Asylum Claims

This page presents data on asylum claims, decisions, and support in the UK from 2010 to 2025. Data is sourced from the Home Office Immigration System Statistics.

Asylum Claims #

Number of people claiming asylum by year.

0 11,640 23,281 34,921 46,562 58,202 69,843 81,483 93,124 104,764 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Brexit Fri, 31 Jan 2020 Keir Starmer Fri, 5 Jul 2024 Rishi Sunak Tue, 25 Oct 2022 - Fri, 5 Jul 2024 Liz Truss Tue, 6 Sep 2022 - Tue, 25 Oct 2022 Boris Johnson Wed, 24 Jul 2019 - Tue, 6 Sep 2022 Theresa May Wed, 13 Jul 2016 - Wed, 24 Jul 2019 David Cameron | - Wed, 13 Jul 2016 People Claiming Asylum
Last sync:
Source:
GOV.UK | Asylum summary tables
asylum-summary-dec-2025.ods | (Asy_00a)

Initial Decisions #

Number of individual grants of protection and refusals at initial decision.

0 15,017 30,034 45,050 60,067 75,084 90,101 105,117 120,134 135,151 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Grants: 294,113 Refusals: 352,466 Initial Decisions: Grants & Refusals
Last sync:
Source:
GOV.UK | Asylum summary tables
asylum-summary-dec-2025.ods | (Asy_00a)

Asylum Claims - Summary #

A total of 819,887 people have claimed asylum from 2010 to 2025.

The grant rate at initial decision in 2025 was 42.1%. There were 107,003 asylum seekers in receipt of support , of which 30,657 were accommodated in hotels.

2010
22,644
2011
25,898
2012
27,978
2013
29,875
2014
32,344
2015
39,968
2016
39,357
2017
34,435
2018
38,483
2019
45,537
2020
37,603
2021
57,942
2022
95,007
2023
87,427
2024
104,764
2025
100,625

Asylum Claims - By Age #

Breakdown of asylum claimants by age group, including main applicants and unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC).

0 11,640 23,281 34,921 46,562 58,202 69,843 81,483 93,124 104,764 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Under 14 14 - 15 16 - 17 18+ Claims by Age Group
Last sync:
Source:
GOV.UK | Asylum summary tables
asylum-summary-dec-2025.ods | (Asy_01a)

Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASC) #

Number of UASC claiming asylum by year.

2010
1,513
2011
1,248
2012
1,125
2013
1,265
2014
1,945
2015
3,253
2016
3,290
2017
2,399
2018
3,063
2019
3,775
2020
2,705
2021
4,380
2022
6,295
2023
4,921
2024
4,584
2025
3,598

Asylum Claims - By Nationality #

Number of people claiming asylum by nationality.

