Record Asylum Applications Amid Backlog Reduction
The United Kingdom has recorded its highest number of asylum applications since current records began in 2001, with 110,051 people applying for asylum in the year to September 2025. This figure surpasses the previous peak of 109,142 recorded in the year to June and represents a 13% increase compared to the 97,091 applications made at the same point last year.
Progress and Emerging Challenges in the Asylum System
While the number of applications has climbed to a new record, the Home Office data reveals a significant reduction in the backlog of cases awaiting an initial decision. By the end of September 2025, the backlog stood at 80,841 people, a substantial decrease of 39% from the 133,409 people recorded in September 2024.
Waits for decisions have also lessened, with the number of people waiting longer than 12 months for an initial decision almost halving, falling from 48,131 in September 2024 to 24,856 in September 2025.
However, experts from the University of Oxford’s Migration Observatory warn that a new backlog is emerging within the appeals system. This shift is contributing to continued high numbers of people being temporarily housed in asylum hotels while they await the outcomes of their cases.
Senior researcher Peter Walsh commented: “While the Government has managed to reduce the main asylum backlog significantly, today’s data show just how hard it is to relieve pressure on the asylum system when applications remain high, and the appeals backlog continues to grow.”
Government Reforms and Political Reactions
The latest figures were published shortly after Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced a major overhaul of the asylum system. The reforms, modelled on Denmark's strict approach, aim to deter illegal immigration and simplify the deportation process.
Ms Mahmood told MPs that the UK's generous asylum offer compared to other European nations was an “uncomfortable truth” drawing people to its shores, creating a system that for taxpayers “feels out of control and unfair”.
The proposed changes include:
- Making refugee status temporary, subject to review every 30 months.
- Increasing the wait for permanent settlement from five years to up to 20 years.
- Removing the legal duty to provide asylum seeker support, making housing and weekly allowances discretionary.
On the Government's plans, Mr Walsh noted, “The impacts of these measures are very hard to predict, and in any case it will take some time for them to work their way through the system.”
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp criticised the record numbers, stating the figures “blow apart every claim Labour have made about getting control”. He described the situation as “an asylum system in freefall under a Labour government that is too weak to get a grip.”
Small Boat Returns and Safe Routes
In related developments, the Home Office confirmed that 153 migrants have been returned to France under a pilot returns deal that began in August. This agreement allows for individuals who arrive in the UK by small boat to be detained and returned to France, with an equivalent number of people coming to the UK via a safe and legal route.
So far, 134 people have arrived in the UK through this safe route. A recent returns flight to France also included a man who attempted to re-enter the UK by small boat on November 8, after having been deported on October 16. This follows a similar incident in October where a man was deported for a second time.
Border Security Minister Alex Norris said of the case: “In this case the system worked and this individual was detected by biometrics and detained instantly. He has now been removed again, having wasted his time and money.”
