Accredited official statistics

How many people do we grant protection to?

Published 23 February 2023

‘Immigration system statistics, year ending December 2022’ contents page.

This is not the latest release. View latest release.

Data relate to 2022 and all comparisons are with the calendar year 2019 (unless indicated otherwise), reflecting a comparison with the period prior to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Year ending comparisons that follow will include effects resulting from the restrictions in place during this period of the pandemic.

An asylum application may relate to more than one person. Such as, if the main applicant has family members (or ‘dependants’) which they request to be covered by 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’).

Small boat arrivals accounted for 45% of asylum applications in 2022. More information on asylum claims from small boat arrivals can be found in the ‘Irregular Migration to the UK statistics’ Home Office report.

The resettlement section of this release includes data on those under the Afghan schemes: Afghanistan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) and Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP). For simplicity, this release may use the term ‘resettlement’ when referring to the total number of individuals under both schemes. However, please note ARAP is not a resettlement scheme. Individuals under ACRS are resettled; individuals under ARAP are relocated.

1. People granted protection and other leave through asylum and resettlement routes

This section covers individuals offered ‘leave to remain in the UK’ via 3 routes:

• applying for asylum
• resettlement
• family reunion visas

The resettlement figures in this release include individuals resettled under ‘Pathway 1’ and ‘Pathway 2’ of the Afghanistan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS), and those relocated under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP), as well as other pre-existing resettlement schemes. Data on ACRS ‘Pathway 3’ will be included in future editions of ‘Immigration system statistics’ once people have been resettled via this pathway. For further information on ACRS and ARAP, see the Resettlement section below and About the Statistics.

The UK offered protection to 23,841 people (including dependants) in 2022 in the following forms:

• 16,649 were granted refugee permission following an asylum application
• 56 were granted temporary refugee permission
• 1,042 were granted humanitarian protection
• 302 were granted alternative forms of leave (such as discretionary leave, UASC leave)
• 5,792 were resettled to the UK through resettlement schemes

Additionally, 4,473 partners and children of refugees living in the UK were granted entry to the UK through family reunion visas. This is around a third (40%) fewer than the number in 2019, the year prior to the pandemic.

Figure 1 shows that the number of people granted protection following an application for asylum increased in 2015 and 2016 (during the ‘European migration crisis’), and again just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, after which applications fell substantially. Levels began to recover in 2021, and are now above the numbers seen in 2019.

For resettlement, the number of people resettled rose in 2015 to 2016 to around 5,000 per year after large numbers of Syrians were forced to leave their country, and remained around this level until March 2020, when resettlement activity was paused due to the pandemic. Resettlement numbers saw a peak in 2021 following the relocation and resettlement of many from Afghanistan following the fall of Kabul in August 2021.

The number of people offered protection in 2022 is 24% lower than 2021 (31,448 people), due to high numbers coming through the Afghan routes (ACRS and ARAP) in 2021. However, the number offered protection in 2022 is still 15% higher than in 2019 before the pandemic (when 20,692 people were offered protection).

Figure 1. People granted refugee status and other protection, resettlement and family reunion visas in the UK, 2013 to 2022^1,2,3,4

Source: Asylum applications, initial decisions and resettlement – Asy_D02

Notes:

1. ‘Grants of refugee status and other protection’ are grants that resulted from an asylum application. These include grants of refugee status and other grants where the individual does not meet the criteria for refugee status (for example, humanitarian protection, discretionary leave, grants under family and private life rules, leave outside the rules and UASC leave).
2. The data on grants refer to ‘issued at initial decision’. The final number of grants following appeal will be higher.
3. Grants of family reunion visas are not included in the ‘Total offered protection’ figure, as the individuals do not receive refugee status.
4. These statistics include both main applicants and dependants.

The data in this section relating to those granted refugee status or alternative forms of leave include only those granted at initial decision following an asylum application. However, there will be additional people who receive a grant of protection following an appeal against the initial decision on their application (see outcomes and appeals).

1.1 Resettlement

The resettlement data in this release includes people resettled or relocated under the Afghan routes (ACRS and ARAP), but this Afghan data should be considered provisional whilst work continues to ensure data related to these individuals are recorded on case working systems. The total number of people evacuated from Afghanistan (arrivals) is higher than the total people shown under the Afghan schemes in this release, as not all those evacuated required resettlement (for example, British citizens or those with settled status). Afghan Resettlement Programme: Operational Data provides further information on total arrivals.

