for short periods for processing before being dispersed through appropriate routes. Since 25 July 2023, however, detainees at all Yarl’s Wood locations are detained under IRC rules
  • Gatwick PDA - families with or without children
  • The immigration removal estate is operated in a flexible manner to respond to operational needs and demands. Harmondsworth IRC, Tinsley House IRC, Brook House IRC, Dungavel IRC, Colnbrook IRC, Manchester STHF and Yarl’s Wood IRC have been previously and temporarily used for the short-term detention of irregular entrants under STHF Rules

People may be released from detention for a wide range of reasons. Regular reviews of detention are undertaken to ensure that it remains lawful and proportionate to detain someone, particularly where circumstances may change. The statistics include breakdowns of the reason that an individual may leave detention. These include:

  • Returned from the UK - relate to people, including dependants, leaving the UK either voluntarily when they no longer have a right to stay in the UK or where the Home Office has sought to return them to their own country, an EU Member State, or a third country where they are permanently admissible
  • Granted leave to enter / remain - a person may be granted leave to enter or remain in the UK, either permanently or temporarily, following further investigation to ascertain if the person is eligible, or following the outcome of an application to remain in the UK (for example, an asylum application)
  • Bailed (Secretary of State) - formerly ‘granted temporary admission / release’ - when a person who is liable to be detained under immigration powers is released from detention while awaiting removal directions, or the outcome of an application to remain in the UK (for example an asylum claim)
  • Bailed (Immigration Judge) - formerly ‘bailed’
  • Other - includes people who have started a custodial sentence, been released unconditionally, escaped, absconded, sectioned under the Mental Health Act, or died in detention and people whose reason for leaving was not available at the time of publication

Statistics on deaths in detention are published each August in the detention summary tables (‘Det_05a-b’). These can be found in the summary tables in the detention tables section of the Immigration system statistics data tables page.

A death in detention is defined as any death of an individual either:

  1. While detained under immigration powers in an IRC, short-term holding facility (STHF), pre-departure accommodation (PDA) or under escort. This data also includes deaths in Manston, although Manston is not included in the wider detention estate statistics.
  2. After leaving detention if the death was as a result of an incident occurring while detained or where there is some credible information that the death might have resulted from their period of detention and the Home Office has been informed.

The data excludes deaths that occurred after a detainee left detention (and is not under escort) and:

  • the cause of death was unrelated to the detention period, or occurred outside the direct control of the state (for example, a road traffic accident)
  • where the individual died as a result of complications that may have resulted from an incident that initially occurred in detention but has not been reported to the Home Office; such incidents will be recorded once the Home Office is made aware
  • other deaths that occurred outside of detention that the Home Office is not made aware of; such incidents will be recorded once the Home Office is made aware

To avoid double counting, deaths in prison of individuals held under immigration powers will be excluded from this dataset and reference will be made to the relevant Ministry of Justice published statistics.

The statistics include information on the cause of death. These include:

  • natural cause deaths include any death of a person as a result of a naturally occurring disease process
  • self-inflicted deaths are any death of a person who has apparently taken his or her own life irrespective of intent; this not only includes suicides but also accidental deaths as a result of the person’s own actions; this classification is used because it is not always known whether a person intended to commit suicide
  • homicides include any death of a person at the hands of another; this includes murder and manslaughter cases; as with self-inflicted deaths, the classification system does not make any judgement about intent with regards to homicide
  • ‘other’ deaths include any death of a person whose death cannot easily be classified as natural causes, self-inflicted or homicide; the category includes accidents and cases in which natural causes were deemed to have been contributed to by their time in detention; additionally, this category includes where the cause of death is unknown even after all of the investigations have been concluded

Irregular entrants to the UK may be held for short periods of time at a Short-Term Holding Facility (STHF) for processing where a short period of detention is required as a preliminary to resolving their position, before being dispersed to other appropriate accommodation. The Home Office has been receiving people for some time under the provisions of the STHF Rules 2018, in a number of Immigration Removal Centre (IRCs). These individuals would be recorded as having entered detention even if that were for a short period, to support their reception and identification, before they are moved to other accommodation. The use of detention to receive new arrivals in this way is necessary to ensure people are safe and healthy on arrival, and their identities established. This initial reception process for small boat arrivals is different to the well-established detention process for those people who are being prepared for return or are considered at risk of absconding.

11.4 Changes to the data affecting the statistics

From July 2017, the data includes those detained under immigration powers in prison. This includes time served foreign national offenders (FNOs), those formerly on remand, and those unsuitable to be held in the immigration detention estate.

The majority of those recorded as entering immigration detention through prisons will subsequently be transferred to an immigration removal centre (IRC) or short-term holding facility (STHF) prior to removal. Previously these individuals would have been recorded as entering immigration detention in an IRC or STHF at the point of their transfer from prison. Now they are recorded upon entering immigration detention within prison. However, a small number of those entering immigration detention through prisons will not go on to enter the immigration detention estate. For example, because they are removed from the UK directly from prison and are not held at any point in the immigration detention estate. These individuals would not have previously been recorded in the figures.

Where an individual recorded as leaving immigration detention through prison had previously been detained in another part of the immigration detention estate, they would previously have been recorded as leaving that part of the detention estate. Those recorded as leaving immigration detention through prison, who had not been detained in another part of the estate, would not previously have been included in the figures.

As a result, the length of detention of those entering prison prior to July 2017 will be recorded from the point at which they entered an IRC, STHF or PDA. Time spent in prison under immigration powers prior to entering an IRC, STHF or PDA is not included in the length of detention figures prior to July 2017. For those entering detention from July 2017, the length of detention will include time spent in prison under immigration powers prior to entering an IRC, STHF or PDA. Data from July 2017 onwards is therefore not directly comparable with earlier data.

Data on the number of individuals held in HM prisons under immigration powers at the end of the period is included in the detention tables from the end of September 2017.

In 2010, the Coalition Programme for Government made a commitment to end the detention of children (persons aged 17 and under) for immigration purposes. A Home Office review began in June 2010 to consider how this could be done in a way which protects the welfare of children while ensuring the return of families who have no right to be in the UK.

Following the ‘Review into Ending the Detention of Children For Immigration Purposes’ in 2010 the criteria under which children would be detained changed significantly. This meant that children and their families would only be detained in very limited circumstances and for very short time periods (up to 72 hours or 7 days with Ministerial approval).

This has led to large falls in the number of children detained.

Other cases where children might be detained are when:

  • the individual was believed to have been aged 18 years or older at the time of initial detention, but released once the age dispute is raised
  • there’s a criminal case and there’s a serious risk with a decision made to return from the UK

Further information on immigration removal centres and short-term holding facilities can be found on the Home Office ‘Immigration Removal Centre’ web pages.

Following the introduction of the new Immigration Bail in Schedule 10 of the Immigration Bill 2016, the reason for leaving detention ‘Bailed (SoS)’ replaced the existing powers of ‘granted temporary admission/release’ from 15 January 2018, and ‘Bailed (Immigration Judge)’ replaced Bailed’ to differentiate from ‘Bailed (SoS)’.

