How many people come to the UK irregularly?
Published 27 November 2025
© Crown copyright 2025
This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.
Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.
This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-system-statistics-year-ending-september-2025/how-many-people-come-to-the-uk-irregularly
Back to ‘Immigration system statistics, year ending September 2025’ content page.
Data relates to the year ending September 2025 and all comparisons are with the year ending September 2024 (unless indicated otherwise).
Additional information is provided in the ‘About the statistics’ section and in the user guide.
1. Irregular arrivals
Not all irregular arrivals 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 irregular arrivals to the UK increased in the latest year, due to an increase in small boat arrivals.
In the year ending September 2025, there were 51,249 detected irregular arrivals, 40% more than in the previous year, and 89% of these arrived on small boats. Small boats have been the predominant recorded entry method for irregular arrivals since 2020, when detections on this method increased rapidly and detections on other methods declined (likely in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic making other methods of entry, such as air or ferry, less viable). Small boat arrivals are also the most visible of the irregular 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, other irregular arrivals comprised of inadequately documented air arrivals (6% 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 3,300 and 5,200 each year since 2018, except for 2020 and 2021 when numbers were lower due to COVID-19 travel restrictions
- 2,123 people were detected irregularly within the UK, within 72 hours of arrival, in the year ending September 2025, three-quarters (75%) fewer than the recent peak of 8,492 in 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 2018 - detected arrivals in the year ending September 2025 (200) have decreased 81% over this 7-year period
Figure 1: Detections of irregular arrivals to the UK, by method of entry, January 2018 to September 2025
Source: Irregular migration to the UK detailed dataset, year ending September 2025 - Irr_D01
1.1. Nationalities and demographics of irregular arrivals
Since 2018, almost three-quarters (71%) of people detected arriving irregularly to the UK have been adult males aged 18 and over.
Just under one-fifth (18%) of detected irregular arrivals have been aged 17 and under.
Over half (56%) of detected irregular arrivals to the UK in the year ending September 2025 were from 5 nationalities (Eritreans, Afghans, Iranians, Sudanese and Somali).
The most common nationality detected irregularly arriving in the latest year were Eritreans (7,967 irregular arrivals), of whom 96% arrived on small boats (see Section 2.3).
Iranians were the most common nationality arriving inadequately documented by air (598 arrivals) and Sudanese nationals the most common nationality detected irregularly in the UK (370 detections). The most common nationality detected arriving irregularly at UK ports were Albanians (79 detections).
For most of the nationalities in Table 1, their most common irregular method of entry was on small boats, reflecting the dominance of that method as a route for irregular entry (see Section 2.3). However, for Georgian and Chinese nationals, the most common irregular 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 each irregular method of entry, in the year ending September 20251,2,3,4
| Small boat arrivals (% of total) | Inadequately documented air arrivals (% of total) | Recorded detections in the UK (% of total) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eritrea, 17% |
Iran, 18% |
Sudan, 17% |
|
| Afghanistan, 13% |
Georgia, 13% |
Iran, 15% |
|
| Iran, 11% |
Stateless, 12% |
Iraq, 14% |
|
| Sudan, 10% |
China, 9% |
Eritrea, 12% |
|
| Somalia, 8% |
Sri Lanka, 8% |
Ethiopia, 7% |
|
| Total | 44,721 | 3,267 | 2,123 |
Source: Irregular migration to the UK detailed dataset, year ending September 2025 - Irr_D01
Notes:
- The most common nationalities are those with the highest number of detected irregular arrivals for each separate method of entry in the year ending September 2025.
- Excludes small boat arrivals labelled as ‘Not currently recorded’, for whom information on nationality is not yet available.
- The nationality recorded as stateless includes those officially recognised as stateless, including those recognised as Kuwaiti Bidoon.
- The most common nationalities detected irregularly 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 Irr_D01 of the irregular migration 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 latest year and was close to the peak number of arrivals in 2022.
Small boat arrivals were relatively low from 2018 to 2020, with 10,608 arrivals in total across these 3 years. However, since 2021 there have been between 29,000 and 46,000 small boat arrivals each year, with the highest number of arrivals in 2022 (45,774). Whilst small boat arrivals decreased in 2023, small boat arrivals in the year ending September 2025 (45,659) were 53% more than in the year ending September 2024 and were close to the peak number in 2022.