ACRS data relate to those resettled on ‘Pathways 1 and 2’. Data on those resettled under ‘Pathway 3’ of the ACRS will be included once people have been resettled via this pathway.

There were 5,792 people resettled in 2022, 3% higher than the number in 2019. However, this is 68% lower than in 2021 when 18,345 people were resettled, many following evacuation from Afghanistan after the fall of Kabul in August 2021.

In 2022:

• 80% (4,629) of refugees were resettled through established Afghan schemes, and 15% (887) through the UK Resettlement Scheme
• the most common nationalities of those resettled in 2022 were Afghanistan (80%), Syria (10%) and Sudan (4%)

Since their first arrivals in 2021, the Afghan schemes have resettled a total of 21,387 people while the UK Resettlement scheme has resettled 2,023 refugees. In the 7 years from 2016 to 2022 the UK has resettled a total of 47,802 individuals.

More information about current and previous resettlement schemes can be found in the user guide.

International comparisons should be made with caution as available data from the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) relate only to UNHCR resettlement schemes (therefore excludes cases relocated under ARAP and ACRS ‘Pathway 1’). In 2022, the UK resettled nearly 1,200 individuals under UNHCR resettlement schemes, ranking ninth globally for UNHCR resettlement in that period. Between 2016 and December 2022, the UK has resettled over 26,000 individuals under UNHCR resettlement schemes – the fourth highest number in the world (after the United States, Canada, and Sweden). International resettlement data is sourced from UNHCR, and are accurate as of February 2023.

1.2 Safe and legal routes

The UK government has provided a wide variety of safe and legal entry routes to the UK for people in need of protection, along with their family members. The latest available published statistics show that between 2015 and December 2022, just under half a million (481,804) people were were offered safe and legal routes into the UK via the following:

• 49,667 people have been resettled or relocated, of which 21,387 were through ACRS and ARAP as of the end of December 2022
• 44,659 family reunion visas have been granted to family members of refugees as of the end of December 2022
• 153,708 BN(O) Hong Kong visas have been granted as of the end of December 2022, 129,415 of which were granted to those out of country (105,200 people are known to have arrived in the UK following an out of country grant)
• 233,770 visas have been granted under the Ukraine Visa and Extension Schemes as of the end of December 2022, 210,906 of these were granted under the Ukraine Visa Schemes (of whom at least 154,500 are known to have arrived in the UK as of 31 December 2022), and 22,864 visas were granted under the Ukraine Extension Schemes to individuals already in the UK

More information on the Ukraine visas schemes can be found in the ‘Statistics on Ukrainians in the UK’ chapter and the weekly ‘Ukraine Visa Schemes: visa data’ publication.

Further statistics on the ‘Hong Kong British Nationals (Overseas) route’ (including applications to enter or remain in the UK, decisions on those applications and number of arrivals to the UK) are included in the ‘How many people come to the UK each year (including visitors)’ chapter of this statistics release.

Figure 2: People offered safe and legal routes to the UK, total from 2015 to 2022^1,2,3,4,5,6

Source: Asylum applications, initial decisions and resettlement – Asy_D02 and Family reunion – Fam_D01

Notes:

1. Includes main applicants and dependants.
2. The Ukraine Scheme visas include visas granted under the Ukraine Family Scheme which launched 4 March 2022, and the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme which launched 18 March 2022.
3. BN(O) Hong Kong visa scheme was launched on 31 January 2021.
4. Resettlement includes the UK Resettlement Scheme, Community Sponsorship Scheme, Mandate Scheme, Gateway Protection Programme, Vulnerable Children Resettlement Scheme, and Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme. Not all of these schemes have been active throughout the entire period.
5. The ARAP was launched April 2021, and the ACRS was launched 6 January 2022. ACRS figures include ACRS Pathway 1 and ACRS Pathway 2.
6. ‘Visas granted’ data provides an indication of the number of people who have an intention to enter the UK rather than actual arrivals. Individuals can arrive at any time during the period that the visa is valid.

2. Asylum applications

There were 74,751 asylum applications (relating to 89,398 people) in the UK in 2022. This is more than twice the number of applications in 2019 and the highest number for almost 2 decades.

As shown in Figure 3, it is higher than at the peak of the European migration crisis (when in the year ending June 2016 there were 36,546 applications). But 11% lower than the number of asylum applications in the previous peak in 2002 (84,132 applications), a figure which was partly caused by conflict and political unrest at that time in countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe and Somalia.

