Accredited official statistics

How many people claim asylum in the UK?

Published 27 November 2025

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-system-statistics-year-ending-september-2025/how-many-people-claim-asylum-in-the-uk

Back to ‘Immigration system statistics, year ending September 2025’ contents page.

Data relates to the year ending September 2025 and all comparisons are with the year ending September 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?’.

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 110,051 people claimed asylum in the UK in the year ending September 2025, which was 13% more than in the previous year and 7% 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 September 20251

Source: Asylum claims and initial decisions - Asy_D01

Notes:

  1. Includes main applicants and dependants.

Figure 1 shows that the number of people claiming asylum in the UK previously peaked 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?

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 ‘Irregular migration 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 on legal routes 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.

Over half (52%) of asylum seekers in the latest year arrived in the UK through irregular routes, typically on small boats.

Figure 2 shows that, while claims from all types of irregular routes remain lower than their peak in 2022, claims from small boat arrivals are at a record high in the latest year.

In the year ending September 2025:

  • 41% (45,183) of asylum seekers arrived on a small boat
  • 11% (12,176) entered through other irregular routes (for example, in lorries or shipping containers, or without relevant documentation)
  • 38% (41,461) 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)
  • 10% 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, years ending December 2018 to September 20251

Source: Asylum claims and initial decisions - Asy_D01a

Notes:

  1. Claims from those who entered on a visa or other leave include those entering on an ETA.

Of the 41,461 asylum claimants who had entered the UK on a visa or other form of leave:

  • 34% (14,243) held a study visa
  • 32% (13,427) held a work visa
  • 20% (8,258) held a visitor visa
  • 13% 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 category of leave, years ending December 2018 to September 20251

Source: Asylum claims and initial decisions - Asy_D01a

Notes:

  1. Figures reflect the latest leave held prior to claiming asylum, including those who may have switched visa types after arrival.
  2. ‘Other leave’ includes those entering on an ETA.

Figure 3 shows that asylum claims from people who had originally entered on a visa have risen in all the 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 same period, while similarly 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 route giving rise to claims for asylum, student-based claims decreased in the latest year by 13%. This decline follows the fall in the number of study visas issued following restrictions on dependants that came into effect on 1 January 2024.

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 almost 2 of every 5 claimants (39%) in the year ending September 2025.

Figure 4: Top nationalities claiming asylum in the UK, years ending September 2015 to September 20251

Source: Asylum claims and initial decisions – Asy_D01

Notes:

  1. The figure shows the top 5 nationalities (Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Eritrea and Bangladesh) claiming asylum in the year ending September 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, 34,655 Afghans have claimed asylum in the UK with the majority of these claimants having arrived in the UK through irregular routes. A further 36,133 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 this period. Albanian nationals only represented 2% of claimants in the latest year.

In contrast, Pakistan and Bangladesh have seen more of a sustained increase in recent years with the majority of claimants from both countries arriving on a visa before claiming asylum, as shown in Figure 5. These nationalities, including India, have also seen a large increase in work and study visas since 1 January 2021, following changes to the immigration system.

Figure 5: Top 10 nationalities claiming asylum in the UK in the year ending September 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:

  1. ‘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 year ending September 2025 were adult males.

Table 1: Number of people claiming asylum in the UK, in the year ending September 2025, by age and sex

Male Female
Aged 17 and under 11,321
(10%)		 7,196
(7%)
Aged 18 and over 68,303
(62%)		 23,210
(21%)

Source: Asylum claims and initial decisions – Asy_D01

Of the 18,517 children that claimed asylum in the latest year, 66% (12,214) were under 14, 10% (1,828) were either 14 or 15, and a further 24% (4,475) 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 year ending September 2025, 4% of claims (3,861) 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. Almost four-fifths (79%) 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 June 2025.

In the year ending June 2025, there were 907,935 people claiming asylum in the EU+, 22% fewer than in the previous year. This contrasts with a 15% increase in the UK over the same period.

The UK received 11% of all asylum seekers across the UK and EU+ combined in the year ending June 2025.

Compared with other European countries, the UK received the fifth largest number of asylum seekers in the year ending June 2025 (109,142) 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+, year ending June 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 190,125
(19%)		 Syria
(29%)
France 158,525
(16%)		 Ukraine
(9%)
Spain 155,915
(15%)		 Venezuela
(50%)
Italy 137,270
(13%)		 Bangladesh
(21%)
United Kingdom 109,142
(11%)		 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 June 2021 to year ending June 20251, 2

Source: Eurostat Asylum statistics and Asylum claims and initial decisions – Asy_D01

Notes:

  1. Top 4 countries in the EU+ receiving asylum claimants in the year ending June 2025.
  2. Includes main applicants and dependants.

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

Further links:

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