Accredited official statistics

How many people come to the UK via illegal entry routes?

Published 26 February 2026

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.

Additional information is provided in the ‘About the statistics’ section and in the user guide.

This release has adopted the term ‘illegal entry routes’ when referring to the act of entering into the UK unlawfully. Some individuals entering via illegal routes may go on to claim asylum, regularise their status in the UK, or be found to have been a victim of modern slavery. This change affects terminology only and does not alter the underlying data.

1. Arrivals via illegal entry routes

Not all people arriving via illegal entry routes will be detected and the proportion of arrivals detected will vary by method and route. Therefore, it is not advisable to directly compare recorded detection numbers on different methods of entry. However, some broad trends can be observed.

The number of people arriving to the UK via illegal entry routes increased in the latest year, due to an increase in small boat arrivals.

In YE December 2025, there were 46,497 detected arrivals via illegal routes, 7% more than in the previous year. Small boat arrivals accounted for 89% of detected arrivals via illegal routes. Small boats have been the predominant recorded entry method for people arriving via illegal routes since 2020, when detected arrivals by small boat increased rapidly and detections on other illegal entry methods declined (likely in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic making other methods of illegal entry, such as air or ferry, less viable). Small boat arrivals are also the most visible of the illegal methods of entry, so the most likely to be recorded, and numbers have remained high even as other routes have become more viable again.

In addition to small boat arrivals, covered in more detail in Section 2, arrivals via other illegal routes comprised of inadequately documented air arrivals (7% in the latest year), recorded detections in the UK within 72 hours of arrival (4%), and recorded detections at UK ports (0.4%). Arrivals on all 3 of these methods of entry decreased in the latest year:

• inadequately documented air arrivals have been between 3,000 and 5,200 each year since 2018, except for 2020 and 2021 when numbers were lower due to COVID-19 travel restrictions
• 1,817 people were detected in the UK, within 72 hours of arriving via an illegal route, in YE December 2025, 79% fewer than the recent peak of 8,492 in YE December 2019 - many of these will have arrived clandestinely, for example in a vehicle or on a ferry
• recorded detections at UK ports have decreased year on year since YE December 2018 – people detected entering the UK illegally at ports have decreased 83% over the 8-year period to YE December 2025 (181 in the latest year)

Figure 1: People detected entering the UK by illegal method of entry, January 2018 to December 2025

Source: Illegal entry routes to the UK detailed dataset, year ending December 2025 - IER_D01

1.1. Nationalities and demographics of people arriving via illegal routes

Since 2018, almost three-quarters (71%) of people detected arriving via illegal routes to the UK have been adult males aged 18 and over.

Since 2018, just under one-fifth (18%) of people detected arriving via illegal routes have been aged 17 and under.

Almost three-fifths (59%) of people detected arriving via illegal routes to the UK in YE December 2025 were from 5 nationalities (Eritreans, Iranians, Afghans, Sudanese and Somali).

The most common nationality of people detected arriving via illegal routes in the latest year were Eritreans (7,900 people detected arriving via illegal routes), of whom 96% arrived on small boats (see Section 2.3).

Iranians were the most common nationality arriving inadequately documented by air (499 arrivals) and Sudanese nationals were the most common nationality detected in the UK, having arrived via an illegal route within 72 hours (352 detections). The most common nationality detected arriving illegally at UK ports were Albanians (68 detections).

For most of the nationalities in Table 1, their most common illegal method of entry was on small boats, reflecting the dominance of that method as a route for illegal entry (see Section 2.3). However, for Georgian and Chinese nationals, the most common illegal method of entry was by air.

Financial, social, physical and geographical factors may influence the method of entry individuals use and the types of individuals detected arriving. These factors may also change over time.

Table 1: Top 5 most common nationalities detected arriving to the UK by illegal method of entry, in YE December 2025^1,2,3,4

	Small boat arrivals (% of total)	Inadequately documented air arrivals (% of total)	Recorded detections in the UK (% of total)
	Eritrea, 19%	Iran, 16%	Sudan, 19%
	Afghanistan, 12%	Georgia, 14%	Eritrea, 15%
	Iran, 11%	China, 11%	Iran, 15%
	Sudan, 11%	Stateless, 11%	Iraq, 13%
	Somalia, 9%	Sri Lanka, 9%	Ethiopia, 8%
Total	40,280	3,027	1,817

Source: Illegal entry routes to the UK detailed dataset, year ending December 2025 - IER_D01

Notes:

1. The most common nationalities are those with the highest number of people detected arriving for each separate illegal method of entry in YE December 2025.
2. Excludes small boat arrivals labelled as ‘Not currently recorded’, for whom information on nationality is not yet available.
3. The nationality recorded as stateless includes those officially recognised as stateless, including those recognised as Kuwaiti Bidoon.
4. The most common nationalities detected arriving illegally at UK ports are not included in this table due to the low volume of arrivals for this method of entry; however, nationality data is published in table IER_D01 of the illegal entry routes detailed datasets.