The underlying casework systems on which detention data is based are undergoing a process of change and therefore the published numbers may be revised in future quarters. Ongoing data quality checks do not at present suggest any large impacts from these changes will be apparent in the detention data (see one exception below for in detention data between 31 December 2022 and 31 December 2023). Data from October 2022 has been derived using data from the new system.

‘In detention’ data for the number of people in the detention estate as at quarter-end dates between 31 December 2022 and 31 December 2023 has been sourced from each detention centre’s daily population lists. ‘In detention’ data for the number of people in prisons as at quarter-end dates between 31 December 2022 and 31 December 2023 has been sourced from His Majesty’s Probation and Prisons Service (HMPPS) list of immigration detainees. Data for length of detention and whether the detention of the individual was asylum-related is not available in these lists, with one exception; length of detention data has been added for 31 December 2023 prison detainees. Where possible, we will seek to include the missing length of detention and asylum information in future editions of the publication when available.

For ‘In detention’ data as at 30 September 2023 for detainees held in prisons, only a total is given as further breakdowns were not available. We will seek to include this information in future editions of the publication when available.

The detention centre and prison lists are being used in the short-term as the source for the “In detention” published data due to the on-going transition to a new case working system (Atlas). ‘In detention’ data was not available from this new system at the time of data extraction for publications released since February 2022.

The lists from the detention centres and HMPPS are management information and have not been subject to the same level of quality assurance as other detention data. However, the data is normally used to reconcile the ‘in detention’ data and is generally considered to be reliable and accurate, and in line with data previously published.

Data on age of people detained in Harmondsworth on 30 June 2023 was not available at the time of data extraction.

From August 2023, data on absconds from detention has been split into ‘Absconds from escort’ and ‘Escapes from detention centres’.

11.5 Data quality

Overall, the data quality for the detention data is high.

To ensure the data is produced to a high standard, a number of logic checks are undertaken on the data each quarter. Any inconsistencies are flagged with operational teams who undertake both regular and ad hoc data cleansing exercises to ensure information recorded on case working systems are as accurate as possible.

Where possible, data is extracted from databases using pre-defined code to minimise the risk of human error and ensure data is produced as consistently as possible.

Data is reconciled against other data sources to ensure any inconsistencies are picked up and addressed.

To ensure data input is accurate, guidance is provided to caseworkers. This guidance is reviewed on a regular basis.

Data relating to people in detention on the last day of each quarter is reconciled with all immigration removal centres, short-term holding facilities, pre-departure accommodation and HM Prisons.

11.6 Limitations

For a case to be recorded on Home Office systems, the Home Office caseworker must be notified that an individual is being transferred into immigration detention. This must then be input into the system. There may be a small number of cases where this fails, or there is a delay in notification. The Home Office are working to improve administrative processes to ensure that this issue is minimised in future.

Data on the number of people flowing through detention is taken from the latest operational case data and reflects the age recorded on that system. This will normally be the age provided by the individual at the time the case record was completed. Later extracts will reflect changes made to date of birth information about individuals (after reviews, new evidence or ‘Merton’ assessments). This is because the ages recorded in our data are based on the age recorded as of the date of data extraction, which may not match the age initially recorded on the date of entering detention. These changes do not alter the total number of people entering or leaving detention but may increase or decrease the number of children reported as entering or leaving detention.

Cause of death will initially be based on the best assessment of the Home Office operational teams, until such a time that other information becomes available such as an inquest has been completed. Where the cause of death is unclear, it will be recorded as ‘other’ until the cause can be identified.

Data during previous years may change as more information comes to light, for example following an inquest, which may not be concluded for several years after the death. The changes may affect the recorded cause of death. Additionally, if the Home Office is retrospectively informed of a death, the figure may be revised.

11.7 Changes to the detention estate affecting the statistics

Since the beginning of 2004, the following immigration removal centres and short-term holding facilities have opened:

  • Brook House – 18 March 2009
  • Morton Hall – 16 May 2011
  • Larne House – 5 July 2011
  • The Verne – 28 September 2014
  • Manchester STHF – 4 June 2018
  • Derwentside – 23 November 2021
  • Swinderby STHF - 3 October 2022

Since the beginning of 2004, the following immigration removal centres and short-term holding facilities have closed:

  • Dover Harbour – 31 July 2010
  • Oakington Reception Centre – 12 November 2010
  • Harwich – 30 November 2010
  • Lindholme – 23 December 2011
  • Haslar IRC – 23 April 2015
  • Dover IRC – 28 October 2015
  • Pennine House STHF – 31 March 2017
  • The Verne IRC – 31 December 2017
  • Campsfield House IRC – 31 December 2018
  • Morton Hall IRC – 22 July 2021

Additionally, Yarl’s Wood closed to families with children on 16 December 2010.

Data prior to July 2022 (2022 Q3) and from 25 July 2023 shows people detained at all Yarl’s Wood locations under IRC rules. Data between these was separated into people detained at Yarl’s Wood IRC and Yarl’s Wood STHF.

Since 2020, Gatwick PDA has included people detained for other reasons than family removal.

Historical data on immigration detention (statistics relating to pre-2010) can be found in the National Archives immigration statistics collection.

In addition to the information published on detention, the ‘Immigration system statistics’ release also includes a range of data on returns (including returns from detention).

The Home Office also publishes Migration transparency data, which includes a range of data such as data on family returns and the Windrush compensation scheme.

A short statistical article published by the Home Office on Foreign National Offenders (FNOs) in detention and leaving detention in February 2013. The ‘short article’ reported on the difference between FNOs detained and others detained under Immigration Act powers (“non-FNOs”).

Data on all prosecutions is published quarterly by MoJ. These statistics include prosecutions for immigration offences.

Data on safety in custody is also published quarterly by MoJ. These statistics include deaths in prison of immigration detainees.

12. Returns

12.1 Introduction

The statistics in this section relate to the number of returns from the UK. The data counts the number of returns, rather than individuals – one individual may be returned more than once in a given period and, if that was the case, would be counted more than once in the statistics.

Links to published data on Returns can be found in the ‘Immigration system statistics data tables’ section of each release.

Data on returns is based on individual cases. If a person is returned more than once in the same year, these will be recorded as multiple returns.

12.2 Data source

Data on returns comes from Home Office administrative data systems, specifically the Case Information Database (CID) and a new system; Atlas. Data is transitioning from CID to Atlas in stages and therefore the published numbers may change in future quarters during this period of change. From the February 2023 release, data from Atlas was incorporated for the first time.

As cases progress, caseworkers enter information onto case working systems for operational purposes. The returns statistics are derived from the information entered by case workers.

12.3 Background on the statistics

The Home Office seeks to return people who do not have any legal right to stay in the UK. This includes people who:

  • enter, or attempt to enter, the UK illegally (including people entering irregularly and by means of deception on entry)
  • overstay their period of legal right to remain in the UK
  • breach their conditions of leave
  • are subject to deportation action; for example, due to a serious criminal conviction
  • have been refused asylum

The statistics include returns of people who are in the UK without any legal right. There are 3 types of return:

  1. Enforced returns where it has been established that a person has breached UK immigration laws and/or has no valid leave to remain in the UK. They have declined to leave voluntarily and the Home Office enforces their return from the UK. It includes enforced removals from detention, non-detained enforced removals and other returns from detention. Refer to the ‘Glossary’ for definitions for these.
  2. Voluntary returns comprise assisted returns, controlled returns, and other verified returns. Refer to the ‘Glossary’ for definitions for these. It does not include assisted or controlled returns that occur from detention, these are included in the ‘other returns from detention’ category.
  3. Refused entry at port and subsequently departed where on arrival to the UK a Border Force Officer will determine whether or not an individual has the right to enter the UK (for example, British citizens, or those with valid leave to enter). Those who do not qualify may be refused and returned.

