Asylum claims in the UK

Source: Home Office, series Asylum claims, main applicants and dependants (Asy_D01). Quarterly in Immigration system statistics, late February, May, August and November at 9:30am. Year ending June 2026 was published on 27 August 2026; year ending September 2026 is confirmed for 26 November 2026. Data file URLs change each quarter; the statistical data set page lists them

What it measures

An asylum claim is a request for protection under the Refugee Convention, made by someone who is already in the UK. This figure counts people, including both main applicants and their dependants, who claimed asylum in a rolling 12-month period. The Home Office also publishes the number of main applicants only, which is the number of cases it has to decide. A claim is the point of entry to the asylum system; grants, refusals, people awaiting a decision and people receiving support are separate figures in the same release.

How to read it

Check whether a figure counts people or main applicants, and whether it is a calendar year or another rolling year. Claims are not the same as arrivals: many small boat arrivals claim asylum, but so do people who arrived on visas, and the timing differs. In the year ending June 2026, 41% of claimants held a visa or other leave before claiming and 40% arrived by small boat. Claims are also different from grants of protection and from the number of people in asylum hotels. For international comparisons, use per-head figures for the same period from each country's official statistics.

Background

The Home Office series shows a peak of about 103,000 people claiming asylum in the year ending December 2002. Claims then generally ranged between 22,000 and 46,000 a year until 2021, before rising rapidly to a high of 109,662 in the year ending September 2025. In the year ending June 2026, 85,891 people claimed asylum, 21% fewer than a year earlier. Claims from small boat arrivals peaked at around 45,000 in the year ending September 2025.

Other parts of the UK

Home Office: asylum seekers in receipt of support by local authority (detailed dataset) · Home Office: immigration system statistics data tables (all UK)

How many people claimed asylum in the UK in the last year?

In the year ending June 2026, 85,891 people claimed asylum in the UK, including dependants, according to Home Office statistics published on 27 August 2026. That was 21% fewer than in the previous year. The next quarterly figures are due on 26 November 2026.

How many asylum seekers are in the UK?

The Home Office does not publish a single stock figure for all asylum seekers. It reports people awaiting an initial decision, people with appeals, and people receiving asylum support, including those in hotels. Each of these counts something different, so quote the measure and the date.

How do people who claim asylum arrive in the UK?

In the year ending June 2026, 40% of asylum seekers arrived by small boat, 41% held a visa or other leave before claiming, 12% entered clandestinely or without valid permission in other ways, and 8% came by other or unmatched routes, according to the Home Office.

Can you apply for asylum from outside the UK?

No. Under UK rules a person must be in the UK to claim asylum. People outside the UK may be resettled through the UK's safe and legal humanitarian routes, which the Home Office reports separately in the same immigration statistics release.

Was the 2002 asylum peak higher than recent years?

The Home Office says claims reached about 103,000 people in the year ending December 2002 and then a higher figure of 109,662 in the year ending September 2025. Both figures include dependants.

Related questions

• How many asylum applications does the UK receive?
• How many asylum seekers are in hotels?
• How many small boats crossed the Channel today?
• How many people are deported or removed from the UK?
• What is net migration to the UK?

More on this source: Home Office statistics (immigration, borders and policing)