Accredited official statistics

How many people do we grant protection to? (second edition)

Updated 13 June 2024

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Data relates to year ending March 2024 and all comparisons are with year ending March 2023 (unless indicated otherwise).

An asylum application may relate to more than one person, if the main applicant has family members (‘dependants’) who are included in the same application. This release features data on both the number of asylum applications or initial decisions (‘main applicants only’), and the number of people related to asylum applications and initial decisions (‘main applicants and dependants’).

1. Overview of people offered protection

A total of 68,564 people were granted refugee status or other leave following an asylum application in the year ending March 2024. This is the highest number of people granted since records began (in 1984), due to the combination of a high grant rate and high volumes of decisions being made. Of these, there were:

• 62,941 people granted refugee permission
• 10 people granted temporary refugee permission
• 4,120 people granted humanitarian protection
• 1,493 people granted alternative forms of leave (such as discretionary leave, UASC leave)

A total of 95,685 people were offered a safe and legal (humanitarian) route to the UK in the year ending March 2024. This includes refugees resettled to the UK and family members of refugees, although the majority relate to individuals on the specific visa routes for Ukrainian nationals and British National Overseas (BNO) passport holders coming from Hong Kong. More information on safe and legal (humanitarian) routes can be found in ‘Safe and legal (humanitarian) routes to the UK’.

2. Asylum applications

There were 69,298 asylum applications in the UK in the year ending March 2024, 14% fewer than in year ending March 2023.

There were 69,298 asylum applications (relating to 86,719 people) in the UK in the year ending March 2024. This is 14% lower than the number of applications in the year ending March 2023 (80,452 applications, relating to 99,388 people) and 18% lower than the previous peak in 2002 (84,132 applications).

Figure 1: Asylum applications lodged in the UK, years ending March 2002 to March 2024¹

Source: Asylum applications, initial decisions and resettlement – Asy_D01

Notes:

1. Main applicants only.

There were 3,285 applications from unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) in the year ending March 2024, 40% less than in the year ending March 2023. UASC applications made up 5% of total asylum applications to the UK in the year ending March 2024, compared to 7% in the year ending March 2023.

2.1 Asylum applications by nationality

The decrease in applications is largely accounted for by an 80% drop in Albanian applicants.

In the year ending March 2023, there were 14,347 Albanian applications, linked to the high volumes of Albanian small boat arrivals in summer of 2022. The number of Albanian small boat arrivals has fallen substantially in the latest year, and asylum applications from Albanians have therefore decreased as well (to 2,836) meaning that this nationality has now dropped out of the top ten most common nationalities for asylum applications.

Several other common nationalities also saw a decrease in claims in the latest year, including Afghanistan (down 22% to 7,669), Iran (down 29% to 5,769), and Bangladesh (down 14% to 3,384).

However, some other nationalities showed an increase over the period, including Pakistan (up 72% to 4,480) and Turkey (up 78% to 3,730). Applications from Vietnamese nationals trebled, from 1,046 in year ending March 2023 to 3,219 in year ending March 2024.

Figure 2: Top 10 nationalities claiming asylum in the UK, years ending March 2022 to 2024, and grant rate at initial decision (%), year ending March 2024^{1, 2}

Source: Asylum applications, initial decisions and resettlement – Asy_D01 and Asy_D02

Notes:

1. Top 10 nationalities in the year ending March 2024 (excluding stateless); main applicants only.
2. The percentages in the chart are the grant rate at initial decision for each nationality in the year ending March 2024. Grant rate is the proportion of initial decisions which resulted in a grant of protection or other leave.

2.2 Asylum applications by route of entry to the UK

Asylum seekers use a variety of routes to travel to the UK, including:

• arrival on a legal visa route, i.e. with valid leave to enter

• arrival on regular routes, but using fraudulent documents

• arrival via clandestine (irregular) routes, such as small boats, lorries or shipping containers

• arrival through the common travel area without valid permission to enter

Some asylum seekers claim asylum immediately upon arrival to the UK; others may have been present in the UK some time prior to making an asylum claim. For example, arrivals on legal visa routes may find during or at the end of their leave that they are unable to return to their country of origin and have reason to claim asylum in the UK. Internally matched data relating to visas and asylum claims shows that around 20% of people claiming asylum in 2023 had held another form of leave within seven days of lodging an asylum application.