The statistics provide further information on returns of the following:

  • Foreign National Offenders (FNOs) - someone who is not a British citizen and is/was convicted in the UK or abroad for a serious criminal offence; an FNO can be convicted and have served their sentence while on remand, so would not necessarily have been sent to prison
  • asylum-related return - where there has been an asylum claim at some stage prior to the return; this will include asylum seekers whose asylum claims have been withdrawn, refused and who have exhausted any rights of appeal, those returned under third-country provisions, as well as those granted asylum/protection but removed for other reasons (such as criminality)
  • destination of return - a person returned from the UK may be returned to their country of origin, another EU Member State (for example under the Dublin regulation) or another third country where they are permanently admissible

The statistics provide information via the Harm Matrix, a tool to assess the level of harm associated with a particular individual. To provide clarity, consistency and measurement, levels of harm have been divided into 4 broad categories:

  • category A (highest harm) – has committed offences including serious criminal offences such as terrorist activity, murder, rape, people and drug trafficking, violent crime and child abuse
  • category B (high harm) – has committed other criminal offences including illegal working, dishonest claim for asylum support and identity fraud
  • category C (medium harm) – has committed other offences, not linked to any of the above more serious criminality, including minor immigration offences, a drain on public funds and antisocial behaviour
  • category D (low harm) – has committed other low level offences, including shoplifting

Harm category “D (low harm)” was introduced between January to March 2012. Prior to 2012, harm category D would have been classified as part of the previous harm category C.

Information on harm assessment categories (published in table Ret_06 of the summary data tables) was discontinued from May 2023 with data up to the end of September 2022 being the final edition. This is due to this information no longer being recorded in this manner following the transition to the case working system, Atlas. Other data on offences for FNOs is still recorded internally.

12.4 Changes to data affecting the statistics

Prior to 2007, all third-country cases were defined as ‘asylum-related’ cases, regardless of whether or not the individual had applied for asylum in the UK. Since 2007, third country cases are only defined as ‘asylum-related’ if the person has claimed asylum in the UK. This change affects a small number of cases. This reclassification has no effect on the total returns recorded.

From 2010 onwards, voluntary returns from detention are included in the ‘other returns from detention’ category to reflect the level of enforcement activity that goes in to securing the return. Prior to 2010, such returns were recorded in the appropriate voluntary return category. This change means that returns that would previously have been included in the voluntary returns category are now being included as enforced returns.

For the financial year ending 2017 (1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017), ‘other verified returns’ include non-visa nationals matched against records with no valid leave in the UK to establish as a proxy for those leaving the UK without informing the immigration authorities. These returns have been included as part of a one-off data matching exercise. The detained figures relate to those detained in immigration removal centres (IRCs), short-term holding facilities (STHF), pre departure accommodation (PDA) and HM Prisons (from July 2017 onwards). This had no effect on the total returns recorded.

From July 2017, returns from detention include returns of those held in prison under immigration powers. Prior to this, they included those returns held in Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs) and Short-term holding facilities (STHF) and Pre departure accommodation (PDA). Returns from detention did not include those held in prison under immigration powers before July 2017.

In November 2020, following a programme of work undertaken to review the quality of the returns data, Home Office statisticians have revised the published time series on returns. Please see ‘Revisions to returns data’ section for details.

From May 2022, data on how many Foreign National Offenders returned from the UK were known to have an overseas criminal record (previously published in table ‘Ret_02a’ of the returns summary tables) has been discontinued. The data has been discontinued as a result of concerns over data quality and completeness: the data is thought to be an undercount as the relevant information is often not recorded on case working systems, and it being difficult knowing if someone has an overseas criminal record. The data will remain available in the returns summary tables for the year ending December 2021.

The underlying casework systems on which returns data is based are undergoing a process of change and therefore the published numbers may change in future quarters. Ongoing data quality checks do not at present suggest any large impacts from these changes will be apparent in the returns data (except the below change on the recording of asylum-related returns). Returns data from October 2020 has been revised using data from the new system. Data before this date has not been revised.

As of the February 2023 release, the way asylum-related returns are recorded has changed. This is to improve the linking between return and asylum case working systems with data from October 2020 onwards using the new methodology. See section 12.8 below for more information on the change of methodology.

As of the February 2023 release, the way of classifying returns from custodial detention has changed. These returns are now being classed as ‘enforced removals from detention’, whereas previously these were classed as ‘non-detained enforced removals’ within the ‘enforced return’ return type group. As returns data is revised from October 2020 this applies to returns from this date. This means for data from October 2020 the number of ‘enforced removals from detention’ are higher than previously published in November 2022. Conversely, the number of ‘non-detained enforced removals’ are lower than previously published.

Since the May 2023 release, the ‘departed from UK Ports’ and ‘departed from Juxtaposed controls’ breakdowns of people ‘Refused entry at port and subsequently departed’ has not been available. Where possible, we will seek to include this information in future editions of the publication when available.

As of the November 2023 release, the returns 3-month reporting lag was removed. This follows the change of caseworking systems which has facilitated improvements in statistical processing, allowing data to be prepared for publication in quicker time.

12.5 Data quality

Overall, the data quality of the returns data is high.

To ensure the data is produced to a high standard, a number of logic checks are undertaken on the data each quarter. Any inconsistencies are flagged with operational teams who undertake both regular and ad hoc data cleansing exercises to ensure information recorded on case working systems are as accurate as possible.

Where possible, data is extracted from databases using pre-defined code to minimise the risk of human error and ensure data is produced as consistently as possible.

Data is reconciled against other data sources to ensure any inconsistencies are picked up and addressed.

To ensure data input is accurate, guidance is provided to caseworkers. This guidance is reviewed on a regular basis.

Data for the previous 8 quarters is revised each quarter to ensure any updates to the case working system are reflected in the published statistics. This is particularly important for ‘other verified returns’ (see limitations section below).

12.6 Limitations

As with all administrative data, there will be a small number of cases where data is missing or has been input incorrectly. For returns, this is believed to be minimal. The importance of accurate recording for operational purposes, combined with the regular data quality checks undertaken helps ensure the data is robust. In addition, the data is taken from a live operational system, and are therefore subject to change.

Figures for the number of people aged 17 and under returned may be an overestimate because some applicants aged 18 or over may claim to be aged 17 or under on their date of departure. It is unlikely that somebody who is aged 17 or under would claim to be 18 or over.

Data for ‘other verified returns’ for the most recent period is likely to be an undercount. Such returns are usually identified through data matching exercises, which in some instances can take some time to appear on case working systems. As a result, data is likely to be revised upwards in future publications.

In addition to the information published on returns, the ‘Immigration system statistics’ release also includes a range of data on asylum (including returns under the Dublin regulation), immigration detention data and passengers refused entry at the border.

