Britain Sets Record for Asylum Applications
The UK Home Office announced the record number of asylum applications filed in the past year.
Britain is the fifth country hosting the largest number of refugees in the European Union region, while the government continues to face pressure to reduce the backlog of pending asylum cases.
The UK Home Office released statistics recorded on Thursday, February 27, showing that 108,138 people filed for asylum in the country by the end of December 2024, representing an 18 percent increase compared to 2023 and nearly double the number of asylum applicants in 2021.
The UK Home Office stated regarding these figures that this number broke the previous record from 2002, and the increase in applications last year was due to a rise in small boats carrying asylum seekers into the country.
The number of such boats that entered Britain in 2024 was also 25 percent higher than in 2023. In the past year (2024), Britain sent a large number of smuggled asylum seekers to immigration detention centers, marking a 12 percent increase compared to previous years. The number of people forcibly deported to other countries saw a 28 percent increase, with Albanian nationals making up the largest proportion. More than 8,100 people were returned to other countries.
Despite returning asylum seekers to other countries and delays in processing asylum cases, more than 269,600 people obtained British nationality in 2024, representing a significant increase.
Angela Gill, Minister for Border Security and Asylum, while criticizing the previous government for an “ineffective asylum system,” said: “The Labour Party is facing a backlog of pending asylum cases. We are working to bring order to this system, but it will take time before we can regain control of the situation and make the system effective again. Many people want to come here, and many have entered the country on work and student visas and then filed for asylum. We need to take a stricter approach toward those whose visa validity has expired but who remain in the country.”