2. Small boat arrivals

2.1. Number of small boat arrivals

Statistics on small boat arrivals include individuals who were detected on arrival to the UK, detected in the Channel and subsequently brought to the UK, and those encountered in the UK who were suspected of having arrived on a small boat within the previous 72 hours. They do not include any people who arrived on larger vessels (such as a ferry), those who arrived in the UK undetected, or those prevented from departing France or intercepted by French authorities and returned to France (see the ‘user guide’). A weekly summary of small boat arrivals and preventions is also published by the Home Office.

The number of small boat arrivals to the UK increased in the YE December 2025 but was lower than the peak number of arrivals in YE December 2022.

Small boat arrivals were relatively low from 2018 to 2020, with 10,608 arrivals in total across these 3 years. However, since YE December 2021 there have been between 29,000 and 46,000 small boat arrivals each year, with the highest number of arrivals in YE December 2022 (45,774). Despite the decrease in YE December 2023, small boat arrivals increased in YE December 2025 (41,472), 13% higher than in YE December 2024.

The increase in arrivals in YE December 2025 has coincided with an increase in the average number of people arriving per small boat (see Section 2.2) and a continued diversification of nationalities arriving via this method (see Section 2.3). See Small boat activity in the English Channel - GOV.UK for the latest daily data on people arriving by small boat.

Small boat arrivals in YE December 2025 were 9% fewer than the peak number of arrivals in YE December 2022. However, Figure 2 shows that small boat arrivals between January and June 2025 were 57% higher than the same period in 2022, the highest first half of a calendar year on record. In contrast, the second half of the year (particularly October to December) had fewer small boat arrivals than the equivalent periods of 2022 and 2024.

Small boat arrival numbers fluctuate, often due to changes in the weather. Warmer summer months typically see higher numbers due to more favourable crossing conditions. Comparisons of arrivals between months or years should take this seasonality and differences in weather conditions into account and we do not advise making comparisons between short periods or different times of the year. Additional research on small boat activity compared to the forecasted wave height and other environmental and non-environmental factors was published in Small boat arrivals and the impact of crossing conditions on GOV.UK.

Figure 2: Cumulative small boat arrivals, by month of arrival, January 2020 to December 2025

Source: Illegal entry routes to the UK detailed dataset, year ending December 2025 - IER_D01

2.2. Number of boats and people per boat

The average number of people per small boat has increased year on year since 2018.

Figure 3: Monthly numbers of small boats arriving and average number of people per boat, January 2018 to December 2025

Source: Illegal entry routes to the UK summary tables, year ending December 2025 - IER_02a

The average number of people per small boat has increased each year since 2018, to 62 people per boat in YE December 2025, compared with 53 people per boat in YE December 2024 and 41 in YE December 2022. The months of September and November in the YE December 2025 saw an average of 71 people per boat, the highest monthly average on record. Consequently, the number of small boat arrivals in YE December 2025 was only 9% fewer than in YE December 2022, despite there being 39% fewer boats.

2.3. Nationalities of small boat arrivals

The top 5 most common nationalities (Eritrean, Afghan, Iranian, Sudanese, and Somali) arriving on small boats in YE December 2025 accounted for more than three-fifths of all small boat arrivals in that period.

Eritreans were the most common nationality arriving by small boat in YE December 2025, with 7,602 arrivals, more than double the number arriving by small boat in the previous year (Figure 4).

Sudanese and Somali nationals arriving by small boat also increased in YE December 2025 and were the fourth and fifth most common nationalities arriving by small boats in this period.

In contrast, the number of Syrian nationals arriving by small boat in YE December 2025 (1,528 arrivals) was 67% fewer than in YE December 2024. This reduction follows the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024.

The diversity of nationalities arriving on small boats initially increased as the number of small boat arrivals increased. In YE December 2018, there were 7 different nationalities arriving by small boat compared to 74 different nationalities in YE December 2022 (the peak year for small boat arrivals). Since then, the number of different nationalities arriving to the UK by small boat has remained relatively constant, with 75 in YE December 2025.

This diversity can also be seen in how nationalities are represented in small boat arrivals. Whilst Iranians alone accounted for 80% of small boat arrivals in YE December 2018, 10 different nationalities made up the same proportion of arrivals in YE December 2025.

Figure 4: Most common nationalities arriving on small boats, YE December 2018 to YE December 2025^1,2,3

Source: Illegal entry routes to the UK detailed dataset, year ending December 2025 - IER_D01

Notes:

1. The 5 most common nationalities of small boat arrivals in YE December 2025 plus Albania. Albania has been presented to reflect that it was a nationality with a large number of small boat arrivals over recent years but is no longer in the 5 most common nationalities.
2. Excludes arrivals where information on nationality was not recorded in the dataset.
3. The order of the legend matches the order of the lines, descending by volume of arrivals in YE December 2025.