Figure 3: Asylum applications lodged in the UK, 2002 to 2022 ¹

Source: Asylum applications, initial decisions and resettlement –Asy_D01

Notes:

1. Main applicants only.

The increase in applications in 2022 mirrors a substantial increase in small boat arrivals to the UK. In 2022, 90% of small boat arrivals (40,302) claimed asylum or were recorded as a dependant on an asylum application. In total, just under half (45%) of the asylum applications in 2022 were from people who arrived on a small boat. For further information on small boat arrivals, see the ‘Irregular Migration to the UK statistics’ Home Office report.

Asylum applications fell substantially in April to June 2020, following the initial COVID-19 outbreak. However, since July 2021, the number of applications received has been substantially higher than levels seen prior to the outbreak. There were 22,226 applications for asylum in October to December 2022, over 2.2 times the number of applications in the same 3 months in 2019.

2.1 Applications by nationality

In every year between 2016 and the year ending June 2022, Iran was the top nationality claiming asylum in the UK. However, due to a rise in Albanian asylum claims from mid-2022, Albania was the most common nationality applying for asylum this year.

In 2022 the UK received 14,223 asylum applications from Albanian nationals, 9,573 of which originated from small boat arrivals. While there was a rise in Albanian small boat arrivals and asylum applications over the summer months, these have reduced in more recent months, though they remain higher than levels seen in 2021. The majority of Albanian applicants in 2022 (83%) were adult males.

Asylum applications from Afghanistan have also increased. In 2022, Afghans were the second most common nationality applying for asylum in the UK, with 10,011 applications, over 6 times more than in 2019 (1,573 applications), likely due to the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan.

Many of the top nationalities applying for asylum in the UK in 2022 are also the most common nationalities arriving via small boats. For further information on small boat arrivals, see the ‘Irregular Migration to the UK statistics‘ release.

Figure 4: Top 10 nationalities¹ claiming asylum in the UK, years ending September 2020 to 2022, and grant rate² at initial decision (%), 2022

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

Notes:

1. Top 10 nationalities in 2022 (excluding stateless); main applicants only.
2. The percentages in the chart are the grant rate at initial decision for each nationality in the most recent year. Grant rate is the proportion of initial decisions which resulted in a grant of protection or other leave.

Figure 4 also shows the grant rate for the top 10 nationalities applying for asylum, half of which have a grant rate of 80% or above (Afghanistan 98%, Iran 80%, Syria 99%, Eritrea 98%, and Sudan 84%). In contrast, only 4% of Indian nationals who had applied for asylum received a grant of protection in 2022. For more detail on grant rates, see the at initial decision section below.

In 2022, the UK received 388 asylum applications (relating to 588 people) from Ukrainian nationals. However, the vast majority of Ukrainians arriving in the UK following the Russian invasion of Ukraine will not apply for asylum. They will be received under new legal migration visa routes introduced for Ukrainian citizens from March 2022. For information on Ukrainians, see the Statistics on Ukrainians in the UK chapter of this release. Further information on the numbers of people arriving through the new Ukraine visa routes are updated regularly on the Ukraine Visa Scheme: visa data page.

2.2 Age and sex of asylum seekers

Of the 89,398 people who applied for asylum in 2022, two thirds (63%) were males aged 18 to 49. Children (aged 17 and under) accounted for almost a fifth (17%) of people applying for asylum (see Table 1 below).

Table 1: Individuals applying for asylum as a proportion of the total, by age and sex in the year ending December 2022

Age	Male	Female
17 and Under	12%	5%
18 to 29	41%	7%
30 to 49	22%	8%
50 to 69	2%	1%
70 and above	<1%	<1%
Total	77%	23%

Source: Asylum applications, initial decisions and resettlement – Asy_D01

Notes:

1. Includes main applicants and dependants.
2. Percentages may differ when summed due to rounding.

There were 5,242 applications from unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC), a 39% increase on the number prior to the COVID-19 pandemic (3,775 in 2019). However, UASC applications make up a small proportion of total applications (7% in 2022 compared with 11% in 2019).

2.3 International comparisons

In the year ending September 2022 (the latest available Eurostat data, as of February 2023), the number of people claiming asylum in the EU+ increased by 52% compared to the year ending September 2021 (from 740,875 to 1,127,820). Whereas in the UK, the number increased by 90% over the same period (from 45,318 to 85,902).

