Asylum Support

This page presents data on asylum seekers in receipt of Home Office support in the UK from 2014 to 2025, including accommodation type breakdown, top nationalities, processing costs, and decision backlog. Data is sourced from the Home Office Immigration System Statistics and Migration Transparency Data.

Total People on Support #

Number of asylum seekers in receipt of Home Office support at the end of each quarter.

0 13,751 27,502 41,253 55,004 68,754 82,505 96,256 110,007 123,758 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 Asylum Seekers in Receipt of Support
Last sync:
Source:
GOV.UK | Asylum seekers in receipt of Home Office support detailed datasets
asylum-seekers-receipt-support-datasets-dec-2025.xlsx | (Data_Asy_D09)

Support Summary #

As of 2025 Q4, there were 107,003 asylum seekers in receipt of Home Office support.

Of these, 30,657 were accommodated in hotels (down from 36,273 in 2025 Q3). The peak was 56,018 in 2023 Q3, and total support peaked at 123,758 in 2023 Q3.

2014 Q4
36,223
2015 Q4
40,169
2016 Q4
45,152
2017 Q4
46,652
2018 Q4
50,426
2019 Q4
50,091
2020 Q4
64,041
2021 Q4
84,457
2022 Q4
110,171
2023 Q4
111,132
2024 Q4
112,187
2025 Q4
107,003

Asylum Processing Costs #

Total annual costs of asylum processing by financial year. Costs peaked at £5.38bn in 2023/24. The latest figure for 2024/25 is £4.76bn, down from £5.38bn.

£0m £1.1bn £2.2bn £3.2bn £4.3bn £5.4bn 10/11 11/12 12/13 13/14 14/15 15/16 16/17 17/18 18/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 22/23 23/24 24/25 Total Asylum Processing Costs
Last sync:
Source:
GOV.UK | Immigration and protection data (Migration transparency data)
immigration-and-protection-data-oct-dec-2025.xlsx | (ASY_04)

Decision Backlog #

Number of asylum cases awaiting an initial decision, broken down by waiting time. The backlog peaked at 138,134 in 2023 Q2 and has since fallen to 50,202 in 2025 Q4.

0 15,348 30,696 46,045 61,393 76,741 92,089 107,438 122,786 138,134 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 < 3 months 3-6 months 6-12 months 12+ months Asylum Decision Backlog by Waiting Time
Last sync:
Source:
GOV.UK | Immigration and protection data (Migration transparency data)
immigration-and-protection-data-oct-dec-2025.xlsx | (ASY_02)

Accommodation Breakdown #

Breakdown of asylum support by accommodation type over time. The data represents number of individuals, not number of properties. Hotels refers to contingency hotel accommodation. Contingency Other covers non-hotel contingency sites such as barges or former military bases. Dispersal is longer-term accommodation spread across the UK. Initial is short-term accommodation while claims are processed. Subsistence Only means financial support without accommodation.

0 13,737 27,473 41,210 54,946 68,683 82,419 96,156 109,892 123,629 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Hotels Contingency Other Dispersal Initial Subsistence Only Support by Accommodation Type
Last sync:
Source:
GOV.UK | Asylum seekers in receipt of Home Office support detailed datasets
asylum-seekers-receipt-support-datasets-dec-2025.xlsx | (Data_Asy_D09)

Top Nationalities - 2025 Q4 #

Top 15 nationalities of asylum seekers in receipt of Home Office support as of 2025 Q4. The data represents number of individuals.

# Nationality People % of Total
1 Iraq 12,818 12.0%
2 Afghanistan 11,361 10.6%
3 Iran 9,184 8.6%
4 Syria 6,860 6.4%
5 Pakistan 5,254 4.9%
6 Eritrea 5,187 4.8%
7 Somalia 4,423 4.1%
8 Albania 3,364 3.1%
9 Sudan 2,993 2.8%
10 Nigeria 2,968 2.8%
11 Turkey 2,691 2.5%
12 Bangladesh 2,369 2.2%
13 Ethiopia 2,298 2.1%
14 Vietnam 2,257 2.1%
15 Sri Lanka 2,227 2.1%