The majority of small boat arrivals claim asylum, but small boat arrivals accounted for just 34% of the total number of people claiming asylum in the UK in the year ending March 2024. More detail on asylum claims from small boat arrivals is available in section 4 of the ‘Irregular migration to the UK, year ending March 2024’ release.

Please note that information on the route of arrival for asylum seekers is based on matching data records between differing systems. As with all data matching, some cases may not be correctly matched.

3. Asylum applications awaiting an initial decision

At the end of March 2024, there were 86,460 cases awaiting an initial decision, 35% fewer than at the end of March 2023.

At the end of March 2024, there were 86,460 cases (relating to 118,329 people) awaiting an initial decision. This was 35% fewer than a year earlier (when there were 133,607 applications, relating to 172,758 people).

The latest decrease in the number of applications awaiting initial decision is the first consecutive quarterly reduction since the end of September 2015 and is mainly due to an increase in decisions. During the second half of 2023, initial decisions increased, due to a combination of factors including the increase in the number of asylum decision makers employed by the Home Office, and an increase in decision maker productivity. Productivity levels have been influenced by several changes introduced to speed up asylum processing, including simplified guidance, shorter focused interviews, and streamlining initiatives (including the Streamlined Asylum Process, which seeks to accelerate the processing of manifestly well-founded asylum claims and, where possible, allow positive decisions to be taken without the need for a substantive interview).

The Nationality and Borders Act 2022 (NABA) came into force on 28 June 2022 and divided the asylum caseload between ‘legacy’ (asylum applications raised before 28 June 2022) and ‘flow’ cases (asylum applications raised on or after 28 June 2022) to ensure that cases which had spent a long time awaiting a decision were prioritised.

Between December 2022 and March 2024, the legacy backlog decreased by 97% (from 88,440 to 2,353). The remaining 2,353 legacy cases have been assessed as complex, requiring additional checks or investigation for a final decision to be made.

Due to the continuing high number of new applications, the number of flow cases increased by 92% between the end of December 2022 and the end of March 2024, to 84,107. In the latest quarter, the number of flow cases awaiting a decision has fallen 8% to 84,107 due to a shift in focus from reducing the legacy backlog to processing newer claims.

Figure 3: Number of applications awaiting an initial decision, as at 30 June 2022 to as at 31 March 2024^{1, 2, 3}

Source: Asylum and resettlement summary tables – Asy_10a

Notes:

1. Includes main applicants only.
2. Figures include the number of people awaiting a decision at the end of the period, rather than the total throughout the period.
3. ‘Legacy asylum cases’ refers to asylum applications made before 28 June 2022, and ‘Flow asylum cases’ refers to applications made on or after 28 June 2022. The flow cases are split into three cohorts: applications made on or after 28 June 2022 and before 7 March 2023 are reported as ‘Nationality and Borders Act’ cases; Applications made on or after 7 March 2023 and before 21 July 2023 as ‘Illegal Migration Bill’ cases; and applications made after 20 July 2023 as ‘Illegal Migration Act’ cases. Please note this is an indicative measure of the number of cases subject to each Act or Bill using date of application and not a legal definition; policy will be applied based on date of arrival in the UK, which is not reported in this release and may differ from date of application.

In addition to those awaiting an initial decision, the asylum casework system includes cases who have appealed their initial decision and await an outcome, as well as failed asylum seekers who are subject to removal from the UK.

The latest data available (for the end of June 2023) shows a total of 215,518 cases as ‘work in progress’ in the asylum system as a whole.

Data on the total number of outstanding cases in the asylum system (‘asylum work in progress’), asylum decision makers, processing times and productivity is published in the ‘Immigration and Protection’ data of the Migration Transparency Data collection. For more information, see section 5.1 below.

4. Support provided to asylum seekers

People in the asylum system who are destitute receive support from the UK Government. This could be the provision of accommodation, subsistence (cash support) or both, overseen by the Home Office.

At the end of March 2024, there were 104,517 individuals in receipt of asylum support, of which 34% were in hotel accommodation.

