Accredited official statistics

Summary of latest statistics

Published 27 August 2026

Back to ‘Immigration system statistics, year ending June 2026’ contents page

This Accredited Official Statistics publication provides comprehensive statistics on the operation of the UK immigration system.

The UK immigration system undertakes a wide range of activities including issuing visas to those outside of the UK, changes to visas, and grants of settlement and citizenship to those already in the UK. It also provides safe and legal (humanitarian) routes of entry, as well as granting asylum and carrying out enforcement action. Figure 1 illustrates the different aspects of the immigration system and provides the numbers of people dealt with by each in the year ending (YE) June 2026.

Figure 1: Summary of the UK immigration system, YE June 2026

Notes:

1. This diagram is a simplification and doesn’t include all parts of the immigration system, such as people crossing the border who do not require a visa, enforcement action to disrupt or prevent people from crossing the border illegally or those who have entered via an illegal route other than small boat arrivals. Data in different parts of the immigration system is not always comparable.
2. The EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) figure relates to grants of settled status, including the estimated figure for automated grants of settled status, in the YE June 2026.
3. Within the publication, the latest Refugee Family Reunion figures are referenced in both the Family and Safe and Legal (Humanitarian) sections. To avoid duplication, Refugee Family Reunion grants for the latest year ending are presented within the Family visas figure in Figure 1.

1. How many people come to the UK each year?

In the YE June 2026 there were 136.8 million arrivals to the UK. The majority (57%) were British nationals. Of the non-British arrivals, most will be short-term visitors, with smaller numbers arriving for other reasons such as to work, study, or to join family members.

• there were 2.2 million Visitor visas and 19,684 Transit visas granted in the YE June 2026
• in addition, 23.2 million Electronic Travel Authorisations (ETAs) were issued in the YE June 2026, which allow eligible individuals to visit the UK for short periods
• people also come to the UK for other reasons, such as work, study, join family members and for humanitarian reasons, and usually require an entry clearance visa – there were 727,000 visas issued for a non-visit reason in the latest year

Figure 2: Total numbers of visas granted in key categories and people detected entering via illegal routes, in the YE June 2026

Source: Entry clearance visa applications and outcomes - Vis_D02; Safe and legal (humanitarian) routes summary tables - Hum_01; Illegal entry routes to the UK - IER_D01

For further details see ‘How many people come to the UK each year?’.

2. Why do people come to the UK - Work?

• there were 235,000 work visas granted (including dependants) in the YE June 2026, 18% fewer than the previous year and 62% fewer than in the YE December 2023, when the number of work visas issued peaked
• this includes 120,000 ‘Worker’ visas issued in the latest year, 76% fewer than the peak in the YE December 2023; this fall was due to decreases in Health and Care Worker (primarily care workers) and Skilled Worker visas issued, down 90% and 48% respectively over this period
• the number of extensions granted on work routes remained broadly stable in the latest year at 731,000, following increases since 2021; the increases reflect the high number of entry clearance grants issued in 2022 and 2023, many of which are coming to an end and require an extension to remain in the UK

For further details see ‘Why do people come to the UK - Work?’.

3. Why do people come to the UK - Study?

• in the YE June 2026, there were 383,000 sponsored study visas grants, 11% less than the previous year, and 41% fewer than the peak in YE June 2023
• this fall in the latest year was due to fewer main applicants (down 12% to the previous year to 366,000), while dependants remained stable in the latest year
• the top 2 nationalities were China (86,000) and India (83,000), who accounted for 46% of sponsored study visas issued to main applicants

For further details see ‘Why do people come to the UK - Study?’.

4. Why do people come to the UK - Family?

• there were 58,000 Family visas granted in the YE June 2026, 19% fewer than in the YE June 2025
• the decline was largely driven by fewer Refugee Family Reunion grants following the temporary suspension of new applications from September 2025, alongside a continued fall in Partner visa grants
• there were 82,000 family-related extensions granted in the YE June 2026, a 46% increase compared with the YE June 2025; nearly all were under the Partner route, with the increase likely reflecting higher volumes of Partner visa holders and their dependants extending their stay in the UK

For further details see ‘Why do people come to the UK - Family?’.

5. How many people come to the UK via safe and legal (humanitarian) routes?

• there were 125,000 grants of leave on safe and legal (humanitarian) routes, allowing people to come to, or remain in, the UK in the YE June 2026; this was 12% lower than in the YE June 2025, largely due to fewer grants of Refugee Family Reunion visas and out-of-country British National (Overseas) visas, as well as fewer arrivals under the Afghan Resettlement Programme
• grants to those already in the country accounted for just over two-thirds of the total (87,000), with most (79,000) being on the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme
• there were 38,000 out-of-country grants, predominantly on Ukraine (41%) and Refugee Family Reunion (34%) routes; out-of-country grants were 29% fewer than the previous year

For further details see ‘How many people come to the UK via safe and legal (humanitarian) routes?’.

6. What is being done to stop organised immigration crime (OIC)?

• 3,900 disruptions to OIC (offences which have the effect of exploiting vulnerable migrants by smuggling them across borders for profit) were recorded in the YE June 2026, 48% higher than the previous year, continuing the recent upward trend
• this included almost 100 major disruptions in the YE June 2026, a 13% increase on the previous year
• moderate and minor disruptions increased by 73% and 45% respectively in the latest year

For further details see ‘What is being done to stop organised immigration crime?’.