In the year ending September 2022, Germany received the highest number of asylum applicants (296,555) in the EU+, followed by France (179,705) and Spain (128,015).

When compared with the other European countries in the year ending September 2022, the UK received the fifth largest number of applicants (85,902 – including both main applicants and dependants). This equates to 7% of the total asylum applicants across the EU+ and UK combined over that period, but the twentieth largest intake when measured per head of population.

The numbers published by Eurostat include dependants. The EU+ refers to countries in the EU, European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland.

Figure 5: The number of asylum applicants to the UK and the top 3 countries in the EU+, year ending September 2018 to September 2022 ^1,2,3

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

Notes:

1. Top 3 countries in the EU+ receiving asylum applicants in the year ending September 2022.
2. Includes main applicants and dependants.
3. Data for the UK is sourced from Home Office data.

Figure 5 shows that over the last 5 years (year ending September 2018 to year ending September 2022), the UK received fewer applications compared to Germany, France and Spain. Between the year ending September 2021 and the year ending September 2022, the number of applicants to Germany and France increased by around a quarter (22% and 29% respectively) but the number of applications to the UK and Spain almost doubled (increased by 90% and 89% respectively) over that period. Other EU+ countries with notable increases can be found in Table 2 below.

Table 2: EU+ countries experiencing a high percentage increase in asylum applications, year ending September 2021 to September 2022

EU+ country	Applications, year ending September 2021	Applications, year ending September 2022	Percentage change
Ireland	2,285	13,170	+476%
Croatia	3,260	11,780	+261%
Austria	37,925	108,215	+185%
Bulgaria	10,545	24,860	+136%
Cyprus	11,865	23,780	+100%

Source: Eurostat Asylum statistics

Notes:

1. Includes EU+ countries that received over 10,000 applications in the year ending September 2022, and an increase of over 100% between year ending September 2021 and year ending September 2022.

3. Outcomes of asylum applications

3.1 At initial decision

In 2022, there were 18,699 initial decisions made on asylum applications. Although the number of decisions has increased by 29% in the last year, they remain 10% below numbers in 2019, before the pandemic.

Just over three quarters (76%) of the initial decisions in 2022 were grants of refugee status, humanitarian protection or alternative forms of leave. This is a substantially higher grant rate than in pre-pandemic years when around a third of initial decisions were grants. The grant rate in 2022 is the highest yearly grant rate in over 30 years (since 82% in 1990, although volumes were lower at that time – 4,025 initial decisions in 1990, compared with 18,699 in 2022).

The overall grant rate can vary for a number of reasons, including the mix of nationalities applying for asylum, the protection needs of those who claim asylum in the UK, along with operational resourcing and policy decisions. 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 recognised countries of conflict. The department is prioritising deciding older claims, high harm cases, those cases with extreme vulnerability, children and those in receipt of support.

Of the nationalities that commonly claim asylum in the UK, Afghans, Eritreans and Syrians typically have very high grant rates at initial decision (98%, 98%, and 99%, respectively), while nationals of India, for example, have low grant rates (4%; see Figure 4). As noted, a significant proportion of the people applying for asylum in the UK at present are from nationalities who are seeing high grant rates. Albania is an exception - it was the top nationality claiming asylum in 2022 but the grant rate for Albanian nationals over the same period was lower than the overall grant rate, at 49%.

Within a nationality, the grant rate can vary. For example, despite the overall grant rate for Albanians in 2022 being 49%, for Albanian adult men the grant rate was 11% and for Albanian women and children it was 87%. As noted elsewhere in this report, the majority of recent Albanian small boat arrivals comprise of adult males.

The grant rate relates to cases receiving an initial decision in 2022. However, the application may have made some time before, and therefore the latest grant rate will not necessarily represent the outcomes likely for those claims being made more recently.

3.2 At appeal

Some initial decisions (mainly, but not entirely, refusals) will go on to be appealed. Appeals against an initial decision made by the Home Office will be considered by HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), part of the Ministry of Justice.

There were 3,815 appeals lodged on initial decisions in 2022. This is 58% fewer than in 2019, in part due to the smaller number of applications refused in 2022, but also continuing a downward trend in numbers of appeals lodged since 2015 (when there were 14,242 appeals lodged).

