Citoyen
  • Home
  • Feed
  • Countries
  • Categories
  • Comparison
  • Rankings
  • Briefings
  • Deep dives
  • Reform tracker
  • Calendar
  • Sources
  • About
  1. United Kingdom
  2. ›
  3. Immigration & integration

Small boats, hotels, visas: immigration in the United Kingdom in figures

Prime Minister since 20 July 2026, Andy Burnham has toughened his line on immigration and border control. Channel crossings, asylum claims, hotel accommodation, visas, returns and net migration: what the Home Office and the ONS publish.

Citoyen·Data as of Nov 12, 2026

Scope: United Kingdom. Home Office official statistics (small boat arrivals, asylum, visas, returns) and ONS provisional estimates (long-term international migration). Complete periods only.

This dossier is updated at least once a quarter with the new figures. Follow it to get a notification at each update.

Key points

Small boat arrivals since January22,128Jan. 2026 – Oct. 2026, against 36,954 a year earlier
Net migration171,000year 2025, ONS provisional estimate
Asylum seekers housed in hotels16,021end of Q2 2026, against 56,018 at the peak
Asylum claims in twelve months85,891Q3 2025 – Q2 2026, down 21% over a year
  • Channel crossings are falling in 2026. 22,128 people arrived by small boat from January to October (Jan. 2026 – Oct. 2026), 40% fewer than over the same months of 2025 (36,954). The year 2025 counted 41,472 arrivals, after the 2022 record (45,755).
  • Ever more crowded boats: 62 people per boat on average in 2025, against 11 in 2019.
  • Net migration has shrunk. According to the ONS provisional estimate, it stands at 171,000 in 2025, 81% below the 2022 peak (891,000): 813,000 long-term arrivals for 642,000 departures.
  • Asylum is ebbing after the 2024 record. 85,891 people claimed asylum in the twelve months to June 2026, after 104,764 in 2024, the highest in a series that starts in 2001. Claims awaiting an initial decision went from 175,457 (Q2 2023) to 40,168 (Q2 2026).
  • Hotels are emptying. 16,021 asylum seekers were housed in hotels at the end of Q2 2026, 71% fewer than at the Q3 2023 peak (56,018); they make up 17% of the 93,293 people supported.
How to read these figures

Small boat arrivals are provisional Home Office operational data: people detected on arrival on the coast or intercepted in the Channel and brought ashore. Citoyen adds up the daily counts by complete month. Asylum claims count people (main applicants and dependants); the backlog counts claims without an initial decision at the end of each quarter; accommodation counts the asylum seekers supported by the Home Office at the same date, the « hotel » category existing only since the end of 2022.

Net migration is an ONS estimate: arrivals minus departures of people who change their country of residence for at least a year. The methods are « in development » and recent years provisional, so they may be revised. Visas count entry clearance visas issued, short visits included; enforced returns count removals and other departures from detention, separate from voluntary returns.

1. Channel crossings

Almost non-existent before 2019, small boat arrivals have counted in tens of thousands every year since 2021, with strong seasonality: crossings are concentrated in the months of good weather.

People arriving by small boat, each month

Sum of the Home Office daily counts, complete months. Latest month: Oct. 2026, 2,932.

Source:Home Office

Show the chart data
PeriodArrivals
Jan. 20187
Feb. 20180
Mar. 20180
Apr. 20180
May 20180
Jun. 20184
Jul. 20180
Aug. 201810
Sep. 20187
Oct. 201823
Nov. 2018110
Dec. 2018138
Jan. 201945
Feb. 201988
Mar. 201966
Apr. 201980
May 2019150
Jun. 2019163
Jul. 2019195
Aug. 2019342
Sep. 2019210
Oct. 201975
Nov. 2019151
Dec. 2019278
Jan. 202094
Feb. 2020183
Mar. 2020188
Apr. 2020558
May 2020743
Jun. 2020727
Jul. 20201,111
Aug. 20201,470
Sep. 20201,946
Oct. 2020472
Nov. 2020761
Dec. 2020209
Jan. 2021224
Feb. 2021308
Mar. 2021831
Apr. 2021750
May 20211,627
Jun. 20212,177
Jul. 20213,512
Aug. 20213,053
Sep. 20214,602
Oct. 20212,701
Nov. 20216,971
Dec. 20211,770
Jan. 20221,339
Feb. 2022143
Mar. 20223,066
Apr. 20222,143
May 20222,916
Jun. 20223,140
Jul. 20223,687
Aug. 20228,631
Sep. 20227,964
Oct. 20226,900
Nov. 20224,082
Dec. 20221,744
Jan. 20231,180
Feb. 20231,773
Mar. 2023840
Apr. 20232,153
May 20231,664
Jun. 20233,823
Jul. 20233,299
Aug. 20235,369
Sep. 20234,729
Oct. 20231,869
Nov. 20231,661
Dec. 20231,077
Jan. 20241,335
Feb. 2024920
Mar. 20243,180
Apr. 20242,132
May 20242,881
Jun. 20243,041
Jul. 20243,414
Aug. 20244,149
Sep. 20244,192
Oct. 20245,417
Nov. 20242,901
Dec. 20243,254
Jan. 20251,098
Feb. 2025958
Mar. 20254,586
Apr. 20254,432
May 20253,738
Jun. 20255,170
Jul. 20255,454
Aug. 20253,567
Sep. 20255,084
Oct. 20252,867
Nov. 20252,338
Dec. 20252,180
Jan. 2026933
Feb. 20261,276
Mar. 20262,232
Apr. 20261,975
May 20262,726
Jun. 20262,742
Jul. 20262,316
Aug. 20262,313
Sep. 20262,683
Oct. 20262,932