The Home Office also publishes Migration transparency data, which includes a range of data such as data on family returns and the Windrush compensation scheme.

Eurostat publish a range of migration data that can be used to make international comparisons. This includes enforcement of immigration legislation (including returns). There are some differences between definitions of returns figures published in ‘Immigration system statistics’ and those published by Eurostat:

  • from 2010, Eurostat data is counts of individuals returned; multiple returns of the same person in the same year are counted once in the Eurostat data, but multiple times in the ‘Immigration system statistics’
  • Eurostat data excludes returns under the Dublin regulation, returns of EU nationals, and returns of non-EU nationals to EU countries, Norway, Switzerland and Northern Cyprus

For information on the documents required and processes for returning immigration offenders to their country of origin, the Home Office publishes a Country returns guide.

Additional ad hoc statistics are available in the ‘Statistics relating to Illegal migration’, including monthly enforced and voluntary returns from April 2019.

Returns of small boat arrivals are published in the quarterly ‘Irregular migration to the UK’ release. These show the number of people returned by year of return, who arrived by small boat since 2018.

12.8 Revisions to returns data

Data matching and return type re-categorisation

Following a programme of work undertaken to review the quality of the returns data, in the November 2020 edition of this release, Home Office statisticians revised the published time series on returns.

The work identified 2 important areas which have led us to revise the published time-series to better reflect the volume and nature of returns in the published statistics:

  1. Data matched returns undercounted in the published statistics.
  2. Re-categorisation of return types to better reflect the nature of a return.

Data matched returns relate to cases where individuals who have been told to leave the UK did 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. ‘Other verified returns’ returns are particularly affected by this. Historically, cases that were not recorded on the system at the time data was extracted for each publication, were not included in the published statistics (unless they were picked up as part of the existing revisions policy). The revised data now includes cases that were not included at the time of previous publications. Returns figures now reflect the true volume of returns. We have revised our ‘revision policy’ and publication schedule to ensure consistency going forward (see below for details).

Re-categorisation of return types have been made to case working records as a result of recording inconsistencies which affected the quality of returns records between 2007 and 2011, and on a smaller scale up to 2017. These include, for example, a voluntary return being recorded as an enforced return. The published statistics now more accurately reflect the return type. The Home Office has also improved caseworker guidance, training and internal quality assurance processes to ensure returns are correctly categorised going forward.

As a result, Home Office statisticians have revised the published time series from 2007 onwards.

What is the impact of the changes?

The re-categorisation of return types has led to figures for all types of returns (voluntary, enforced and port) being revised between 2007 and 2017. In addition, the revisions to the time series have led to an increase in the number of returns included in the published statistics (mainly ‘data matched returns’, but a small number of other returns, which have since been updated on case working systems will now be included). This affects data from 2007 onwards.

In addition to changes in the numbers and classification of returns, the data on returns of foreign national offenders (FNOs) has also been revised, reflecting the additional returns that have now been included in the published statistics.

Although the changes impact the overall number of returns, with fewer enforced returns now recorded, and more voluntary returns, the overall trend remains broadly similar. See the chart below for further details of the revisions.

Figure 1: Difference between revised data and previous data on enforced, voluntary and port returns

Table 2: Difference in the volume of returns following revisions, compared with figures prior to revision

Year Enforced Voluntary Port FNOs
2007 -3,896 +6,001 +436 :
2008 -3,806 +5,981 +298 :
2009 -2,745 +6,965 +174 :
2010 -1,900 +5,622 +170 +41
2011 -1,572 +4,744 +269 +112
2012 -1,176 +3,002 +256 +80
2013 -1,134 +2,189 +385 +60
2014 -854 +2,031 +566 +109
2015 -769 +2,021 +446 +256
2016 -566 +1,317 +349 +266
2017 -308 +477 +341 +179

Notes:

  1. Differences relate to data published in August 2020 compared with data published in November 2020.
  2. FNOs are a subset of wider returns data.
  3. : = not applicable. The published data on FNOs goes back to 2010.

Figure 2: Difference between revised data and previous data on returns of foreign national offenders (FNOs)

Changes to our processes

To ensure the published time series remains robust, the Home Office has put several measures in place. These include:

  • improving guidance to caseworkers to ensure they correctly categorise returns
  • improving internal quality assurance to pick up cases where there are inconsistencies between information recorded against the case, and the return type
  • amending our revisions policy – Home Office statisticians will routinely revise the previous 8 quarters of data as part of each quarterly release (previously 3 quarters); this will ensure returns that take time to appear on the system (particularly ‘other verified returns’) are included in the published statistics
  • data matching for “Other verified returns” is undertaken retrospectively, which means these figures are particularly subject to greater upward revision than for other categories of return; in the light of the high use of retrospective data matching to check returns, figures are also reviewed for the previous 2 quarters to decide whether they require revision; for consistency purposes, all types of return figures are revised for the previous 2 quarters

For publications from February 2023 onwards, data from the new case working system, (see section 12.4) has been used to compile returns data from October 2020. While these revisions have not resulted in noticeable changes to most time series, there has been a change to the recording of asylum-related returns.

The accuracy of classifying asylum-related returns has improved. Previously asylum-related returns were manually flagged by case workers on the case working system. Under the improved method, data is linked between asylum and return systems which automatically identify any returns where someone had previously claimed asylum. Additionally, where an individual is returned more than once there is now a 1:1 matching so a claim is only matched to one return. For example, if a person had an asylum claim in 2008 and then returned in 2010 and then again in 2015, only the 2010 return would be considered an asylum-related return.

What is the impact of the changes?

Although overall returns numbers are not affected, it has resulted in a marked increase in asylum-related returns and conversely a decrease in non-asylum-related returns. See below table for further detail of the revisions.

Year ending June 2022 Enforced Voluntary Port Total
Old methodology 116 658 37 811
New methodology 482 1,442 95 2,019
Number change +366 +784 +55 +1,208

Notes:

  1. Differences relate to data published in November 2022 compared with data published in February 2023.
  2. Differences are primarily due to the change in asylum-related return categorisations however some may be due to new returns being recorded on the system since the previous publication or any change in processes to the underlying case working systems mentioned in section 12.4 above.

13. European Economic Area

13.1 Introduction

The European Economic Area (EEA) consists of countries within the EU as at end of March 2020 together with Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. The 27 nations of the EEA and Switzerland had rights of free movement within the UK until the end of the Transition period on 31 December 2020. This means that there was less information on numbers coming to the UK than for nationals of other countries.

Some data on nationals of the European Economic Area and Swiss nationals is included in:

  • entry clearance visas where applications have been made
  • total passenger arrivals
  • grants of settlement (where applicable and available)
  • grants of British citizenship
  • asylum where applications have been made
  • detention
  • returns
  • issue and refusal of residence documentation to EEA nationals and their family members

Before the end of the transition period for the UK leaving the EU on 31 December 2020, EU nationals were able to come to the UK under freedom of movement and did not typically require separate permission (such as a visa). The majority of UK immigration control before 2021 related to non-European Economic Area (EEA) nationals.

From 1 January 2021, changes in the immigration rules mean that EEA and Swiss (excluding Irish) nationals require a visa to work or study in the UK. EEA nationals also became subject to immigration controls, from 2021, and are now more likely to obtain permission to travel to or remain in the UK. For many this will be under the EU Settlement Scheme (see EU Settlement Scheme statistics), while others will require a visa. Information is being added to the existing topics, tables and datasets.