2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 Ukraine Yemen Brazil Ethiopia Somalia Turkey China Vietnam Sri Lanka Nigeria India Syria Sudan Bangladesh Eritrea Iraq Albania Afghanistan Pakistan Iran Other 2010-2025: 819,887 1.5K 1.8K 2.4K 2.1K 4.8K 1.9K 1.5K 2.4K 2.2K 2.9K 5.8K 2K 5.9K 6.2K 8.9K 2.4K 1.8K 6.5K 11K 7.4K 20K 924 1.7K 2.6K 940 1.3K 2.8K 1.6K 5.1K 2.8K 2.8K 5.3K 6.4K 4.7K 7.2K 4.9K 3.1K 2.6K 8.1K 11K 7.7K 22K 154 397 2.2K 609 672 4.2K 1.5K 2.4K 2.1K 1.4K 5.3K 3.8K 3.4K 5.2K 3.9K 4.1K 4.4K 9.3K 5.7K 7.3K 19K 952 711 694 868 592 2.2K 1K 1K 1.3K 1.3K 3.4K 4.6K 3.2K 4.5K 3.4K 6.6K 17K 11K 3K 9.3K 19K 124 505 149 860 698 809 631 1.9K 377 1.1K 1.2K 3.7K 2.3K 1.1K 4.9K 7.6K 5.5K 3K 1.3K 10K 9.9K 121 594 204 350 315 831 878 1.1K 428 1.1K 1.1K 1.8K 2.2K 903 2.7K 3.3K 3.5K 1.6K 1.6K 4.2K 9K 199 360 208 346 369 1.3K 1.5K 1.6K 765 1.5K 2K 1.4K 1.8K 1.4K 1.9K 4K 4.2K 2.2K 2.6K 5.5K 10K 290 256 70 526 337 805 1.2K 1.3K 618 1.4K 1.7K 921 1.8K 1.5K 2.2K 3.7K 2.6K 2.1K 2.6K 4K 8.6K 207 180 34 469 338 513 1.1K 1.2K 960 1.7K 1.8K 786 1.8K 2K 1.1K 3.4K 1.9K 2K 3.2K 3.1K 6.8K 139 100 42 362 404 428 1K 822 1.3K 1.9K 2.1K 1.6K 1.4K 2.3K 1.3K 3.7K 1.9K 3.1K 3.8K 4.8K 7K 258 146 23 769 437 254 766 620 1.4K 1.6K 1.3K 2.8K 3K 1.3K 3.8K 2.6K 2K 2.9K 3.4K 3.7K 6.9K 282 104 21 267 412 296 1.1K 400 1.7K 1.5K 922 2.4K 1.6K 919 3.3K 911 2K 1.8K 4K 2.5K 6K 74 63 24 172 520 267 1.1K 466 2.3K 1.5K 1.1K 2K 834 1.2K 1.4K 450 1.6K 1.5K 4.6K 3K 5.8K 57 77 24 153 678 200 970 416 2.1K 1.5K 1.2K 1.3K 740 1.2K 768 423 1K 1.2K 4.9K 3.2K 5.9K 48 64 46 127 660 181 1K 347 2.1K 1.1K 615 508 793 671 827 377 439 1.5K 4K 3.1K 7.3K 53 48 49 104 679 176 1.4K 467 1.6K 1.1K 610 160 643 501 772 496 219 1.8K 2.2K 2.2K 7.3K Yearly Claims by Nationality
Last sync:
Source:
GOV.UK | Asylum summary tables
asylum-summary-dec-2025.ods | (Asy_01b)
Nationality 2010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 Total
Other
7,296
7,340
5,890
5,750
6,002
6,903
6,978
6,815
8,596
10,425
8,982
9,946
18,900
19,445
21,528
19,649
170,445
Iran
2,224
3,051
3,162
2,967
2,499
3,716
4,837
3,094
4,003
5,490
4,161
10,136
9,293
7,265
7,673
7,419
80,990
Pakistan
2,151
4,005
4,867
4,576
3,976
3,365
3,774
3,193
2,625
2,617
1,583
1,293
2,970
5,719
10,549
10,638
67,901
Afghanistan
1,843
1,529
1,242
1,456
1,753
2,852
3,115
1,962
2,103
2,165
1,595
3,047
10,781
9,290
8,099
6,462
59,294
Albania
219
439
1,017
1,641
1,972
1,998
1,884
1,858
2,609
4,233
3,526
5,479
16,800
4,427
2,607
1,816
52,525
Iraq
496
377
423
450
911
2,648
3,734
3,356
3,660
4,008
3,343
7,648
6,567
4,105
3,127
2,370
47,223
Eritrea
772
827
768
1,431
3,291
3,756
1,265
1,127
2,208
1,937
2,662
4,947
3,416
3,906
4,901
8,948
46,162
Bangladesh
501
671
1,169
1,246
919
1,320
2,256
2,004
1,463
1,375
903
1,104
4,483
5,191
7,225
6,247
38,077
Sudan
643
793
740
834
1,615
3,018
1,445
1,842
1,786
1,785
2,164
2,334
3,153
3,376
4,699
5,869
36,096
Syria
160
508
1,289
2,020
2,353
2,794
1,569
786
921
1,390
1,754
3,706
4,609
3,787
6,435
1,959
36,040
India
610
615
1,195
1,111
922
1,324
2,054
1,821
1,685
1,953
1,053
1,195
3,369
5,324
5,284
5,751
35,266
Nigeria
1,149
1,105
1,498
1,450
1,519
1,590
1,894
1,664
1,415
1,476
1,103
1,072
1,343
1,428
2,840
2,904
25,450
Sri Lanka
1,635
2,142
2,143
2,278
1,715
1,411
1,251
960
618
765
428
377
1,272
2,064
2,795
2,243
24,097
Vietnam
467
347
416
466
400
620
822
1,154
1,278
1,610
1,053
1,882
1,024
2,362
5,098
2,428
21,427
China
1,369
1,023
970
1,079
1,115
766
1,004
1,058
1,229
1,535
878
631
1,017
1,540
1,622
1,471
18,307
Turkey
176
181
200
267
296
254
428
513
805
1,291
831
809
2,193
4,208
2,848
1,883
17,183
Somalia
679
660
678
520
412
437
404
338
337
369
315
698
592
672
1,347
4,777
13,235
Ethiopia
104
127
153
172
267
769
362
469
526
346
350
860
868
609
940
2,096
9,018
Brazil
49
46
24
24
21
23
42
34
70
208
204
149
694
2,158
2,555
2,416
8,717
Yemen
48
64
77
63
104
146
100
180
256
360
594
505
711
397
1,668
1,776
7,049
Ukraine
53
48
57
74
282
258
139
207
290
199
121
124
952
154
924
1,503
5,385

Asylum Claims - By Route of Entry #

Number of individual asylum claims by route of entry to the UK. Small Boat refers to crossings via the English Channel. Clandestine refers to those who entered hidden in vehicles, lorries, or trains. No Documentation covers those who arrived without valid travel documents. Visas & Leave includes those who entered on a visa or with other leave and later claimed asylum.

