Asylum in the UK

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

No, it does not. In the year ending March 2020, the UK received 35,099 asylum applications from main applicants only. This was 11% more than the previous year. Over the same period, asylum applications to other EU countries have also seen a slight increase. 

In the fourth quarter of 2019, the highest number of first-time asylum applicants was registered in Spain (with 35,400 first-time applicants, or 21 % of all first-time applicants in the EU Member States), followed by France (32,800 or 19 %), Germany (31,600 or 18 %) and Greece (28,000 or 16 %). These four Members States account for 74% of all first-time applicants in the EU-27. 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?

According to UNHCR statistics, at the end of 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?

Iran was the top nationality claiming asylum in the UK in the year ending March 2020.  

The top five countries of nationality for asylum applications were: Iran  (4,741), Albania  (3,467) , Iraq (2,696) and  Pakistan (1,848). 

(Source:  Immigration statistics, year ending March 2020) 

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). 

The Vulnerable Person Resettlement Scheme (VPRS) accounted for over three-quarters (4,030) of those resettled in the UK in the year ending March 2020. Since the Ggovernment announced the expansion of the scheme on 7th September 2015, including the target of resettling an additional 20,000 refugees under the scheme by 2020, 19,768 refugees have been resettled in the UK.  

In the year ending March 2020, a further 416 people were resettled under the Vulnerable Children Resettlement Scheme (VCRS).  

Of those resettled under the VPRS and VCRS in this year, 168 refugees were resettled under the Community Sponsorship scheme.  

Since the scheme began in July 2016, 449  refugees have been resettled by community sponsor groups. 

Find out more about resettlement  here. 

From 2020, once the 20,000 VPRS refugees have been resettled, the UK has announced plans to resettle around 5,000 of the world’s most vulnerable refugees in the first year of operation of a  new resettlement scheme. This new scheme will consolidate VPRS, VCRS and the Gateway Protection Programme into one global scheme.  

(Source:  Immigration statistics, year ending March 2020) 

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 March 2020, 7,482  Family reunion visas were issued to partners and children of those granted asylum or humanitarian protection in the UK (up 37%). 

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 March 2020, a total number of 23,075 individuals entered the detention estate. This is 5% fewer than the previous year. At the end of March 2020, there were a total number of 895 people held in the detention estate. This is recorded by the Home Office as being down from 1,637 at the end of December 2019, and less than half the number as at 31 March 2019 (1,839). These figures must be viewed in the context of the Covid-19 Pandemic.  

(Source:  Home Office)