How many people cross the Channel in small boats and how many claim asylum?
- Published
The government has announced measures to tackle people smuggling, including a new criminal offence of endangering the lives of others at sea.
Almost 37,000 people crossed the English Channel in small boats in 2024.
How many people cross the Channel in small boats?
As at 10 February 1,554 people had crossed the Channel since the start of 2025.
In 2024 as a whole, 36,816 were detected making the crossing.
The highest figures were for 2022, when 45,755 people arrived.
Since 2018, when figures were first recorded, more than 150,000 people have arrived in small boats.
Of those who arrived in 2024, more than 23,000 did so after Labour won the July 2024 general election.
The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill sets out Labour's plan to treat people smugglers like terrorists.
Suspects face travel bans, social-media blackouts and phone restrictions.
A new offence of endangering lives at sea will carry a jail term of up to five years.
And those convicted of acts in preparation for smuggling - such as buying boat parts - will face up to 14 years in prison.
Separately, the government has issued guidance saying anyone entering the UK by an irregular route - such as a small boat crossing - will normally be refused citizenship.
Previously, refugees who entered this way could apply for citizenship after 10 years.
The Refugee Council estimates at least 71,000 people will be affected.
How many people die crossing the Channel?
The International Organization for Migration (IOM), a UN agency, tracks the number of people who die attempting to cross the Channel, external.
The IOM estimates that at least 78 migrants died in 2024, making it the deadliest year on record. It says that at least 225 migrants have lost their lives attempting to cross since 2018.
Its figures include people who were travelling to a crossing point and died in other circumstances, such as car crashes or as a result of medical issues.
The Refugee Council said that government enforcement efforts have increased the dangers of crossings, with more people crammed into less seaworthy boats, external.
Who is crossing the Channel in small boats?
The latest figures - for the year to September 2024 - show that almost 5,000 Afghans crossed the Channel.
Iranians were the second largest group, followed by people from Syria, Vietnam and Eritrea.
Where recorded, more than 80% were male. About 40% were between 25 and 39 years old.
How many people seek asylum in the UK?
More than 99,700 people claimed asylum in the UK, external in the year ending September 2024, Home Office figures show.
Applications peaked at about 103,000 in 2002, as people fled conflicts in Afghanistan, Somalia and Iraq.
Claims then fell sharply, dropping to a 20-year low of 22,600 in 2010. However, numbers rose again throughout the 2010s, as refugees fled Syria.
Asylum applications have risen again in recent years, more than doubling from 45,318 in the year to September 2021 to 92,776 just one year later, followed by smaller increases since then.
Where do UK asylum seekers come from?
In the year to September 2024, the largest number of asylum seekers came from Pakistan, with more than 9,500 applications.
Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Syria, and India were among the other countries with most applications.
Ukrainian refugees who came to the UK after Russia's invasion of their country are not included in the figures.
As at 17 December 2024, 267,200 visas had been issued to Ukrainian refugees, external, who came through legal routes set up by the UK government.
There are separate arrangements for a few other specific groups, such as some Afghan refugees and Hong Kong citizens.
How many asylum cases are waiting to be processed?
Some people wait months or even years for their claims to be considered.
At the end of September 2024, there were 97,170 cases relating to 133,409 people awaiting an initial decision.
Former Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged to clear older claims by the end of 2023. However, 4,500 "complex cases" were still awaiting a decision at the end of December that year.
Almost 1,700 (1,669) of these cases were still unresolved in September 2024.
How many asylum seekers does the UK send back?
The Home Office can remove people with no legal right to stay in the UK, or refuse to let them enter.
In the year to the end of September 2024, 8,519 people who were not granted asylum were returned to their home country. , external
This is up 52% on the same period in 2023, mainly because of a rise in people being returned to Albania.
Between 2018 and September 2024, there were 4,420 returns of people who came to the UK in small boats - about 3% of arrivals.
How do UK small boat arrivals compare with those to Europe?
There were more than 180,000 arrivals by sea in Europe, external during 2024, with Italy receiving more than a third. Greece and Spain also received large numbers.
In 2023, there were 263,000 arrivals by sea in Europe.
How many people apply for asylum across Europe?
The UK had the fifth highest number of people claiming asylum in the EU and European Economic Area in the year ending June 2024.
Germany received the largest number, with 319,710 applicants.
Spain had the second highest number (163,755) followed by France (163,190) and Italy (158,560).
In 2023, the UK government made initial decisions on 93,303 asylum applications - including people attached to them such as children or other dependents - and granted more than two thirds of them (67%).
In the same period, Germany made 217,430 asylum decisions, and granted 62%.
France - a country with a similar-sized population to the UK - made 132,695 decisions, and granted 31% of them.