Figures are published on issues and refusals of residence documentation to EEA nationals and their family members (Table ‘EEA_01’, ‘EEA_02’ and dataset).

EEA residence documents are no longer valid as evidence of a right to reside in the UK and new applications have not been accepted since 31 December 2020. As a result, no new data will be published for the period beyond 31 December 2023.

Since 30 March 2019, EU and EEA nationals resident in the UK, along with their non-EEA family members, can apply to the EU Settlement Scheme to continue living in the UK.

13.2 Data source

Data was extracted from the Home Office administrative database, after caseworkers have entered information relating to the applications and decisions.

On a quarterly basis, generally during the first week after the end of the reference period, extracts of general immigration casework decisions data were taken from a weekly refreshed ‘snapshot’ of the Case Information Database (CID) by Migration Statistics. This extract was filtered using established, tested computer code, which selected EEA residence document records into a separate dataset and, for example, ensures there were no duplicates within the data, to produce the data tables that have been subsequently published.

13.3 Background on the statistics

Under the Immigration (EEA) Regulations 2006, (since 1 February 2017, Immigration (EEA) Regulations 2016) until 31 December 2020, EEA nationals (and their family members) had an initial right to reside in the UK for 3 months without conditions. To have a right to reside in the country longer than this the EEA national must have been exercising a Treaty Right, described in domestic regulations as being a qualified person. To be considered a qualified person, they must have been a jobseeker, worker, self-employed person, self-sufficient or a student. After living in the UK for a continuous period of 5 years in accordance with the EEA Regulations, an EEA national and any family member acquired the right of permanent residence in the UK.

Under European law, EEA nationals and their dependants did not need to obtain documentation confirming their right of residence in the UK.

EEA nationals could apply for registration certificates and documents certifying permanent residence in the UK. Their family members (who are non-EEA nationals) could apply for residence and permanent residence cards. These acted as confirmation of their right to stay in the UK. There was no need to apply for a residence card as a family member but it could:

  • help residence card holders to re-enter the country more quickly and easily if travelling abroad
  • show employers that residence card holders were allowed to work in the UK
  • help prove residence card holders qualify for certain benefits and services

EEA nationals only needed to apply for a document certifying permanent residence if they want to either:

  • apply for British citizenship
  • sponsor their partner’s visa application under the Immigration Rules

This data includes decisions in requests for derivative rights of residence however such cases are not readily identifiable in the available data before 2012. More information regarding derivative residence rights can be found at Free movement rights: derivative rights of residence.

Figures for 2004 and 2005, while generally comparable to later years, are based on data relating to cases dealt with under the 2000 European Economic Area Regulations. This data was previously published in table 4.4 of the Control of Immigration Statistics command paper for 2006. The 2000 European Economic Area Regulations were replaced on the 30 April 2006 by the Immigration (EEA) Regulations 2006.

Tables ‘EEA_01’ and ‘EEA_02’ do not include information relating to the EU Settlement Scheme. See the Visas and Immigration (EU, EEA and Swiss citizens) guidance for more information about applying for residence documentation and how the status of EU citizens in the UK is being secured now the UK has left the EU. The Home Office publishes monthly and quarterly EU Settlement Scheme statistics.

13.4 Changes to the data affecting the statistics

The number of decisions made in 2009 and 2010 rose compared to 2008 following various operational and procedural measures introduced during 2009 to improve performance in the Home Office.

In 2011 and 2012 a pre-consideration sift of applications was used to identify those without important information or documentation. These applications were rejected as invalid and returned to the applicant. The pre-consideration sift was discontinued in late 2012. Applicants whose request for documentation is rejected as invalid may apply again including the required information and this is likely to account for a proportion of the increase in decisions in 2011. Applications rejected as invalid are shown separately in Tables ‘EEA_01’ and ‘EEA_02’.

On 1 July 2013 a fee for the processing of EEA residence documentation was introduced. This led to an increase in the number of applications rejected as invalid in the latter half of 2013 due to their not including the fee.

Provisional data for 2016 published in August 2016 showed higher numbers of decisions categorised as ‘Other’. A review of these records indicated that the majority were invalid applications. The tables were revised in December 2016 to correctly categorise these cases.

After 12 November 2015, a person applying for citizenship who is claiming to have permanent residence as an EEA national or the family member of an EEA national has been required to provide a permanent residence card or a document certifying permanent residence as evidence that they meet the requirement to be free of immigration time restrictions. These rule changes, along with EEA nationals’ response to perceived uncertainty follow the 2016 EU referendum, are likely to have contributed to the steep increase in demand for EEA residence documentation during 2016 and 2017.

The number of decisions made in 2016 and 2017 rose compared to 2015 and previous years following various operational and procedural measures introduced during 2016 to improve performance in the Home Office.

In April 2017 updated guidance regarding rejection of applications for EEA documents as invalid where documentation, other evidence or the application fee are not received with a completed application form were issued in ‘Processes and procedures for EEA documentation applications’.

13.5 Data quality

Overall, the data quality for the total numbers of those granted and refused EEA residence documents is considered to be high. This data:

  • is administrative counts of the Home Office’s casework processes, which are defined in UK legislation and are recorded under detailed categories on the Home Office’s administrative database
  • is scrutinised regularly as part of the performance monitoring of the Home Office
  • is regularly assessed as part of the Home Office’s Quality Assurance Framework
  • has not, in recent years, had to be altered significantly between initial provisional totals released in May each year and subsequent revised totals released in the following May and has not, in recent years, had to be revised at all when the annual data is subsequently checked 12 months later and the provisional status of the data is altered to final
  • does not require sampling processes for the compilation of the figures and hence has no associated sampling errors

13.6 Limitations

As with all administrative data, there will be a small number of cases where data is missing or has been input incorrectly. For EEA residence documents, this is believed to be minimal.

The main types of errors are thought to relate to recording and classification errors. The level of missing data on related fields such as sex and nationality are very low, with such missing data reported as unknown and therefore no grossing, imputation or other estimation methods are used.

In a small number of cases the recorded data appears inconsistent, for example where the recorded case type and statistics category do not represent a valid combination under the published Immigration Rules. These records are included in the category ‘Other’ within the published data and, where resources allow, are passed back to the Home Office operational team for investigation and correction.

The Immigration system statistics quarterly release also includes data on the following topics:

  • entry clearance visas, and passenger arrivals - see ‘How many people come to the UK each year’ topic
  • entry clearance visas – EEA Family Permits, see the Entry clearance visas dataset
  • work, study and family visa routes - see the ‘Work’, ‘Study’ and ‘Family’ topics

Further related statistics include:

  • figures on applications received and cases currently outstanding in the European casework route (along with other information such as percentage processed within service standards) - published in the ‘In-country migration data’ of the UK Visas and Immigration section of the Migration transparency data
  • EU Settlement Scheme statistics - published by Home Office
  • applications from Bulgarian and Romanian nationals for accession worker cards, registration certificates, the Sector Based Scheme (SBS) and the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme (SAWS) - published in previous releases (EEA data tables ‘ee_01’ and ‘ee_01_q’ available in ‘Immigration System Statistics, year ending June 2019’)

14. Other data sources

The Home Office covers a range of policy areas and publishes a range of regular statistics reports. Details of upcoming releases, relating to migration and other policy areas can be found in the statistics release calendar.