3. Asylum claims from small boat arrivals

Publication of the number of asylum claims from small boat arrivals and outcomes of the asylum claims (by arrival date) in tables IER_D02 and IER_D03 has moved from a quarterly to annual update. The last quarterly release has been published on 26 February 2026, with data to the end of December 2025. Following this release, annual data will be published in August each year, with data to the end of the previous calendar year. This allows time for decisions on asylum claims from small boat arrivals in the previous year to be made. Data on asylum claims from small boat arrivals by claim date will still be updated quarterly in Asy_D01a and data on initial decisions on asylum claims from small boat arrivals for the latest 2 years (by outcome date) will still be updated quarterly in Asy_02c and Asy_02d.

Since 2018, 95% of the people arriving in the UK on a small boat have claimed asylum. Small boat arrivals accounted for around two-fifths of the total number of people claiming asylum in the UK in YE December 2025.

Since 2018, just over two-thirds (69% or 123,515) of small boat arrivals claiming asylum had received a substantive decision (as of 14 January 2026). Of these, 75,899 were granted asylum or some other protection status and 47,616 were refused (source: Illegal entry routes to the UK detailed dataset, year ending December 2025 - IER_D02 and IER_D03).

Additional data on asylum claims from small boat arrivals by claim date, alongside data on all asylum claims, is available in the ‘How many people claim asylum in the UK?’ chapter and more detail on the outcomes of all asylum claims is available in the ‘How many people are granted asylum in the UK?’ chapter of the Immigration system statistics quarterly release. This includes definitions on asylum case outcome types in the asylum detailed datasets. Figures for asylum claims from small boat arrivals in the illegal entry routes datasets may differ from those in ‘Asy_D01a’ (and corresponding summary tables). This is due to differences in extraction dates from a live database and differences in recording methods. The illegal entry routes datasets are published based on the date of arrival, while the Asylum claims datasets are published based on the date of claim.

For information on returns of small boat arrivals (and all returns from the UK), see the ‘How many people are returned from the UK?’ chapter of the Immigration system statistics quarterly release.

4. About the statistics

The Illegal Entry Routes (formerly ‘irregular migration’) statistics were first published in February 2022 as ‘Official Statistics’. For more information, please see Section 12.5 of the Immigration system statistics user guide.

The underlying casework and data systems on which this data is based are undergoing a process of change and therefore the published numbers may change in future quarters. For more information see Section 2.8 of the Immigration system statistics user guide.

All statistics in this chapter relate to people who come to the UK via illegal routes. It includes those arriving on a small boat across the English Channel (a ‘small boat arrival’), along with some other groups arriving without prior lawful permission.

The statistics presented here relate to the number of people detected on, or shortly after, arrival to the UK through various illegal methods of entry. They do not include all those who enter the UK through illegal routes, nor the number of people currently present in the UK without permission. It is not possible to know the exact number of people currently resident in the UK without permission, nor the total number of people who enter the UK via illegal routes, and so we have not produced any official estimates for this number.

This is because:

• some people will successfully evade border controls and remain in the UK undetected
• some people may enter the UK on regular routes, but their status can change over time – for example, if they overstay a visa (it should be noted that there are a number of ways in which a person’s departure from the UK may legitimately not be recorded on the system)
• the data sources available count the number of recorded detections - in some instances the same person may be detected multiple times, either for the same method of entry or across different methods of entry (such individuals will be counted multiple times in the statistics)
• some people may enter the UK via illegal routes but subsequently go on to get legal status – for example, following a successful asylum claim

Figures on detections may be affected by the levels of operational activity at the border and overseas, so should not be used to infer levels of entry via illegal routes. Changes in detection could be a result of changes in operational activity as well as changes in the number of people attempting to enter the UK via illegal routes and recording practices.

Some people seek to enter the UK without valid permission but are prevented from reaching the UK border (for example, at the juxtaposed controls in France and Belgium, or further afield, if prevented from travelling). Prevented attempts are not reported in this chapter. However, a weekly summary of small boat arrivals and preventions is published separately by the Home Office, including definitions of what these figures include. This data on small boat preventions can be used to provide more context on people attempting to cross the English Channel in small boats. Any counts of arrivals and attempted entries may relate to multiple arrivals or attempts by the same individual, and therefore will not relate to numbers of people.

For more information on the data in this chapter, please see the ‘user guide’.

The relevant chapter and table names have been edited to reflect the change in terminology, as follows:

• ‘How many people come to the UK via illegal entry routes?’ formerly ‘How many people come to the UK irregularly’
• ‘Detailed illegal entry routes datasets’ formerly ‘Detailed irregular migration datasets’
• ‘Illegal entry routes summary tables’ formerly ‘Irregular migration summary tables’
• table names starting ‘Irr’ now start ‘IER’ (Illegal Entry Routes)

5. Data tables

Data referred to here can be found in the following tables:

• Illegal entry routes summary tables
• Detailed illegal entry routes datasets

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See Section 6 of the ‘About this release’ section for more details.