How many people claim asylum in the UK?
Published 21 August 2025
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-system-statistics-year-ending-june-2025/how-many-people-claim-asylum-in-the-uk
Back to ‘Immigration system statistics, year ending June 2025’ contents page.
Data relates to the year ending June 2025 and all comparisons are with the year ending June 2024 (unless indicated otherwise).
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 cases are in the UK asylum system?’.
Additionally, more detail on asylum claims from small boat arrivals is available in the chapter ‘How many people come to the UK irregularly?’.
1. How many people claim asylum in the UK?
The number of people claiming asylum in the UK has increased in the last year to the highest level on record.
A total of 111,084 people claimed asylum in the UK in the year ending June 2025, 14% more than in the year ending June 2024, and 8% more than the previous peak of 103,081 in 2002.
Figure 1: Number of people claiming asylum in the UK, years ending December 2002 to June 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 particularly high in the early 2000s, peaking at 103,000 in 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. The latest year is the highest on record (going back to 1979) with almost twice as many (+90%) claimants than in 2021.
1.1 How do asylum seekers travel to the UK?
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 on legal routes may 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.
Half of asylum seekers in the latest year arrived in the UK through irregular routes, typically on small boats.
Figure 2 shows that, while irregular routes remain the most common way for people to enter the UK before claiming asylum, the number of claims from people who arrived in the UK on a visa or other leave have tripled since the year ending June 2022.
In the year ending June 2025:
- 39% (43,600) of asylum seekers arrived on a small boat and a further 11% (12,100) entered through other irregular routes (on lorries, shipping containers, or without relevant documentation)
- 37% (41,100) of asylum seekers had previously entered the UK on a visa or other leave with relevant documentation, including those entering on an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) to visit the UK from 2024 onwards
- the remaining 13% 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 prior to the introduction of the ETA scheme, 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, years ending December 2018 to June 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 (Electronic Travel Authorisation) to visit the UK from 2024 onwards.
Of the 41,100 asylum claimants who had entered the UK on a visa or other form of leave, the figures below reflect the latest leave held prior to claiming asylum, including those who may have switched visa types after arrival:
- 36% (14,800) held a study visa
- 30% (12,200) held a work visa
- 22% (8,900) held a visitor visa
- 13% held other forms of leave, including Electronic Travel Authorisations (ETAs)
Figure 3 shows that asylum claims have increased across all main visa routes over the last three years. This trend reflects the strong growth in work and study visas across the same period. In the most recent 12 months, the number of asylum claimants who previously held a study visa (or were dependants of students) was equivalent to 3% of all study visas granted (including extensions) in that period, while those from work visa holders accounted for 1% of the total number of work visas issued.
While study visas have remained the most common visa to claim asylum on, claims have decreased in the latest year by 10%. This decline reflects the fall in the number of study visas issued in the latest year following restrictions on dependants that came into effect on 1 January 2024.
Figure 3: Number of people claiming asylum in the UK who entered on a visa or with other leave, by category of leave, years ending December 2018 to June 20251
Source: Asylum claims and initial decisions - Asy_D01a
Notes:
- ‘Other leave’ includes those entering on an ETA (Electronic Travel Authorisation) to visit the UK from 2024 onwards.
2. Who claims asylum in the UK?
The top 5 nationalities with the largest number of people claiming asylum (Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Eritrea and Bangladesh), together represented over a third (37%) of claimants in the latest year.
Figure 4: Top nationalities claiming asylum in the UK, years ending June 2015 to June 20251
Source: Asylum claims and initial decisions – Asy_D01
Notes:
- The figure shows the top 5 nationalities (Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Eritrea and Bangladesh) claiming asylum in the year ending June 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.
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 capture of Kabul by the Taliban in August 2021 and continue to remain high in the latest year. Since October 2021, 33,970 Afghans have claimed asylum in the UK with the majority of these claimants having arrived in the UK through irregular routes. A further 35,706 have been resettled through the Afghan Resettlement Programme.
Albanian claims similarly 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 has declined and returned to levels seen prior to this period. Albanian nationals only represented 2% of claimants in the latest year.
In contrast, Pakistan and Bangladesh have seen a more sustained increase in recent years with the majority of claimants previously arriving on a visa before claiming asylum, as shown in Figure 5. These nationalities, including India, have seen a large increase in work and study visas since 1 January 2021, when the UK left the EU and introduced changes to the immigration system.
Figure 5: Top 10 nationalities claiming asylum in the UK in the year ending June 2025, by route of entry to the UK
Source: Number of people claiming asylum, by nationality and route of entry to the UK – Asy_01d
More than three-fifths (62%) of people claiming asylum in the year ending June 2025 were adult males.
Table 1: Number of people claiming asylum in the UK, in the year ending June 2025, by age and sex
| Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|
| Aged 17 and under | 11,710 (11%) |
7,756 (7%) |
| Aged 18 and over | 68,341 (62%) |
23,241 (21%) |
Source: Asylum claims and initial decisions – Asy_D01
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 year ending June 2025, 3% of claims (3,553) 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. Over three-quarters (77%) of these children were aged 16 or 17.
A small percentage of asylum claims (2% in 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 and Montenegro. The most recent comparative data for the EU+ is available for the year ending March 2025.
In the year ending March 2025, there were 976,000 people claiming asylum in the EU+, 16% less than in the previous year (compared to a 17% increase in the UK over the same period).
The UK received a tenth of all asylum seekers across the UK and EU+ combined in the year ending March 2025.
Compared with other European countries, the UK received the fifth largest number of asylum seekers in the year ending March 2025 (109,343) and the seventeenth 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+, year ending March 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 | 218,550 (20%) |
Syria (31%) |
| Spain | 164,830 (15%) |
Venezuela (45%) |
| France | 159,260 (15%) |
Ukraine (10%) |
| Italy | 151,525 (14%) |
Bangladesh (21%) |
| United Kingdom | 109,343 (10%) |
Pakistan (10%) |
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 to the UK and the top 4 countries in the EU+, year ending March 2021 to year ending March 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 year ending March 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 June 2025
- Statistics on the UK asylum system, year ending June 2025
- Irregular migration to the UK statistics, year ending June 2025
- Migration transparency data
- Migrant journey: 2024 report
- Eurostat asylum statistics
- Asylum claims on the basis of sexual orientation, 2023
- How many people come to the UK via safe and legal (humanitarian) routes?
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