14.1 Migration Statistics and research at the Home Office

The Home Office publishes a range of migration related statistics on a regular basis. These include:

  • EU Settlement Scheme statistics: Report on the numbers applying and under the EU Settlement Scheme
  • Statistics relating to exit checks: report on travellers departing and arriving in the UK as part of the Home Office exit checks programme with a particular focus on the requirements for statistical reporting rather than the operational use of the data
  • Migrant journey: this publication provides evidence on the behaviour of migrants entering the UK immigration system for 4 routes of entry to the UK and the common pathways through the immigration system that result in settlement
  • Asylum claims on the basis of sexual orientation: published as part of the Immigration system statistics; statistics showing trends in asylum claims where sexual orientation formed part of the basis for the claim
  • Migration transparency data: performance data related to areas in the Home Office business plan, and additional data on borders and immigration activity
  • Irregular migration to the UK statistics: Statistics on irregular migration to the UK, including small boats

In addition to the regular reports, Home Office have also published a range of ad hoc research, analysis and statistical reports on migration, including:

14.2 Previous Home Office statistical publications

Statistical information on grants of British citizenship was published annually in the Home Office British Citizenship statistical bulletin (previously titled ‘Persons Granted British Citizenship, United Kingdom’). The last bulletin was published 27 May 2010 and is available from the archived Home Office website.

Control of Immigration: Quarterly statistical summary, United Kingdom, available from the archived Home Office website; published by the Home Office between 21 August 2008 and 26 May 2011.

Control of Immigration: Statistics, United Kingdom were published in the form of a Command Paper until 2006 and as an online bulletin between 2007 and 2009. Previous editions are available online from The Stationery Office website and the archived Home Office website.

Before 2008, statistics on asylum applications and decisions were published annually in the Asylum statistics United Kingdom bulletin available online.

The amalgamation of the ‘Control of Immigration, British Citizenship statistics’ and the ‘Asylum statistics’ publications was in line with wider developments in the reporting of migration statistics to reduce the number of separate publications and give a coherent picture within the annual and quarterly publications following the ‘Review of Border and Immigration Agency’ (now Home Office) ‘Statistics on “Control of Immigration”’ and the 2011 ‘Consultation on changes to immigration-related Home Office statistical outputs’. See ‘Recent and previous reviews’ below.

Until May 2009, the Home Office published quarterly Official Statistics on the Worker Registration Scheme (‘Accession Monitoring Report’) and the schemes for Bulgarian and Romanian nationals (‘Bulgarian and Romanian Accession statistics’). Past copies are available from the archived Home Office website. Important findings and summary data for the EU2 countries continue to be included within the ‘Immigration system statistics’ releases; data on the Worker Registration Scheme was published for the final time on 25 August 2011 following its closure at the end of April 2011.

Historic Visa statistics, which provided details of all visa applications, grants and refusals worldwide, are available through the National Archives. These are now incorporated within ‘Immigration system statistics’ releases.

Other migration and population related statistical publications include:

14.4 Other sources of migration statistics and analysis

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: The UNHCR website includes statistics on refugees and asylum seekers throughout the world.

The Statistical Office of the European Communities (Eurostat): Publish statistics for international comparisons across the European Union, focusing on international migration, refusals, apprehensions and returns along with asylum.

The European Migration Network: Publish an ‘Annual Report on Migration and International Protection Statistics’ for international comparisons across the European Union.

OECD databases and publications of migration statistics include a range of statistics such as ‘Databases on Migration in OECD countries’ and the annual ‘International Migration Outlook (SOPEMI)’.

15. Glossary of terms

Age-dispute is when an asylum applicants’ claim that they are aged 17 and under is doubted and they have little or no evidence to support their claimed age. Home Office policy is to treat an applicant whose physical appearance or demeanour very strongly suggests that they are significantly over 18 years of age as an adult, until there is credible evidence to demonstrate otherwise.

Assisted returns relate to returns where people liable to removal from the UK who wish to leave voluntarily make an application to the Voluntary Returns Service and who are accepted to receive a re-integration package as part of their departure or those who are assisted in their return by having the flights arranged at Home Office Expense.

Asylum appeal is a procedure to review the decision given on an asylum application. HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) hears and decides appeals against decisions made by the Home Office on asylum applications.

Asylum (also known as ‘refugee status’) is status granted to asylum applicants under paragraph 334 of the Immigration Rules to recognise that they have a well-founded fear of persecution in their country of origin or country of former habitual residence for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group.

British citizen includes those with UK nationality usually through a connection with the UK: birth, adoption, descent, registration, or naturalisation. British nationals have the right of abode in the UK.

Calais leave was granted to individuals who, as part of the clearance of the Calais camp in in October 2016, were transferred to the UK to reunite with family but did not qualify for international protection (such as ‘refugee status’ or ‘Humanitarian Protection’).

Citizenship refers specifically to the passport being used to enter or leave the UK. It does not refer to any other passports which migrants with multiple citizenships may hold.

‘Certified refusal’ refers to when an asylum claim is ‘clearly unfounded’. This means that the claimant cannot, on any legitimate view, qualify for ‘refugee status’, ‘Humanitarian Protection’, ‘Discretionary Leave’ or leave to remain under family or ‘private life’ rules.

Controlled returns relate to those returns where a person liable to removal from the UK leaves voluntarily at their own expense but who notify the Home Office prior to departure and/or where the Home Office oversees their departure (includes family controlled returns).

Deportations are a specific subset of returns which are enforced either following a criminal conviction or when it is judged that a person’s removal from the UK is conducive to the public good. The deportation order prohibits the person returning to the UK until such time as it may be revoked.

‘Designated’ state’ is a country which the Secretary of State is satisfied that (a) there is ‘no serious risk of persecution’ for persons entitled to reside in that State, and (b) removal to that State will not contravene the UK’s obligations under the Human Rights Convention.

Discretionary leave (DL) is granted to an individual who does not qualify for international protection (asylum or Humanitarian Protection) but who is able to demonstrate particularly compelling reasons why removal would not be appropriate.

The Dublin regulation (‘Dublin III’) is EU legislation that establishes the criteria and mechanisms for determining which State is responsible for examining an application for international protection (asylum). ‘Dublin States’ are those to which the Dublin III Regulation applies: all EU member states, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland. From 1 January 2021, the UK is no longer bound by the Dublin Regulation. For more information, see the Dublin III Regulation.

ECCA refers to the European Communities Association Agreement.

ECAA businesspersons’ route allowed Turkish nationals who wish to establish in business, either a new business or joining an existing business, to have their application considered under the business requirements in the Immigration Rules.

Enforced removals from detention include all those who were subject to enforced removal either from detention or up to 2 days after leaving detention. There may be delays with flight arrangements or recording on the case-working system and a 2-day lag period allows us to ensure we have included all returns occurring following a period in detention.

