Returns from the UK and illegal working activity since 5 July 2024
Published 15 December 2024
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Returns from the UK and illegal working activity since 5 July
This note provides an overview of the number of people who have been returned from the UK, and the ongoing effort to tackle the illegal employment and exploitation of vulnerable people in the UK, since early July.
Between 5 July and 7 December 2024, a total of 13,460 returns were recorded (including both enforced and voluntary returns). Of which, there were 3,690 enforced returns of people with no legal right to remain in the UK. This compares with 2,960 enforced returns over the same period in 2023, an increase of 25%.
Of the total returns, 2,110 were of foreign national offenders (FNOs), this is an increase of 21% compared to 1,740 FNO returns in the same period of 2023 (FNO returns include both enforced and voluntary returns).
Within the FNO returns, there have been 1,195 early removal scheme (ERS) returns, which is a 34% increase compared to 890 in the same period in 2023.
From 5 July to 12 December there have been 33 charter flights for returns, four more than in the same period in 2023 (29).
The number of illegal working visits has increased by 32% and arrests have gone up by around 27% since 5 July 2024 (up to 7 December), compared to the same period last year. There were 3,100 visits from 5 July to 7 December 2023 with 2,270 arrests, while 5 July to 7 December 2024 saw 4,100 visits with 3,100 arrests.
Revisions to the statistics
Definitions and further data on enforcement visits and outcomes since 2019 were reported in Additional statistics relating to Illegal Migration (April 2024).
The data on returns is subject to upward revision. This is because some individuals who have been told to leave the UK will not notify the Home Office of their departure from the UK. In such cases, it can take some time for the Home Office to become aware of such a departure and update the system. As a result, data for more recent periods will initially undercount the total number of returns and will increase as additional cases are retrospectively recorded. ‘Other verified returns’ (a subset of voluntary returns) are particularly affected by this. For this reason, comparisons of more recent periods to earlier periods should be made with caution.
The data and statistics contained within this notice are provisional and taken from live operational systems on 11 December 2024 and as a result, figures are subject to further revision and change. The Home Office will publish comprehensive statistics on immigration enforcement activity, including the number of returns between July and December 2024, in the next Immigration system statistics quarterly release on 27 February 2025.