The increase in arrivals in 2025 has coincided with an increase in the average number of people arriving per small boat. See Section 2.2 for more information on the number of small boats arriving to the UK and average number of people per boat. See Section 2.3 for how nationalities of small boat arrivals have changed in 2025. See Small boat activity in the English Channel - GOV.UK for the latest daily data on people arriving by small boat.
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: Yearly and quarterly numbers of small boat arrivals, year ending December 2018 to year ending September 2025
Source: Irregular migration to the UK detailed dataset, year ending September 2025 - Irr_D01
2.2. Number of boats and people per boat
The average number of people per 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 September 2025
Source: Irregular migration to the UK summary tables, year ending September 2025 - Irr_02a
The average number of people per small boat has increased each year since 2018, to 59 people per boat in the year ending September 2025, compared with 52 people per boat in the year ending September 2024 and 41 in 2022. The month of September 2025 saw an average of 71 people per boat, the highest monthly average on record. Consequently, the number of small boat arrivals in the year ending September 2025 was similar to the peak in 2022, despite there being 30% 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 the year ending September 2025 accounted for almost three-fifths of all small boat arrivals in that period.
Eritreans were the most common nationality arriving by small boat in the year ending September 2025, with 7,683 arrivals, more than triple the previous year and the highest 12 months recorded for Eritrean nationals to date (Figure 4).
Sudanese and Somali nationals arriving by small boat also increased in the year ending September 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 January to September 2025 (1,209 arrivals) was less than half that in the equivalent period of 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 the year ending September 2019, there were 20 different nationalities arriving by small boat compared to 74 different nationalities in 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 but reached 79 different nationalities in the year ending September 2025.
Notably, whilst Iranians alone accounted for just over two-thirds of small boat arrivals in the year ending September 2019, 7 different nationalities made up the same proportion of arrivals in the year ending September 2025.
Figure 4: Most common nationalities arriving on small boats, year ending December 2018 to year ending September 20251,2,3
Source: Irregular migration to the UK detailed dataset, year ending September 2025 - Irr_D01
Notes:
- The 5 most common nationalities of small boat arrivals in the year ending September 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.
- Excludes arrivals where information on nationality was not recorded in the dataset.
- The order of the legend matches the order of the lines, descending by volume of arrivals in the year ending September 2025.
3. Asylum claims from small boat arrivals
Since 2018, 95% of the people arriving in the UK on a small boat have claimed asylum, but small boat arrivals accounted for around two-fifths of the total number of people claiming asylum in the UK in the year ending September 2025.
Since 2018, just over three-fifths (63% or 108,181) of small boat arrivals claiming asylum had received a substantive decision (as of 1 October 2025). Of these, 68,269 were granted asylum or some other protection status and 39,912 were refused (source: Irregular migration to the UK detailed dataset, year ending September 2025 - Irr_D02 and Irr_D03).
The underlying data system on which this data is based is undergoing a process of change. As the department works through this transition, some data for the latest quarter is unavailable. As a result, figures for asylum claims from 2025 Q3 small boat arrivals (by arrival date) may be subject to revisions in future releases of the irregular migration detailed tables.
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 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 irregular migration 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 Irregular migration 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 Irregular Migration statistics were designated as ‘Official Statistics’ from February 2022. For more information, please see Section 11.5 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 irregularly. 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 irregular methods of entry. They do not include all those who enter the UK through irregular methods, nor the number of people currently present in the UK irregularly. 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 irregularly, 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 and their status subsequently becomes ‘irregular’ – 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 irregularly but obtain ‘regular’ 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 irregular migration. 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 irregularly 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’.
5. Data tables
Data referred to here can be found in the following tables:
We welcome your feedback
If you have any comments or suggestions for the development of this report, please provide feedback by emailing MigrationStatsEnquiries@homeoffice.gov.uk. Please include the words ‘PUBLICATION FEEDBACK’ in the subject of your email.
We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of our documents. If you find any problems or have any feedback relating to accessibility, please email us.
See Section 6 of the ‘About this release’ section for more details.