Of the appeals determined in 2022, around half (51%) were allowed (meaning the Home Office was asked to reconsider their decision). The proportion of appeals allowed has risen from 29% in 2010, when the time series began.

3.3 Applications awaiting outcomes

At the end of December 2022, there were 132,182 cases (relating to 160,919 people) awaiting an initial decision, over 3 times more than the number of applications awaiting an initial decision at the end of 2019 (40,032, relating to 51,228 people). The number of cases awaiting an initial decision has increased in the last 10 years and risen more rapidly since 2018, when there were 27,256 cases awaiting an initial decision at the end of that year.

The rise in cases awaiting an initial decision is due to more cases entering the asylum system than receiving initial decisions. There were fewer initial decisions made in 2022 compared to 2019 (down 10%, to 18,699), while asylum applications increased (up by over double, to 74,751 applications).

Data on the total number of cases in the asylum system (‘asylum work in progress’) is published in the ‘Immigration and Protection’ data of the Migration Transparency Data collection. This data includes cases awaiting initial decisions and appeal outcomes, as well as failed asylum seekers that are subject to removal from the UK and numbers of staff in the asylum system. The latest data available (for the end of June 2022) shows a total of 166,085 cases as ‘work in progress’ in the asylum system.

Figure 6: Number of applications awaiting an initial decision, as at 31 December 2013 to 2022 ^1,2

Source: Asylum applications awaiting an initial decision – Asy_D03

Notes:

1. Includes main applicants only.
2. Figures include the number of people awaiting a decision as at the end of the period, rather than the total throughout the period.

4. Inadmissibility

Inadmissibility data for October to December 2022 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. The data included below is the most recent available, to September 2022.

From 1 January 2021, following the UK’s departure from the EU, updated inadmissibility rules came into effect. The inadmissibility rules provide the grounds for treating an asylum claim as inadmissible to the UK asylum system, if a person has earlier presence in, or connection to, a safe third country. It also provides for the person to be removed to that or another safe third country, with that country’s permission.

Between 1 January 2021 and 30 September 2022:

• 20,605 asylum claimants were identified for consideration on inadmissibility grounds
• 18,494 ‘notices of intent’ were issued to individuals to inform them that their case was being reviewed to determine whether removal action on inadmissibility grounds was appropriate and possible
• 83 individuals were served with inadmissibility decisions, meaning the UK would not admit the asylum claim for consideration in the UK system, because another country was considered to be responsible for the claim, owing to the claimant’s previous presence in, or connection to a safe country
• there were 21 enforced removals of individuals considered for removal on inadmissibility grounds
• 9,772 individuals were subsequently admitted into the UK asylum process for substantive consideration of their asylum claim

The 21 returns were made to Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

For further information, including breakdowns of the data by quarter and nationality, see Asy_09a and Asy_09b of the summary tables.

5. Support provided to asylum seekers

People in the asylum system who are destitute are entitled to a level of support from the Home Office. This could be the provision of accommodation, subsistence (cash support) or both.

At the end of December 2022, there were 110,171 individuals in receipt of support, 30% higher than at the end of December 2021. This continues the long-term trend of increasing numbers in receipt of support, which grew more rapidly following the start of the COVID-19 pandemic when the Home Office temporarily ceased ending asylum support for those whose claims have been either granted or refused, to ensure people were not made homeless during ‘lockdown’. The increase more recently is related to rising asylum applications and the consequent increase in the number of cases in the asylum system.

Of the 110,171 individuals in receipt of support:

• 96% were in receipt of support in the form of accommodation and subsistence
• 4% were in receipt of subsistence only

Data on asylum seekers on support by local authority is published in Asylum seekers in receipt of support by local authority – Asy_D11.

6. About the statistics

This section provides information on those applying for and granted protection in the UK through both asylum and resettlement routes. Further data relating to asylum and resettlement can be found in our data tables, and further details on the statistics can be found in the user guide.

The data is used to assess the trends in numbers of people seeking and being granted protection, the effect of policy changes, and to understand the demographics of those coming to the UK to claim protection. Data on resettlement and support, broken down by local authority, can help local authorities understand the demands on their services and resources to aid with planning.

6.1 Asylum, resettlement and protection

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. Asylum applicants will receive a decision on their application, which may be a grant of refugee status, humanitarian protection, or another form of permission to stay, or a refusal.

