Immigration, small boats and asylum: your questions answered
Net migration, small boat crossings, asylum claims, hotels, visas and returns: the official UK figures.
How many small boats crossed the Channel today?
The Home Office publishes the number of people detected crossing the English Channel in small boats every day, with the number of boats, on GOV.UK. The page covers the last seven days and links to a time series going back to 2018.
Full answer, with the latest figure and past values →
Related: How many asylum applications does the UK receive? · What is net migration to the UK?
What is net migration to the UK?
Net migration is the number of people moving to the UK for at least a year minus the number leaving. The ONS publishes the official estimate twice a year, in May and November, in its long-term international migration release.
How many asylum seekers are in hotels?
The Home Office reports the number of people receiving asylum support, including how many are in contingency accommodation such as hotels, in its quarterly immigration system statistics. Local authority breakdowns are in the asylum support tables.
How many people are deported or removed from the UK?
The Home Office's quarterly statistics report "returns": enforced returns, voluntary returns and port returns, plus returns of foreign national offenders. The term "deportation" has a narrow legal meaning; most people leaving are counted as returns.
How many asylum applications does the UK receive?
The Home Office's quarterly immigration system statistics report asylum claims, initial decisions, grant rates, appeals and the number of cases awaiting a decision. Detailed tables break these down by nationality, age and sex.
Full answer, with the latest figure and past values →
Related: How many asylum seekers are in hotels? · How many small boats crossed the Channel today?
Source guides for this topic
- Higher education and student finance statistics (HESA, Student Loans Company, Office for Students and DfE)
- UK population and vital statistics (ONS, National Records of Scotland and NISRA)
- Home Office statistics (immigration, borders and policing)
- UK Statistics Authority and Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR)
These answers say where official figures are published and how they are defined. They give no verdict on any claim. To report an error, send a correction request.