Asylum in the UK

Does the UK have more asylum-seekers than most countries?

No it does not. In the year June 2018 - June 2019, the UK received 32,693 applications from main applicants, 21% more than the previous year. Over the same period, asylum applications to other EU countries have also seen a slight increase.

The highest total number of first-time asylum applicants in the year ending March 2019 was registered in Germany (with 157,875 first-time applicants, or 26% of all applicants in the EU Member States), followed by France (113,625, or 19 %), Spain (69,735, or 12%), Greece (67,970, or 11%), Italy (42,825, or 7%), and the United Kingdom (39,840, or 7%). These six Member States together account for 82% of all first-time applicants in the EU-28. These figures include all asylum applicants, not just main applicants (i.e. including children and other dependents).

World-wide around 84% of all refugees live in developing regions not in wealthy industrialised countries.

(Source: Home Office, EuroStat)

How many refugees are there in the UK?

The UK offered protection – in the form of grants of asylum, alternative forms of protection and resettlement – to 18,519 people in the year June 2018 - June 2019 (up 29% compared with the previous year). Of these, 25% (or 4,563) were children.

According to UNHCR statistics, in 2018 there were 126,720 refugees, 45,244​ pending asylum cases and 125 stateless persons in the UK.

The vast majority of refugees – 4 out of 5 – stay in their region of displacement, and consequently are hosted by developing countries. Turkey now hosts the highest number of refugees with 3.7 million, followed by Pakistan with 1.4 million.

(Source: Home Office, UNHCR 2018 Global Trends Report)

Where do asylum-seekers in the UK come from?

In the year June 2018 - June 2019, the largest number of asylum applications came from nationals of Iran. The top five countries of nationality for asylum applications were: Iran (4,208), Iraq (3,180), Albania (2,801), Eritrea (2,239) and Pakistan (1,872).

(Source: Immigration statistics, year ending June 2019)

What is a bogus asylum-seeker?  

There is no such thing as a bogus asylum-seeker or an illegal asylum-seeker. As an asylum-seeker, a person has entered into a legal process of refugee status determination. Everybody has a right to seek asylum in another country. People who don't qualify for protection as refugees will not receive refugee status and may be deported, but just because someone doesn't receive refugee status doesn't mean they are a bogus asylum-seeker. 

Let us remember that a bogus asylum-seeker is not equivalent to a criminal; and that an unsuccessful asylum application is not equivalent to a bogus one - Kofi Annan

What benefits do asylum-seekers receive in the UK?

The majority of asylum-seekers do not have the right to work in the United Kingdom and so must rely on state support.

Housing is provided, but asylum-seekers cannot choose where it is, and it is often ‘hard to let’ properties which Council tenants do not want to live in.

Cash support is available, and is currently set at £37.75 per person, per week, which makes it £5.39 a day for food, sanitation and clothing.

(Source: Home Office)

How many refugees have been resettled to the UK?

Resettlement is the transfer of refugees from a country where they have initially sought asylum - often in the same region as their country of origin - to a third state which has agreed to admit them. It is a life-changing durable solution for refugees whose life, liberty, health, or human rights are at risk in their country of refuge, or for whom relocating to another country is their only hope of being reunited with their family. 

Refugees can be resettled to the UK via the Gateway Protection Programme, the Mandate Scheme, the Vulnerable Children Resettlement Scheme (VCRS), or the Syrian Vulnerable Person's Resettlement Scheme (VPRS). 

In the year ending June 2019, 5,691 people were resettled in the UK, (roughly the same number as the previous year), including 4,200 under the VPRS and 742 under the VCRS.

Of those resettled under the VPRS and VCRS in the year ending June 2019, 202 refugees were resettled in the UK through the Community Sponsorship scheme. Since the scheme began in July 2016, 344 refugees have been resettled by community sponsor groups.

Find out more about resettlement here.

(Source: Immigration statistics, year ending June 2019)

What is subsidiary or humanitarian protection?

Subsidiary protection can be given to people who do not meet the 1951 Convention’s legal definition of a refugee but are still in need of international protection.

Across the EU, the Qualification Directive provides subsidiary protection for those facing the following threats if returned to their country: (1) the death penalty or execution; (2) torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; or (3) threats from an international or internal armed conflict.

The UK uses the legal term humanitarian protection to meet this Directive. Applicants can also be given 'discretionary leave to remain', a form of temporary permission which is unlikely to be more than three years.

Can refugees reunite with their families in the UK?

Yes. In certain circumstances refugees in the UK are permitted to reunite with family members who are living elsewhere.

In the year ending June 2019, 5,993 Family reunion visas were issued to partners and children of those granted asylum or humanitarian protection in the UK (up 2%).

However, current rules are restrictive for refugees applying to reunite with family members in the UK. This is due to a narrow definition of who qualifies as a family member, restrictions on refugee children being able to reunite with their parents, and a lack of legal support for refugee family reunion applications. 

Find out more about the #FamiliesTogether campaign

Are there any asylum-seekers or refugees in detention in the UK?

In the year ending June 2019, a total number of 24,052 individuals entered the detention estate, of which 13,262 had at some point claimed asylum. This is 8% fewer than the previous year. At the end of June 2019, there were a total number of 1,727 people held in the detention estate (including 294 people detained under Immigration Act powers within the Prison estate). This is recorded by the Home Office as being 22% less than the previous comparable year.

(Source: Home Office)