Small boat arrivals by calendar year

Complete years. Provisional operational data, subject to small revisions.

Source:Home Office

Show the chart data
PeriodArrivals
2018299
20191,843
20208,462
202128,526
202245,755
202329,437
202436,816
202541,472

2. Net migration

After the post-Brexit peak, driven by work and study visas and the humanitarian schemes (Hong Kong, Ukraine), long-term arrivals have fallen sharply since 2023 while departures remain higher than in 2022: net migration has dropped below its 2010s levels.

Long-term immigration, emigration and net migration

Calendar years, all nationalities. ONS estimates; the latest year is provisional.

  • Net migration
  • Emigration
  • Immigration

Source:Office for National Statistics

Show the chart data
PeriodImmigrationEmigrationNet migration
2012643,000448,000195,000
2013713,000469,000244,000
2014778,000494,000284,000
2015797,000494,000303,000
2016772,000523,000249,000
2017752,000544,000208,000
2018825,000549,000276,000
2019788,000605,000184,000
2020662,000569,00093,000
2021947,000480,000467,000
20221,398,000508,000891,000
20231,441,000593,000848,000
20241,012,000680,000331,000
2025813,000642,000171,000

Entry clearance visas issued, by purpose

Visas issued by the Home Office, short visits included. In 2025: 260,430 work visas and 427,340 study visas.

  • Other
  • Visit
  • Family
  • Study
  • Work

Source:Home Office

Show the chart data
PeriodWorkStudyFamilyVisitOther
2010160,724334,73552,3611,517,54079,261
2011149,310323,27645,0411,682,84874,942
2012145,110278,10040,2311,694,53770,784
2013154,760296,22633,1331,938,80873,561
2014167,146293,64834,8521,878,55174,366
2015165,900272,91937,7111,913,77478,043
2016163,922294,45437,7811,902,72880,088
2017164,943330,10140,1232,095,58477,116
2018175,812354,87843,6202,239,63988,046
2019192,559404,41055,6432,413,461105,566
2020114,528250,12137,087500,59659,312
2021239,193435,11042,182401,977181,483
2022421,565623,69847,1191,396,161335,153
2023613,627604,25380,0831,954,981134,508
2024368,139418,93285,1612,159,54095,700
2025260,430427,34065,9712,239,58272,243

3. Asylum: claims, waiting, accommodation

The number of asylum claims reached a record in 2024. The stock of claims awaiting an initial decision has fallen sharply since 2023, as has the number of asylum seekers housed in hotels.

People claiming asylum, by year

Main applicants and dependants, complete years. In the twelve months to June 2026: 85,891.

Source:Home Office

Show the chart data
PeriodAsylum claims
200171,027
2002103,081
200360,047
200440,623
200530,841
200628,328
200728,300
200831,314
200930,673
201022,644
201125,898
201227,978
201329,875
201432,344
201539,968
201639,357
201734,435
201838,483
201945,537
202037,603
202157,942
202295,007
202387,427
2024104,764
2025101,911

People awaiting an initial decision

Stock at the end of the quarter, main applicants and dependants.