At the end of March 2024, there were 104,517 individuals in receipt of asylum support, 6% fewer than at the end of December 2023 and 7% fewer than at the end of March 2023. Of these:

• 35,686 (34%) were in hotel accommodation, down 22% from 45,768 at the end of December
• 65,201 (62%) were in other accommodation, including contingency and dispersal, up 7% from 60,714 at the end of December
• 3,630 (3%) were in receipt of subsistence support only, down 22% from 4,650 at the end of December

Data on asylum seekers on support by local authority area is also published and can be found at Asylum seekers in receipt of support by local authority – Asy_D11.

5. Outcomes of asylum applications

5.1 Initial decisions

In the year ending March 2024, there were 87,535 decisions made, over 4 times more than in the previous year.

In the year ending March 2024, there were 87,535 initial decisions made on asylum applications, over 4 times more initial decisions than in the year ending March 2023 and the most in a year since the year ending June 2002. The increase in decisions is linked to more asylum decision makers and increased productivity; see section 3 for more detail.

In addition, in the year ending March 2024, there were 24,384 withdrawn asylum applications, more than double the number in the year ending March 2023 (when there were 9,971). Seventy-eight per cent of withdrawals in year ending March 2024 were implicit withdrawals – made by the Home Office rather than the applicant – which can occur for a number of reasons, including where someone has already left the UK before their claim was concluded, where they fail to attend their asylum interview, or fail to maintain contact with the Home Office.

5.2 Grants of refugee status and other protection

The asylum grant rate relates to cases receiving an initial decision in the year ending March 2024. However, these applications may have been made in an earlier period. Therefore, the latest grant rate may not necessarily be indicative of the outcomes for claims made most recently.

The data on grants in this section include only those granted at initial decision following an asylum application. There will be additional people who receive a grant of protection following an appeal against the initial decision on their application. See section 3.2 of the year ending March 2023 ‘How many people do we grant protection to?’ chapter for the most recent analysis of asylum appeals and their outcomes.

Sixty-two per cent of the initial decisions in year ending March 2024 were grants – a lower proportion than the 74% granted in year ending March 2023.

Just over three-fifths (62%) of the initial decisions in year ending March 2024 were grants of refugee status, humanitarian protection or alternative forms of leave. This is lower than the previous year (74%), but higher than in the years immediately prior to COVID-19 when between a third and a half of applications were successful at initial decision.

As a result of the high grant rate over the last year and the increase in decisions, the number of people granted (68,564) is the highest in a 12-month period since records began in 1984.

Figure 4: Outcomes and grant rate per quarter, 2018 Q1 to 2024 Q1^{1, 2, 3}

Source: Asylum applications, initial decisions and resettlement – Asy_D02

Notes:

1. Main applicants only.
2. Outcomes refer to initial decisions (grants and refusals) and withdrawals. The date relates to when the outcome was issued.
3. Grant rate is shown as a percentage on a secondary axis. Grant rate is the proportion of initial decisions which resulted in a grant of protection or other leave. Excludes withdrawals.

The overall grant rate can vary for a number of reasons, including the mix of nationalities applying for asylum, and the protection needs of those who claim asylum in the UK. It is also affected by operational resourcing and policy decisions, such as changes to the types of cases prioritised for decisions. The Home Office guidance on caseworking prioritisation is published on gov.uk.

The grant rate in the latest quarter (January to March 2024) was 43% - lower than the 2 previous quarters (60% and 80% respectively). This may be linked to the fact that the majority of cases issued with a decision in the latest quarter would be subject to the Nationality and Borders Act 2022, under which claims are considered under a higher standard of proof, which may result in fewer cases meeting the requirements for a grant.

Grant rates vary considerably by nationality as the protection needs of specific groups or individuals differ, usually depending on the situation in their home country. Currently, there are a large number of applications from individuals from countries with ongoing conflict. As shown in Figure 2, almost all applications from Afghan, Eritrean, Syrian and Sudan nationals are granted at initial decision, and a high proportion of Iranian (85%) nationals are granted also. In contrast, some other nationalities who claim asylum in significant numbers have much lower grant rates. India and Albania were the third and eighth most common nationalities applying for asylum but had grant rates of 8% and 9% respectively.

6. International asylum comparisons

The numbers published by Eurostat relate to the total numbers of individuals, so include dependants. The EU+ refers to the 27 countries in the EU, 3 additional countries who are members of the European Economic Area (EEA), Switzerland, and Montenegro. The latest available comparative data for the EU+ area relates to the year 2023.