7. Illegal entry routes

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

• there were 38,000 detected arrivals via illegal entry routes in the YE June 2026 - small boat arrivals accounted for 33,000 (88%) of these
• the number of small boat arrivals was 23% lower than the previous year, but remain broadly in line with the number of arrivals seen in YE June 2024 (31,000) and the YE June 2022 (35,000)
• the top 5 most common nationalities (Eritrean, Sudanese, Afghan, Somali and Iranian) arriving on small boats in the YE June 2026 accounted for two-thirds of all small boat arrivals in that period

For further details see ‘How many people come to the UK via illegal entry routes?’. For more recent data on daily small boat arrivals see ‘Small boat activity in the English Channel’.

8. Asylum claims, outcomes and system

Figure 3: Asylum claims, outcomes and people awaiting an initial decision, YE December 2003 to YE June 2026¹

Source: Asylum claims and decisions – Asy_D01, Asy_D02 and Asy_D03

Notes:

1. ‘Outcomes’ includes initial decisions (grants of protection, grants of other leave and refusals) and other outcomes (withdrawals and administrative outcomes).

8.1 How many people claim asylum in the UK?

• 86,000 people claimed asylum, in the YE June 2026, 21% less than the previous year, but remained above levels typically seen before 2021
• just over half of asylum seekers arrived through illegal entry routes, such as small boats, while a further 41% of claimants had previously held a visa or other leave
• in the YE March 2026, the UK received the fifth largest number of asylum seekers in the EU+, after Germany, France, Spain and Italy and the sixteenth largest intake when measured ‘per head of population’

For further details see ‘How many people claim asylum in the UK?’.

8.2 How many people are granted asylum in the UK?

• 116,000 people received initial decisions on their asylum claims in the YE June 2026, 2% more than the previous year and more than 4 times the annual average between 2010 and 2019
• the grant rate in the YE June 2026 was 38% and has now returned to a similar level to that observed in the 2010 to 2019 period, down from 48% in the previous year and substantially below the peak grant rate of 77% in the YE September 2022

For further details see ‘How many people are granted asylum in the UK?’.

8.3 How many people are in the UK asylum system?

• there were 40,000 people awaiting an initial decision (relating to 32,000 cases) at the end of June 2026, 56% fewer than at the end of June 2025 and 77% lower than the peak at the end of June 2023 (175,000 people), following an increase in the number of initial decisions in recent years
• at the end of June 2026 there were 93,000 individuals in receipt of asylum support, 12% lower than a year prior
• 16,000 supported asylum seekers (17%) were in hotel accommodation, 50% lower than a year earlier

For further details see ‘How many people are in the UK asylum system?’.

9. How many Indefinite Leave (Settlement and EUSS settled status) grants have been issued in the UK?

• 200,000 settlement grants were issued in the YE June 2026, 24% higher than in the YE June 2025 arrival volumes in 2020, due to COVID-19 disruption
• the increase was driven by more grants to individuals previously on work routes and those granted settlement after holding leave under the British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) route
• there were 336,000 grants of settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme in the YE June 2026, with volumes remaining broadly stable over the past 3 years; most grants continued to be issued to individuals previously holding pre-settled status

For further details see ‘How many Indefinite Leave (Settlement and EUSS settled status) grants were issued in the UK?’.

10. How many Citizenship grants have been issued in the UK?

• 246,000 British citizenship grants were issued in the YE June 2026, 4% lower than the YE June 2025; despite this decline, annual grant volumes remained high by comparison to historic volumes
• Indian and Pakistani nationals continued to account for the highest numbers of British citizenship grants, mainly through naturalisation, and consistent with longstanding settlement trends

For further details see ‘How many Citizenship grants have been issued in the UK?’.

11. How many people are detained under immigration powers in the UK?

• 22,000 entered detention in the YE June 2026, remaining similar to YE June 2025 (up 2%), following an upward trend since 2023; the increase in numbers entering detention over the last few years may reflect the use of detention to facilitate the rising number of returns from the UK
• there were 2,200 people being held in immigration detention at the end of June 2026, 19% more than on 30 June a year earlier, with nearly double the number of people detained in prisons under immigration powers

For further details see ‘How many people are detained under immigration powers in the UK?’.

12. How many people are returned from the UK?

• 41,000 returns were recorded in the YE June 2026 (including enforced and voluntary returns); this was an 8% increase on the 38,000 returns in the same period 12 months prior; of these:
  • 9,700 were enforced returns, an increase of 7% compared with the previous year, continuing an increase since 2021
  • 31,000 were voluntary returns, an increase of 9% compared with the previous year, driven by an increase in asylum-related returns and assisted returns
• there were 6,000 Foreign National Offender returns in the YE June 2026, an increase of 12% compared to the previous year

For further details see ‘How many people are returned from the UK?’.

13. Additional Home Office migration statistics

For more details on new statistics and breakdowns added to this release see section 2 of ‘About this release’.

The Home Office publishes a range of research and statistics which can be found on the migration analysis pages.

Details on the developments and future plans for Home Office ‘Immigration system statistics’ can be found in ‘Developments in migration statistics’.

13.1 Migration transparency

Figures on performance against service standards and processing times are published as part of the Home Office migration transparency. For further details see ‘Migration transparency data’.

13.2 Migrant journey

The Migrant journey report provides an analysis of the behaviour of migrants entering the UK immigration system under the main routes of entry to the UK and the common pathways leading to settlement. The Migrant journey report is published annually in May.

13.3 Monthly entry clearance visa applications

The Monthly entry clearance visa applications report contains the most up-to-date statistics on visa applications for people coming to the UK on work, study and family routes.

We welcome your feedback

If you have any comments or suggestions on this publication, please email MigrationStatsEnquiries@homeoffice.gov.uk. Please include the words ‘PUBLICATION FEEDBACK’ in the subject of your email.