How many people cross the Channel in small boats and how many claim asylum in the UK?
Getty ImagesPrime Minister Rishi Sunak says that "stopping the boats" coming to the UK is a key priority.
In 2023 small boat arrivals fell by more than a third compared to 2022 - but the total was still the second highest on record.
How many people cross the Channel in small boats?
As of 21 January, 621 people had crossed the English Channel in small boats in 2024.
In 2023, 29,437 people came to the UK this way.
That was a big drop from the 2022 total of 45,755, which was the highest number since figures began to be collected in 2018.
In total, more than 100,000 people have come to the UK by this route since 2020.
According to the International Organization for Migration estimates, at least 64 migrants are thought to have drowned in the English Channel since 2018.
How many people seek asylum in the UK?
More than 63,000 people claimed asylum in the first nine months of 2023.
In the whole of 2022, more than 89,000 people requested asylum. Small boat arrivals accounted for about 45% of those.
The number of annual applications - including dependants - peaked at about 103,000 in 2002, as people fled conflicts in Afghanistan, Somalia and Iraq.
Claims then fell sharply, dropping to a 20-year low of 22,600 in 2010.
However, numbers rose again throughout the 2010s, as refugees fled Syria.
Where do asylum seekers come from?
In the first nine months of 2023, the largest number of asylum seekers came from Afghanistan (7,001).
The next biggest group, with just over 5,200 applications, came from Iran, followed by India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
In 2022, Albanians were the top nationality: nearly 16,000 people, including dependants. Most (67%) arrived on small boats.
Ukrainian refugees who came to the UK after Russia's invasion of their country are not included in the figures.
There are two legal routes for Ukrainian refugees to come to the UK. As of 15 January 198,200 Ukrainians have arrived under these schemes
There are separate arrangements for a few other specific groups, such as Afghan refugees and some Hong Kong citizens.
How many asylum cases are waiting to be processed?
Some people wait several months or even years for their claims to be considered.
Delays in the UK system have created a backlog of more than 165,000 claims.
The prime minister pledged to clear older claims by the end of 2023, but 4,500 "complex cases" were still awaiting a decision at the end of the year.
As of September 2023, the majority of people in the backlog (75%) had been waiting more than six months for an initial decision.
People are not allowed to work while their claim is being processed, but after 12 months, they can apply for permission to do jobs on the UK shortage occupation list.
Many asylum seekers are housed in hotels, at an estimated cost of £8m a day.
There are currently about 300 asylum seekers on the Bibby Stockholm barge in Portland, Dorset. In December 2023 an asylum seeker died on board the barge.
The government has announced that several ex-military bases will also be used to house thousands of asylum seekers.
EPAThe Home Office has said that up to 500 people will be housed on the Bibby Stockholm barge.How many people does the UK send back?
The Home Office can remove people with no legal right to stay in the UK, or refuse to let them enter the country.
There were 5,284 returns of failed asylum seekers in the year ending September 2023, double the number in the previous 12 months.
The majority (69%) of returns in the period to September 2023 were voluntary, while 28% were forced.
A much smaller proportion of failed asylum seekers (3%) were refused entry at the UK border and then departed.
The increase from 2022 was mainly driven by larger numbers of Albanians being returned (2,749).
In December 2023, the Home Office revealed that only 408 non-Albanian small boat migrants have been returned to their home countries since 2020.
How do UK small boats arrivals compare with the EU's?
In 2023, there were 262,631 sea arrivals in the EU and 60% of them arrived in Italy (157,314).
Spain received 57,071 people and Greece 41,481.
In the first two weeks of 2024, another 3,191 people arrived in the EU via the sea.
The number of arrivals to the EU peaked in 2015, when more than a million people crossed its borders - the majority fleeing the Syria conflict.
How many people apply for asylum across Europe?
In 2022, the UK had the fifth highest number of asylum applications in Europe, behind Germany, France, Spain and Austria.
With 217,735 applications, Germany received a quarter of all first-time asylum applications within the EU.
France had the second highest number (137,510) followed by Spain (116,135) and Austria (106,380).
In 2022, the UK authorities made initial decisions on 18,699 asylum applications and granted 14,211 of them (76%).
In the same period, Germany made 197,540 asylum decisions, and granted more than 50%.
France - a country with a similar-sized population to the UK - made 129,735 decisions, and also granted more than 50%.
What is the difference between an asylum seeker and a migrant?
An asylum seeker is someone who has applied for protection in another country because they are fleeing persecution - or the fear of persecution.
If they are successful, they are granted leave to remain in the country where they sought refuge. If their application is refused, they can be removed.
A migrant refers to someone who has left their country of origin and has not claimed asylum. Some migrants leave their countries for work or study.
An illegal migrant is someone who entered the UK illegally (ie without a visa or prior permission) or someone who entered legally but remained in the country after their visa expired.
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