Section 12 of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 (the ‘2022 Act’), which came into effect on 28 June, contains the power to differentiate between 2 groups of refugees (who applied on or after 28 June 2022) and to treat each group differently by offering different entitlements. Such entitlements include but are not limited to length of permission to stay, route to settlement, access to family reunion, and recourse to public funds. Individuals who come to the UK directly, claim asylum without delay, and are able to show good cause for any illegal entry or presence, will be recognised as ‘Group 1 refugees’. Those who fail to meet one or more of these requirements will be ‘Group 2 refugees’ and may be given lesser entitlements as a result. For example, ‘Group 2 refugees’ are granted a minimum of 30 months permission to stay, compared to a minimum of 5 years for ‘Group 1 refugees’. Initial decisions for refugee status are shown separately in the tables (‘Refugee Permission’ for group 1, ‘Temporary Refugee Permission’ for group 2).

Refugees in other countries can also be given protection in the UK via resettlement schemes. The UK works with the UN Refugee Agency (the UNHCR) to arrange for the transfer of refugees from an asylum country to the UK, with the aim of ultimately granting them permanent residence. The statistics in this release do not include all resettlement of Afghan staff (and their families) who have supported British efforts in Afghanistan, since 2013. This release includes data on resettlement through ‘Pathway 1’ and ‘Pathway 2’ of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) and through the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP). Data on those resettled under ‘Pathway 3’ of the ACRS will be included once people have been resettled via this pathway. For further information, see the Home Office Afghan resettlement and immigration policy statement.

A family reunion visa allows partners and children of those previously granted refugee status or humanitarian protection in the UK to reunite with them here.

The total number of individuals granted protection includes grants related to an asylum application (grants of refugee permission, temporary refugee permission or alternative forms of leave) and resettlement. Alternative forms of leave include humanitarian protection, discretionary leave, UASC leave, leave outside the rules, and grants under family and private life rules.

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 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.

UASC data includes those treated as an unaccompanied minor for at least one day between the date of application and the date of initial decision. Some UASC applicants may subsequently be found to be an adult following conclusion of an age dispute. Data on age disputes is published in Age Disputes – Asy_D05.

6.2 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.

6.3 Inadmissibility

The inadmissibility rules provide the grounds for treating an asylum claim as inadmissible to the UK asylum system, if a person has earlier presence in, or connection to, a safe third country. It also provides for the person to be removed to that or another safe third country, with that country’s permission.

From 1 January 2021, following the UK’s departure from the EU, updated inadmissibility rules came into effect. Prior to the UK leaving the EU, most inadmissibility decisions were made according to the Dublin Regulation, which for the cases in its remit, established the criteria and mechanisms for determining which state was responsible for examining an application for international protection. Further details can be found in the user guide.

Data on inadmissibility is taken from internal Home Office management information and should be considered provisional. The data covers the following:

1. ‘Identified for consideration’, is where an asylum case might be suitable for a refusal on inadmissibility grounds. Case working teams will review available information to determine whether a case may be appropriate for decisions under the third country inadmissibility provisions in the Immigration Rules. If they assess that inadmissibility action might be appropriate, they will issue an individual with a ‘notice of intent’.

2. ‘Notice of intent issued’, is an information letter to the claimant, to inform them that their claim is being considered under inadmissibility rules. It is not a formal decision.

3. ‘Inadmissibility decision served’ and ‘Removals’, if the case meets the inadmissibility requirements, and another country accepts the applicants return the Home Office will treat the asylum application as inadmissible under the inadmissibility rules and arrange the return. The returns figures include all enforced removals of those entering the inadmissibility process. Some of these removals may have been for reasons other than inadmissibility. For the total number of asylum-related returns (beyond those in the inadmissibility process), see the Returns summary table Ret_05.

4. ‘Subsequently admitted into UK asylum process’, following consideration on inadmissibility grounds, where there is insufficient evidence to meet the requirements of the inadmissibility rules, or another country has not accepted responsibility for the claim within a reasonable timescale, then the asylum claim will be fully considered in the UK. Cases are counted in our total asylum applications when they initially submit their application, and they are not counted again if they later get subsequently admitted into the UK asylum process following consideration on inadmissibility grounds.

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.

6.4 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.

7. Data tables

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

• Asylum and resettlement summary tables
• Detailed asylum and resettlement datasets

Additional data relating to asylum, protection and resettlement published in earlier Immigration System Statistics releases include:

• Transfers to the UK under Section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016
• Asylum claims on the basis of sexual orientation

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