Enforced returns cover enforced removals from detention, non-detained enforced removals and other returns from detention where the Home Office will have been required to facilitate or monitor the return. This new grouping has been created to reflect the likely level of enforcement activity that led to these returns. The detained figures relate to those detained in immigration removal centres (IRCs), short term holding facilities (STHF), pre departure accommodation (PDA) and HM Prisons (from July 2017 onwards).

European Economic Area (EEA) consists of the 27 countries of the European Union, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

European Union (EU) consists of 27 countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, the Republic of Ireland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden.

EU2 are the 2 countries that joined the European Union on 1 January 2007: Bulgaria and Romania.

EU8 are the 8 Central and Eastern European countries that joined the European Union on 1 May 2004: the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. The EU8 does not include the other 2 countries that joined on this date: Cyprus and Malta.

Exceptional leave to remain was granted to those who do not qualify for protection under the Refugee Convention but return to the country of origin would result in the applicant being subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, or where the removal would result in an unjustifiable break up of family life. Superseded by ‘Discretionary Leave’ and ‘Humanitarian Protection’ in 2003.

Failed asylum seeker is an individual whose application for asylum has been refused and who has exhausted their appeal rights.

Family Life (10 year) route: Partners and parents who apply in the UK and are granted leave to remain on a 10-year route to settlement on the basis of their family life.

Family reunion visa allows a partner and children aged 17 and under of those granted refugee status or humanitarian protection in the UK to join them here, if they formed part of the family unit before the sponsor fled their country. The family members do not receive ‘refugee status’ themselves.

Global Talent - The Global Talent route is for people aged 18 or over in the field of science, engineering, humanities, medicine, digital technology or arts and culture who can show they have exceptional talent or exceptional promise.

Graduate ICT - The Intra-Company Graduate Trainee route is for workers who are being transferred by the business they work for to undertake a role in the UK as part of a structured graduate training programme.

Harm matrix is a tool to assess the level of harm associated with a particular individual. To provide clarity, consistency and measurement, levels of harm have been divided into 4 broad categories: A, B, C and D, with A being the highest harm. ‘Higher harm’ assessments include people who have committed serious criminal and immigration offences. (It was found that the method used to assess harm was not applied in a consistent manner and therefore the data was of limited use and as part of the immigration enforcement consultation this time series is under review.)

Humanitarian Protection (HP) is leave granted to a person who does not require protection for reasons covered by the Refugee Convention but who would, if removed, face a real risk to life or person in the country of origin or country of former habitual residence. These risks include a threat to life (for example from the death penalty, unlawful killing), torture, inhuman or degrading treatment, or serious threat by reason of indiscriminate violence in situations of international or internal armed conflict.

ICT - The Intra-Company Transfer route is for established workers who are being transferred by the business they work for to do a skilled role in the UK.

Indefinite leave to remain is a grant of settlement which gives an individual the right to work, study and travel into and out of the UK without restriction, as well as access to state benefits and to register their UK-born children as British citizens.

Initial decision is the first decision by the Home Office on an asylum application. Initial decisions include: grants of asylum; grants of humanitarian protection (HP), discretionary leave (DL), UASC leave, leave to remain (LTR) under family or private life rules, leave outside of the rules (LOTR); and refusals. An initial decision may subsequently be reconsidered following an appeal.

Innovator - The Innovator route is for a person seeking to establish a business in the UK based on an innovative, viable and scalable business idea they have generated, or to which they have significantly contributed. The application must be supported by an endorsing body.

International Passenger Survey (IPS) was a survey of a random sample of passengers entering and leaving the UK by air, sea or the Channel Tunnel.

Landing card was a form completed by all non-EEA national passengers subject to immigration control, which is given to the Border Force Officer on arrival. A landing card was completed for each journey; a person who makes more than one journey is counted on each occasion. A controlled landing card is one where the passenger has been granted leave to enter and is intending to stay for at least 6 months; a noncontrolled landing card is one where the passenger is intending to stay for less than 6 months and does not intend to work.

Leave outside the rules is granted in exceptional circumstances which mean that a refusal would result in unjustifiably harsh consequences for the applicant or their family, but which do not render refusal a breach of ECHR Article 8, Article 3, refugee convention or other obligations.

Leave to remain is permission to stay in the UK either temporarily (limited leave to remain) or permanently (indefinite leave to remain). In this release, an extension of leave to remain is known as ‘extension of stay’.

Main applicant is the primary named person on an applicant. There may only be one main applicant per application. A main applicant can have one or more dependants.

Dependant is an individual who will be considered as part of an application from another individual (main applicant) and is not claiming in their own right. This will usually be a child, spouse or partner of a ‘main applicant’.

Nationality is often used interchangeably with citizenship, and some datasets, refer to ‘nationals’ of a country rather than ‘citizens’. Different datasets have different ways of establishing someone’s nationality.

Non-compliance grounds signify a failure to cooperate with the process to examine and decide the asylum claim within a reasonable period. This includes where the applicant fails to attend the substantive interview, or (since February 2015) leaves the UK prior to the conclusion of the application without authorisation, or fails to complete an asylum questionnaire as requested. In these cases, an application is considered to be implicitly withdrawn (a ‘non-substantiated withdrawal’).

‘Non-compliance refusal’ refers to when an asylum claim is refused on ‘non-compliance grounds’. Applications lodged after February 2015 may not be refused on non-compliance grounds, but may instead be treated as ‘non-substantiated withdrawals’.

Non-detained enforced removals include all enforced removals taking place more than 2 days after an individual has left detention, or where there was no period of detention prior to the enforced removal.

‘Non-substantiated withdrawal’ (also known as ‘implicit withdrawal’) refers to when an asylum claim is considered to be implicitly withdrawn due to the applicant failing to cooperate with the process to examine and decide the asylum claim within a reasonable period (see ‘non-compliance grounds’).

Non-suspensive appeal (or “out-of-country” appeal) is a right of appeal where a claim has been certified as ‘clearly unfounded’ and the applicant will not have the right to appeal against the decision while still in the UK. In these cases, any subsequent appeal must be made through the non-suspensive appeals process, after removal from UK (generally to the country in which the applicant claims to fear persecution).

Official Statistics are defined in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 as all those statistical outputs produced by central Government departments and agencies, by the Office for National Statistics, by the devolved administrations in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, or by other Crown bodies.

’Other refusal’ refers to asylum claims that are refused as the claimant does not meet the requirements for ‘refugee status’, ‘Humanitarian Protection’, ‘Discretionary Leave’ or leave to remain under family or ‘private life’ rules. Includes cases where the claim is inadmissible (for example, from EU applicants).

Other returns from detention include removals either directly from detention or up to 2 days after leaving detention, of individuals who have notified the Home Office that they wish to make their own arrangements to leave the country and have provided evidence to this effect, but where the Home Office facilitated or monitored the return.

Other verified returns relate to immigration offenders (liable to removal from the UK) or those subject to immigration control (not yet notified of liability to removal) for who it has been established have left or have been identified leaving the UK without formally informing the Home Office of their departure. These people can be identified either at embarkation controls or by a variety of data-matching initiatives. In some cases, it can take some time to identify these cases through data matching initiatives. As a result, data for more recent periods is subject to significant upward revision.

’Other withdrawal’ refers to an asylum claim which is withdrawn explicitly (for example, if the applicant signs a form to withdraw an application), or withdrawn if the applicant leaves the UK prior to a decision.

