How many people claim asylum in the UK?
Published 26 February 2026
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-system-statistics-year-ending-december-2025/how-many-people-claim-asylum-in-the-uk
Back to ‘Immigration system statistics, year ending December 2025’ contents page
This release goes up to the year ending (YE) December 2025. The “year ending” period includes the 12 months up to and including the YE month. For example, YE December 2025 includes the 12 months between 1 January 2025 and 31 December 2025.
An asylum claim may relate to more than one person, if the main applicant has family members (dependants) who are included in the same claim.
These statistics focus on the number of people (main applicants and dependants) claiming asylum. The number of main applicants (excluding dependants) represents the total number of asylum cases that require consideration by the Home Office.
Statistics on other parts of the asylum system are available in other chapters of this report - ‘How many people are granted asylum in the UK?’ and ‘How many people are in the UK asylum system?’.
1. How many people claim asylum in the UK?
The number of people claiming asylum in the UK decreased in the latest year, but still much higher than levels seen prior to 2021.
A total of 100,625 people claimed asylum in the UK in the YE December 2025, which was 4% less than in the YE December 2024, but more than 2 times higher than in the YE December 2019.
Figure 1: Number of people claiming asylum in the UK, YE December 2002 to YE December 20251
Source: Asylum claims and initial decisions - Asy_D01
Notes:
- Includes main applicants and dependants.
Figure 1 shows that the number of people claiming asylum in the UK was 103,000 in the YE December 2002. This was due to a large number of people fleeing persecution from countries with conflicts and political instability, such as Afghanistan, Iraq, and Somalia.
From 2004 to 2020 there were between 22,000 and 46,000 people claiming asylum in the UK each year. However, since the second half of 2021 there has been a notable increase, peaking at 110,051 in the YE September 2025. The number of people claiming has fallen in the latest year, but remains high compared to the previous 2 decades.
1.1 How do asylum seekers travel to the UK?
This section explains how people who claimed asylum in the UK entered the country. The figures are based on the date of their asylum claim and complement the data presented in the ‘Illegal entry routes data tables’, which are based on the date of arrival. As a result, the totals presented between these datasets may differ.
Some asylum seekers claim asylum immediately upon arrival to the UK, while others may have been present in the UK some time prior to making an asylum claim. Some arrivals who entered the UK on a visa or with other leave may also find during or at the end of their leave that they are unable, or unwilling, to return to their country of origin and therefore claim asylum in the UK.
Just over half (52%) of asylum seekers in the latest year arrived in the UK through illegal entry routes, typically on small boats.
Figure 2 shows that small boats remain the most common way for people to enter the UK before claiming asylum. Claims from people who arrived in the UK on a visa or other leave was the second most common reason, having increased by more than 5 times since the YE December 2021.
In the YE December 2025:
- 41% (41,262) of asylum seekers arrived on a small boat
- 11% (11,190) entered through other illegal entry routes (in lorries, shipping containers, or without relevant documentation)
- 39% (39,095) of asylum seekers had previously entered the UK on a visa or other leave with relevant documentation, including those who entered on an electronic travel authorisation (ETA)
- 9% entered through other routes, such as through the common travel area without valid permission to enter, are UK-born children of asylum seekers or refugees, or were non-visa nationals visiting the UK, as well as claims which could not be matched to a route of entry
Figure 2: Number of people claiming asylum in the UK, by route of entry to the UK, YE December 2018 to YE December 20251
Source: Asylum claims and initial decisions - Asy_D01a
Notes:
- Claims from those who entered on a visa or other leave include those entering on an ETA.
Of the 39,095 asylum claimants who held a visa or other form of leave prior to claiming asylum:
- 35% (13,557) held a work visa
- 32% (12,578) held a study visa
- 19% (7,521) held a visitor visa
- 14% held other forms of leave
Figure 3: Number of people claiming asylum in the UK who entered on a visa or with other leave, by latest leave held prior to claim, YE December 2018 to YE December 20251, 2
Source: Asylum claims and initial decisions - Asy_D01a
Notes:
- Figures reflect the latest leave held prior to claiming asylum, including those who may have switched visa types after arrival.
- ‘Other leave’ includes those who entered on an ETA.
Figure 3 shows that since 2021, asylum claims from people who had originally entered on a visa have increased in all the main visa routes. This trend follows the growth in work and study visas issued across the same period. Though not directly comparable to the number of asylum claimants who previously held a work or study visa as this reflects the most recent type of leave or immigration status held before making an asylum claim, in the most recent 12 months, there were 429,254 entry clearance study visas issued and 261,112 entry clearance work visas issued.
In the latest year, the number of people who held a study visa prior to claiming asylum has decreased 21%. This follows the fall in the number of study visas issued following restrictions on dependants that came into effect on 1 January 2024. In contrast, the number of people who held a work visa prior to claiming asylum has increased 23% in the latest year.
2. Who claims asylum in the UK?
The top 5 nationalities with the largest number of people claiming asylum (Pakistan, Eritrea, Iran, Afghanistan and Bangladesh), together represented 39% of claimants in the YE December 2025.
Figure 4: Top nationalities claiming asylum in the UK, YE December 2015 to YE December 20251, 2
Source: Asylum claims and initial decisions – Asy_D01
Notes:
- The figure shows the top 5 nationalities (Pakistan, Eritrea, Iran, Afghanistan and Bangladesh) claiming asylum in the YE December 2025. Albania has also been presented to reflect that it was a nationality with a large number of asylum claims over recent years but is no longer a top 5 nationality.