0 4,585 9,169 13,754 18,339 22,923 27,508 32,093 36,677 41,262 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Small Boat Clandestine No Documentation Visas & Leave Other Claims by Route of Entry
Last sync:
Source:
GOV.UK | Asylum summary tables
asylum-summary-dec-2025.ods | (Asy_01c)

Asylum Decisions - Grants of Protection #

Number of individual grants of protection by type, including resettlement arrivals. Refugee Permission is granted to those who meet the criteria of the 1951 Refugee Convention. Humanitarian Protection is for those who don't qualify as refugees but face serious harm if returned. Discretionary Leave is granted outside the immigration rules, often for compassionate reasons. Resettlement arrivals are refugees brought to the UK directly from conflict regions through official programmes.

0 7,169 14,337 21,506 28,674 35,843 43,011 50,180 57,348 64,517 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Refugee Permission Humanitarian Protection Discretionary Leave Resettlement arrivals Grants of Protection by Type
Last sync:
Source:
GOV.UK | Asylum summary tables
asylum-summary-dec-2025.ods | (Asy_02a)

Asylum Overview - Full Data #

Complete overview of asylum statistics by year.

Category 2010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025
People claiming asylum
22,644
25,898
27,978
29,875
32,344
39,968
39,357
34,435
38,483
45,537
37,603
57,942
95,007
87,427
104,764
100,625
People receiving initial decisions
26,452
22,794
21,859
22,556
25,883
38,147
31,011
27,850
28,969
28,575
18,477
17,866
22,790
91,556
86,643
135,151
Grants of protection or other leave
6,444
7,184
7,797
8,638
10,101
13,945
9,944
8,564
10,097
15,080
8,973
12,953
17,274
61,478
40,754
54,887
Refusals
20,008
15,610
14,062
13,918
15,782
24,202
21,067
19,286
18,872
13,495
9,504
4,913
5,516
30,078
45,889
80,264
Withdrawals
3,059
2,608
2,302
2,555
2,515
3,162
3,218
3,417
3,516
3,563
2,737
2,692
4,582
25,011
20,147
18,353
Grant rate at initial decision
25.7%
32.5%
36.1%
37.7%
41.2%
39.9%
34.0%
31.9%
32.9%
52.0%
46.3%
72.2%
75.9%
67.2%
47.3%
42.1%
People awaiting an initial decision
7,240
8,857
12,816
18,172
22,898
22,147
27,857
29,522
35,855
51,228
64,895
100,564
160,919
128,786
124,802
64,426
Cases awaiting an initial decision
5,978
6,800
9,871
13,628
17,067
18,111
21,475
22,234
27,256
40,032
51,321
81,978
132,182
95,252
90,686
48,723
Appeals lodged
13,928
9,986
8,197
8,519
8,241
14,242
12,333
11,134
11,340
9,091
4,850
4,081
3,815
0
0
0
Appeal decisions
14,090
9,918
7,680
7,759
5,839
8,771
11,965
13,697
11,119
9,017
3,387
3,332
3,251
0
0
0
Appeal success rate
28.6%
28.0%
28.7%
26.8%
30.1%
37.2%
42.2%
37.0%
40.1%
44.3%
43.9%
49.0%
51.5%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
Asylum seekers in receipt of support
22,689
21,856
21,249
29,487
36,223
40,169
45,152
46,652
50,426
50,091
64,041
84,457
110,171
111,132
112,187
107,003
Of which accommodated in hotels
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
45,753
45,744
38,054
30,657
Asylum-related returns
10,563
10,374
9,026
8,928
6,865
5,696
5,116
5,149
3,971
3,167
1,565
1,566
2,825
6,513
9,430
11,631
Enforced
6,771
6,289
5,804
6,455
4,866
3,513
2,978
3,001
2,122
1,364
512
346
579
1,992
2,636
3,432
Voluntary
3,792
4,085
3,222
2,473
1,999
2,183
2,138
2,148
1,849
1,803
1,053
1,220
2,246
4,521
6,794
8,199