PCoS is a non-political humanitarian charity guiding sanctuary seekers who find themselves in Portsmouth. Its not for us to comment on what brings them here or how, but to help them become positive, contributing members of society. In line with our vision and objects, we help them to get on their feet and integrate as soon as possible; it is not part of our remit to help people get a positive decision regarding their refugee status.
The following information about asylum is shared from the UK Government’s Immigration Statistics, the UNHCR, the Migration Observatory and the Refugee Council. (See relevant links below).
1. Allegations of asylum seekers arriving here illegally
There is no such thing as an ‘illegal’ or ‘bogus’ asylum seeker (Refugee Council). Under international law, anyone has the right to apply for asylum in any country that has signed the 1951 Convention and to remain there until the authorities have assessed their claim. The Convention has allowed people to claim asylum which has saved millions of lives, and no country has ever withdrawn from it.
The Convention recognises that people fleeing persecution may have to use irregular means to escape and claim asylum in another country – under UK immigration rules, there is no visa available to travel to the UK specifically to claim asylum.
According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), people fleeing persecution have the fundamental right to apply for asylum in any country they reach and cannot be penalised for illegal entry if they are coming directly from a territory where their life was threatened.
2. Situation in the UK
Up to March 2026, there were 76,714 applications for asylum in the UK, relating to 93,525 individuals (multiple people can be included in a single application), a 9% decrease from the previous 12 months. (Government Immigration statistics, year ending March 2026).
In the YE March 2026, there were 190,809 grants of leave on safe and legal (humanitarian) routes, allowing people to come to, or remain in, the UK. This was 2.5 times higher than in the YE March 2025, largely due to grants on the Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme which will have been granted to people on existing Ukraine schemes. (Government document ‘How many people come to the UK via safe and legal (humanitarian) routes?’).
Compared with other European countries, the UK received the fifth largest number of asylum seekers in the year ending June 2025 (109,142) and the fifteenth largest intake when measured ‘per head of population’.(Section 3. How does the UK compare with the EU+? in Government statistics ‘How many people claim asylum in the UK?’)
3. Low and middle-income countries look after most of the world’s refugees
Most people fleeing conflict and persecution remain near their country of origin. At the end of 2025, 65 per cent of refugees were hosted in neighbouring countries, consistent with previous years. Low- and middle-income countries continue to host the majority of the world’s refugees, hosting 68 per cent of refugees and other people in need of international protection.
Colombia, Germany, Türkiye, Uganda, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Chad and Pakistan hosted the largest populations of refugees and other people in need of international protection. (UNHCR).
4. Small Boats
Since 2018, 95% of the people arriving on a small boat have claimed asylum. Of the 178,845 small boat arrivals claiming asylum since 2018, almost three-quarters (74% or 132,894) had received a substantive decision on their claim. Of these, 79,589 were granted asylum or some other protection status and 53,305 were refused. (Government document ‘How many small boat arrivals have claimed asylum?’)
Around 36,000 people arrived by small boat in the year ending 31 May 2026, 13% less than in the same period the year before. Between 2018 and 2025, citizens of six countries – Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Albania, Syria, and Eritrea – made up 65% of people crossing in small boats. Between 2018 and 2025, the asylum grant rate for people who arrived by small boat was 62%, higher than the grant rate for asylum applicants overall.
A total of 162 people died in the Channel between 2018 and 2025. This rises to 257 when considering other deaths related to migration in the area, such as accidents involving people who try to board lorries bound for the UK. These figures may understate the true toll, as not all incidents are reported. People crossing the English Channel in small boats (Migration Observatory).
Latest Home Office statement in response to small boat crossings, June 2026.
5. Where people come from
Official immigration data confirms that Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Eritrea, and Bangladesh are the leading countries of origin for asylum claims in the UK. (Asylum Statistics, House of Commons Library 1 June 2026)
6. Children
It is not only adults and families who come to the UK seeking safety; unaccompanied children, some as young as under 14 years old, also seek protection in the UK.
In the year to March 2026, 3,627 applications from unaccompanied children were received—13% fewer than the previous year—making up 5% of total asylum applications.
Of the children whose claims were decided in the year to March 2026, 52% were granted asylum. A further 175 unaccompanied children received short-term leave to remain, which expires after 2.5 years, leaving them uncertain and anxious about their futures.
Iran was the top country of origin for applications from unaccompanied children in the past 12 months, followed by Sudan. (Refugee Council).
7. Successful claims
The UK asylum system is controlled and complex. It is tough for people seeking asylum to provide the evidence required for protection. Despite these challenges, many claims are successful.
Around 42% of asylum applications in the UK are granted at the initial decision stage. In recent years, annual grant rates have ranged from a peak of 73% in 2022 to just under half in more recent statistics. (Asylum Statistics, House of Commons Library 1 June 2026)
The Home Office take many months or years to decide on asylum cases. At the end of March 2026, there were 35,744 asylum cases (relating to 48,758 people) awaiting an initial decision from the Home Office. While this initial decision backlog has significantly decreased, the number of individuals awaiting an appeal outcome has reached a record high of nearly 87,500 cases. (Home Office, How many people are in the UK asylum system?)
8. Challenges in Family Reunion
Family unity is a human right, and states have a legal responsibility to put in place frameworks that enable family reunion. In addition to providing refugees a safe and regular route to reach family and safety, family reunion provides states with a managed and controlled pathway to welcome refugees.
Asylum seekers can face challenges in reuniting with family in the UK and the primary hurdles include strict income thresholds, logistical barriers for separated relatives abroad and severe impacts on mental health and integration. Refugee Family Reunion, UNHCR.
9. Asylum Support
Asylum seekers are not permitted to work or claim unemployment benefit in the UK. They survive on a basic allowance from the Home Office. (Asylum Support).
Weekly Allowance
Those housed in accommodation where meals are provided receive just £9.95 per week. If meals are not provided, the subsistence allowance is £49.18 per week.
Repayment Schemes
The government has introduced an immigration and asylum bill requiring successful asylum seekers to repay around £10,000 towards their living and accommodation costs once they begin earning above a set threshold. (Asylum seekers will pay towards costs of accommodation, June 2026.
10. People seeking asylum can be detained indefinitely
The UK Government has the power to detain people seeking refuge in our country. There is no maximum time limit in place for people held in immigration detention, meaning people are held indefinitely.
All EU and high-income English-speaking countries use immigration detention in the enforcement of immigration laws. Home Office guidance states that detention is required for maintaining effective immigration control. (Home Office policy and guidance).
Immigration detention is intended to facilitate immigration administration, rather than to punish individuals. However, detention is like being in prison, and the negative impacts of being detained are well-established in research. For example, a 2018 systematic review of the effects of immigration detention on mental health examined the findings from 26 studies in several countries across the world. It found that detainees experienced high levels of mental health problems such as anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
The latest statistics show that 22,586 people were detained in immigration removal centres during the year ending March 2026, including 13,354 people seeking asylum (a 10% increase on the previous year).
Children can be detained, and there were 44 occurrences of children (17 and under) entering immigration detention in the twelve months to March 2026, which includes three children under the age of four years old. (Refugee Council, Top Facts).
Photo by Neha Maheen Mahfin on Unsplash