Source:Home Office

Show the chart data
PeriodAwaiting an initial decision
Q2 20109,441
Q3 20107,915
Q4 20107,240
Q1 20117,375
Q2 20117,527
Q3 20117,941
Q4 20118,857
Q1 20128,399
Q2 20129,188
Q3 201210,914
Q4 201212,816
Q1 201312,618
Q2 201313,124
Q3 201314,897
Q4 201318,172
Q1 201421,816
Q2 201423,725
Q3 201424,369
Q4 201422,898
Q1 201516,879
Q2 201516,163
Q3 201519,447
Q4 201522,147
Q1 201623,645
Q2 201625,736
Q3 201627,252
Q4 201627,857
Q1 201727,048
Q2 201727,709
Q3 201728,359
Q4 201729,522
Q1 201829,264
Q2 201829,984
Q3 201832,199
Q4 201835,855
Q1 201938,968
Q2 201940,960
Q3 201945,255
Q4 201951,228
Q1 202051,906
Q2 202054,073
Q3 202060,548
Q4 202064,895
Q1 202166,185
Q2 202170,905
Q3 202183,733
Q4 2021100,564
Q1 2022109,735
Q2 2022122,213
Q3 2022143,377
Q4 2022160,919
Q1 2023172,758
Q2 2023175,457
Q3 2023165,411
Q4 2023128,786
Q1 2024118,329
Q2 2024118,882
Q3 2024133,409
Q4 2024124,802
Q1 2025109,536
Q2 202590,812
Q3 202580,841
Q4 202564,426
Q1 202648,758
Q2 202640,168

Asylum seekers supported, by accommodation

People supported by the Home Office at the end of the quarter, since the « hotel » category was created (Q3 2023 = hotel peak).

  • Other
  • Subsistence only
  • Dispersal accommodation
  • Initial accommodation
  • Other contingency
  • Hotel

Source:Home Office

Show the chart data
PeriodHotelOther contingencyInitial accommodationDispersal accommodationSubsistence onlyOther
Q4 202245,7531,9671,65956,1434,6490
Q1 202347,4902,1161,65156,9794,0580
Q2 202350,5202,1391,97958,6364,1760
Q3 202356,0182,4511,96858,4444,748129
Q4 202345,7442,0341,39856,4894,650817
Q1 202434,4862,6651,53261,2513,630735
Q2 202429,5612,4821,88061,7784,353941
Q3 202435,6282,7511,70565,3122,843785
Q4 202438,0543,0241,75365,7073,122527
Q1 202532,3262,3381,74966,6833,087588
Q2 202532,0412,2731,66566,2343,209653
Q3 202536,2732,6511,85166,2323,5661,078
Q4 202530,6572,0101,57268,5383,577649
Q1 202620,8851,5431,51768,7193,866989
Q2 202616,0211,2551,61369,0384,2041,162

4. Returns

Enforced returns fell markedly from the mid-2000s to a low in 2021 (2,788); they have risen since: 9,908 in 2025. Voluntary returns remain more numerous.

Enforced and voluntary returns, by year

Complete years. In the twelve months to June 2026: 9,669 enforced returns.

  • Voluntary returns
  • Enforced returns

Source:Home Office

Show the chart data
PeriodEnforced returnsVoluntary returns
200421,4253,566
200520,8087,601
200619,37212,599
200713,87420,453
200813,43324,356
200912,50729,765
201013,92831,762
201114,56630,088
201215,13431,002
201314,85031,694
201413,54127,815
201512,92130,210
201611,90328,474
201711,74120,979
20189,23615,702
20197,19812,574
20203,3835,009
20212,7887,352
20223,80611,014
20236,36220,475
20248,17126,851
20259,90829,807

What we know, what we don’t

What the figures establish

  • Channel arrivals are down over the first ten months of 2026 compared with 2025.
  • Estimated net migration has fallen a long way since its 2022 peak.
  • The number of asylum seekers in hotels and the backlog of claims have fallen sharply since 2023.

What they don’t tell

  • The specific effect of government measures: these series do not measure the effect of migration policies, nor that of the weather or of controls on the French side.
  • The final level of recent net migration: the ONS estimates are provisional and have already been revised heavily.
  • The number of people present without leave to remain, which none of these series measures.

Stay up to date

This dossier is updated at least once a quarter with the new figures. Follow it to get a notification at each update.

Sources

Series downloaded from their producers on Nov 12, 2026, the snapshot date. Only published periods are used: no projection.

  • Home Office Migrants detected crossing the English Channel in small boats (time series)
  • Home Office Immigration system statistics: asylum claims, claims awaiting a decision, asylum support (detailed datasets)
  • Office for National Statistics Long-term international migration, provisional (Table 1)