PBS child dependent and PBS partner dependent – Routes for persons seeking to come to the UK as a dependent partner or dependent child of a Skilled Worker

The Points-based system (PBS) is the previous points-based system, superseded in late 2020, which consisted of 5 ‘tiers’. See the definitions for the individual tiers, Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3, Tier 4 and Tier 5 for further information.

Port of entry is an airport, seaport or rail terminal through which people from outside the UK enter the country.

Private Life: grant of leave to remain in the UK because the person has established a private life in the UK. To be eligible to apply for leave to remain on the basis of private life in the UK, the applicant must have resided continuously in the UK for at least 20 years or be able to demonstrate that there are very significant obstacles to their integration in the country to which they would return. For young people aged between 18 and 24 the applicant must have resided continuously in the UK for at least half of their life, and for children aged 17 and under the applicant must have resided continuously in the UK for at least 7 years and show that it would not be reasonable to expect them to leave the UK. Applicants can only apply for this route from within the UK.

Refugee is someone who meets the definition under the 1951 Refugee Convention, having been forced to flee his or her country because of a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group. Individuals who are granted asylum, or resettled in the UK, have refugee status.

Resettlement is the transfer of refugees from the country in which they have sought refuge to another State that has agreed to admit them. Refugees identified and determined by UNHCR to be in need of resettlement may be referred to the UK for consideration.

Returns relate to people, including dependants, leaving the UK either voluntarily when they no longer had a right to stay in the UK or where the Home Office has sought to return them to their own country, an EU Member State, or a third country where they are permanently admissible. While individuals refused entry at port and subsequently departing have not necessarily entered the country, their return requires action by the UK Border Force and Home Office, such as being placed on a flight, and is therefore included.

Right of abode is the legal description of a person’s right to enter and live in the UK without any immigration restrictions. All British citizens have the right of abode along with some Commonwealth citizens. This can be evidenced by a British citizen passport or a certificate of entitlement in a foreign passport.

Section 4 support is for individuals whose asylum application has been refused but they are destitute and there are reasons that temporarily prevent them from leaving the UK. Support under Section 4 is provided in the form of accommodation and vouchers to cover the cost of food and other basic essential items.

Section 95 support was set up to provide for destitute asylum seekers while they await a decision on their asylum application. Section 95 support can be provided as both somewhere to live (accommodation), a cash allowance (subsistence), or both.

Section 98 support is the temporary provision of accommodation (intended for short-term use only) for asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute and who are:

  • awaiting a decision on their application for Section 95 support
  • receiving support under Section 95 but are awaiting transfer to their dispersal accommodation

Service Providers from Switzerland - The Service Providers from Switzerland route allows eligible employers, companies or self-employed individuals to execute contracts with a party based in the UK for a period not exceeding 90 days per calendar year. The contract must have been signed and commenced on or before the specified date.

Settlement is a grant of indefinite leave to enter (on arrival) or indefinite leave to remain (after entry).

Short term student - This route is for a person aged 16 and over who wants to study an English language course in the UK for between 6 and 11 months at an accredited institution.

Skilled worker - The Skilled Worker route is for employers to recruit people to work in the UK in a specific job. A Skilled Worker must have a job offer in an eligible skilled occupation from a Home Office-approved sponsor.

Start-up - The Start-up route is for a person seeking to establish a business in the UK for the first time. The person must have an innovative, viable and scalable business idea which is supported by an endorsing body approved by the Home Office.

S2 healthcare Visitor - This route relates to the UK’s exit from the European Union. It is for a person who, before the end of the transition period (11pm on 31 December 2020), had requested authorisation to receive a course of planned healthcare treatment under the S2 route, pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 883/2004.

Third country is a country outside the UK, of which the applicant is not a citizen, but where they may reside without contravening their rights under the 1951 Refugee Convention. An asylum claim may be refused without substantive consideration if the applicant is believed to have reached a third country prior to claiming in the UK.

A ‘Third country refusal’ refers to when an asylum claim is refused without substantive consideration if the applicant is believed to have reached a (safe) third country prior to claiming in the UK. The use of this outcome has fallen since the UK left the EU. Prior to leaving the EU, the UK processed third country cases in accordance with the Dublin Regulation; however, this ceased to apply to the UK from 1 January 2021. New inadmissibility rules, which in part aim to replace the previous operation of the Dublin Regulation, were introduced on 1 January 2021 (see the Inadmissibility section above).

Tier 1 of the points-based system (PBS): From 2010 to 2020: For high value individuals who will contribute to growth and productivity. Prior to 2010: a general route for work.

Tier 2 of the points-based system (PBS): For skilled workers from outside the EEA with a skilled job offer to fill gaps in the UK labour force.

Tier 3 of the points-based system (PBS): For limited numbers of low-skilled workers needed to fill specific temporary labour shortages (this has never been implemented).

Tier 4 of the points-based system (PBS): Students.

Tier 5 of the points-based system (PBS): Youth mobility and temporary workers: people allowed to work in the UK for a limited period of time to satisfy primarily non-economic objectives.

UK ancestry is a possible route of entry to work and/or settle in the UK for Commonwealth citizens without right of abode if they can show that they have a grandparent who was born in the UK. For these purposes Commonwealth Countries are defined in Schedule 3, British Nationality Act 1981.

An Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Child (UASC) is a person who is aged 17 years or under at the time their asylum application is submitted; is applying for asylum in their own right; and is not being cared for by an adult who in law or by custom has responsibility to do so.

UASC leave is granted to UASC who do not qualify for refugee status or Humanitarian Protection, if they are under 17.5 years old and cannot be returned because there are no adequate reception arrangements in the country to which they would be returned.

Visa national is: a national of a country listed as requiring a visa for any type of entry to the UK; a stateless person; a holder of a non-national travel document unless issued by the UK; or a holder of a passport issued by an authority that is not recognised in the UK. Visa nationals must obtain entry clearance before travelling to the UK, except in certain circumstances, unless they are returning residents or those with permission to stay who are returning after a temporary absence.

Visitor - This route is for a person who wants to visit the UK for a temporary period, (usually for up to 6 months), for purposes such as tourism, visiting friends or family, carrying out a business activity, or undertaking a short course of study.

Visitor switchers are people who stated the intention in the IPS to stay in the destination country for less than a year, but who actually stay for a year or longer.

Voluntary returns comprise ‘assisted returns’, ‘controlled returns’, and ‘other verified returns’. It does not include assisted or controlled returns that occur from detention, these are included in the ‘other returns from detention’ category.

Voluntary Returns Service (VRS) includes support available to individuals who are in the asylum system or who are irregular migrants and who wish to return home permanently to either their country of origin or to a third country where they are permanently admissible. VRS was created in January 2016 to bring non detained voluntary returns under a central team making access to return easier. This included the assisted voluntary return programme returning to a Home Office led programme providing reintegration assistance to those that meet the eligibility criteria.

Withdrawn asylum claim is a claim for asylum that has been withdrawn either explicitly (where the applicant signs a form to withdraw an application), or implicitly (where the applicant fails to attend the substantive interview, leaves the UK prior to the conclusion of the application without authorisation, or fails to complete an asylum questionnaire as requested).

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