- The percentage change shown for each nationality represents the change in the number of people claiming asylum in the YE December 2025 compared to the YE December 2024.
Figure 4 shows the different trends of the nationalities with the largest numbers of asylum claimants in recent years.
Claims from Afghan nationals rose substantially following the Taliban takeover in August 2021. While the number of Afghans claiming asylum was 45% less than the peak in the YE September 2023, claims remain relatively high in the latest year with 6,462 people claiming. Since October 2021, 35,904 Afghans have claimed asylum in the UK, with the majority of these claimants having arrived in the UK via small boats. A further 36,865 Afghans have also been resettled through the Afghan Resettlement Programme, which began in March 2021.
Albanian claims rose quickly after a high number of small boat arrivals in the summer of 2022. In response, the UK-Albania joint communiqué was agreed in December 2022, aiming to accelerate the return of Albanian nationals with no right to remain and reaffirmed Albania’s status as a safe country. Since then, the number of Albanian asylum claims have seen a large decline and have returned to levels seen prior to 2021. Albanian nationals only represented 2% of claimants in the latest year (1,816 people claiming).
Pakistan and Bangladesh have both seen an increase in the number of people claiming asylum from their pre-2021 levels. The majority of claimants from both countries arrive on a visa before claiming asylum, as shown in Figure 5. These nationalities, as well as India, have also seen a large increase in work and study visa grants since 1 January 2021, following changes to the immigration system.
Figure 5: Top 10 nationalities claiming asylum in the UK in the YE December 2025, by route of entry to the UK1
Source: Number of people claiming asylum, by nationality and route of entry to the UK – Asy_01d
Notes:
- ‘Other’ includes those who arrived through the common travel area without valid permission to enter, are UK-born children of asylum seekers or refugees, or were non-visa nationals visiting the UK, as well as claims which could not be matched to a route of entry.
More than three-fifths (62%) of people claiming asylum in the YE December 2025 were adult males.
Table 1: Number of people claiming asylum in the UK, in the YE December 2025, by age and sex
| Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|
| Aged 17 and under | 10,200 (10%) |
6,510 (6%) |
| Aged 18 and over | 62,259 (62%) |
21,640 (22%) |
Source: Asylum claims and initial decisions – Asy_D01
Of the 16,710 children that claimed asylum in the latest year, 66% (10,978) were under 14, 10% (1,657) were either 14 or 15, and a further 24% (4,075) were 16 or 17.
The proportion of men, women and children varies across nationalities and may be influenced by the routes taken when travelling to the UK. For example, more dangerous routes (such as crossing the Channel in a small boat) see fewer women and children than other routes (such as travelling to the UK on a visa before claiming asylum).
In the YE December 2025, 4% of claims (3,598) were from unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC). These are children who arrive in the UK without a parent or legal guardian to care for them and are entitled to specific safeguarding and support arrangements under UK law. Four-fifths (80%) of these children were aged 16 or 17.
A small percentage of asylum claims (2% in the YE December 2023) involve individuals seeking protection due to their sexual orientation. For more details on this group see the report on ‘Asylum claims on the basis of sexual orientation’.
3. How does the UK compare with the EU+?
The term ‘EU+’ refers to the 27 EU member states, together with Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein (which are members of the European Economic Area), as well as Switzerland. The most recent comparative data for the EU+ is available for the YE September 2025.
In the YE September 2025, there were 871,240 people claiming asylum in the EU+, 22% fewer than in the previous year. This contrasts with a 13% increase in the UK over the same period.
The UK received 11% of all asylum seekers across the UK and EU+ combined in the YE September 2025.
Compared with other European countries, the UK received the fifth largest number of asylum seekers in the YE September 2025 (110,051), and the fifteenth largest intake when measured ‘per head of population’.
Table 2: The number of people claiming asylum in the UK and the top 4 countries in the EU+, YE September 2025
| Country of claim | Total number of people claiming (proportion of total claims in the EU+ and UK) | Top nationality claiming asylum (percentage of total for that country) |
|---|---|---|
| Germany | 177,355 (18%) |
Afghanistan (28%) |
| France | 157,945 (16%) |
Haiti (9%) |
| Spain | 151,265 (15%) |
Venezuela (55%) |
| Italy | 133,740 (14%) |
Bangladesh (20%) |
| United Kingdom | 110,051 (11%) |
Pakistan (11%) |
Source: Eurostat Asylum statistics and Asylum claims and initial decisions – Asy_D01
The number and demographic profile of people claiming asylum varies across Europe with some nationalities claiming more in certain countries. This may be linked to factors including language, existing diasporas in these countries, the routes taken to reach them, and the likelihood of being granted refugee permission.
Figure 6: The number of people claiming asylum in the UK and the top 4 countries in the EU+, YE September 2021 to YE September 20251, 2
Source: Eurostat Asylum statistics and Asylum claims and initial decisions – Asy_D01
Notes:
- Top 4 countries in the EU+ receiving asylum claimants in the YE September 2025.
- Includes main applicants and dependants.
4. Data tables and further links
Data referred to here can be found in the following tables:
Further links:
- Statistics on asylum outcomes, year ending December 2025
- Statistics on the UK asylum system, year ending December 2025
- Illegal entry routes statistics, year ending December 2025
- Safe and legal (humanitarian) routes statistics, year ending December 2025
- Migration transparency data
- Migrant journey: 2024 report
- Eurostat asylum statistics
- Asylum claims on the basis of sexual orientation, 2023
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