In 2023, asylum applications in the EU+ increased by 18%, whilst in the UK they fell 16%.

In 2023, there were 1.17 million people claiming asylum in the EU+, an increase of 18% compared to the previous year (and compared to a 16% decrease in the UK).

Germany received the highest number of asylum applicants (351,470) in the EU+, followed by France (166,890), Spain (162,410) and Italy (135,865) (see figure 5).

When compared with other European countries, the UK received the fifth largest number of asylum seekers (84,425). This equates to 7% of the total asylum applicants across the EU+ and UK combined over that period, but the 20th largest intake when measured ‘per head of population’.

Figure 5: The number of asylum applicants to the UK and the top 4 countries in the EU+, year ending December 2019 to year ending December 2023^{1, 2}

Source: Eurostat Asylum statistics, and Asylum applications, initial decisions and resettlement – Asy_D01 and Asy_D02

Notes:

1. Top 4 countries in the EU+ receiving asylum applicants in the year ending December 2023.
2. Includes main applicants and dependants.

The EU+ and the UK received 47,547 applications from UASCs in 2023. The UK received the fifth largest intake of UASC applications in the EU+ and UK, with 3,412 applications in 2023 (7% of all UASC applications in the EU+ and UK). Germany received the highest number with 15,255 (32%) applications, the Netherlands was second with 5,780 (12%) and Austria third with 3,845 (11%) applications.

7. About these statistics

This section provides information on those applying for asylum in the UK. Information on those offered safe and legal (humanitarian) routes to come to the UK, including resettlement and family reunion visas can be found in ‘Safe and legal (humanitarian) routes to the UK’.

Further data relating to asylum and protection can be found in our data tables, and further details on the statistics can be found in the user guide.

7.1 Asylum applications and initial decisions

An asylum applicant (also referred to as ‘asylum seekers’) is someone who makes a claim to be recognised as a refugee under the ‘Refugee Convention’ and receive protection and assistance.

Data on asylum applications relates to the period in which the application was lodged, and initial decisions relate to the period in which the decision was made. Initial decisions may, therefore, relate to an application made in an earlier period, and thus the 2 are not directly comparable.

Data on initial decisions on asylum applications will not represent the total number of people granted refugee status or other protection as some initial decisions may be overturned following appeal. Data on the number of appeals lodged, and their outcomes, is published in ‘Asylum appeals lodged and determined – Asy_D06 and Asy_D07’. Asylum appeals data from April 2023 onwards was not available at the time of data extraction for this release due to ongoing work as immigration data transitions to a new case working system. Updated data will be included in a future edition of the Immigration system statistics release.

7.2 Support provided to asylum seekers

The data on support includes support provided under Section 95, Section 98 and Section 4. Further details on these types of support can be found in the user guide.

The data shows the number of people in receipt of support on a given day, but do not show the length of time for which someone receives support or the amount of support they receive.

7.3 Asylum claims considered inadmissible

Inadmissibility data for January to March 2024 was not available at the time of data extraction for this release due to ongoing work on the new system. Updated data will be included in a future edition of the Immigration system statistics release. The most recent available data, to December 2023, can be found in the previous release.

Data on transfers into and out of the UK under the Dublin Regulation (prior to the UK leaving the EU) is available in Dub_D01.

7.4 International comparisons

Eurostat asylum statistics can be used to compare asylum statistics with EU member states. Eurostat data is not directly comparable with other Home Office Immigration System Statistics data. Eurostat figures combine main applicants and dependants, and as such that is how comparative UK statistics are presented in this section. For a full list of differences between Eurostat and Home Office asylum statistics, see the user guide.

8. Data tables and further links

Data referred to here can be found in the following tables:

• Asylum and resettlement data tables

Further links:

• Irregular migration to the UK statistics
• Statistics relating to the Illegal Migration Act
• Migration transparency data
• Migrant journey: 2023 report
• Eurostat asylum statistics
• Asylum claims on the basis of sexual orientation, 2022
• Safe and legal (humanitarian) routes to the UK
• Afghan Resettlement Programme: Operational Data
• Ukraine Visa Schemes: visa data
• Hong Kong British Nationals (Overseas) route

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See section 6 of the ‘About this release’ section for more details.