Accredited official statistics

How many cases are in the UK asylum system?

Published 28 November 2024

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-system-statistics-year-ending-september-2024/how-many-cases-are-in-the-uk-asylum-system

Back to ‘Immigration system statistics, year ending September 2024’ content page.

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

An asylum claim may relate to more than one person, if the main applicant has family members (‘dependants’) who are included in the same claim.

This release focuses on the number of asylum cases (which excludes dependants) in the UK asylum system.

Statistics on other parts of the asylum system are available in other chapters of this report - ‘How many people claim asylum in the UK?’ and ‘How many people are granted asylum?’.

1. How many asylum cases are in the overall asylum casework system?

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

There were 224,742 cases in the asylum system at the end of June 2024, of which less than 40% were cases awaiting an initial decision.

The total number of cases is published annually in table ASY_03 of Immigration and protection data, as part of the ‘Migration transparency data’. The latest data relates to June 2024.

The number of cases in the asylum system has increased over fourfold over the last decade, from 55,814 at the end of June 2014 to 224,742 at the end of June 2024.

The number of cases awaiting an initial decision has increased markedly over the same period, although the number fell by 36% between June 2023 and June 2024 (while the total number of cases increased by 4%). The increase in the total number of cases in the system is because there was a large increase in the number of initial outcomes in the year ending June 2024, compared with the previous year, and 54% of cases which received initial outcomes in the year ending June 2024 were refused, withdrawn or suspended. Many of these cases remain in the system, for example, whilst awaiting their appeal outcome or removal from the UK.

The latest tribunal statistics from HMCTS to June 2024 show that the number of asylum related appeals received by the First Tier Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber has increased following the Home Office’s work to tackle the initial decision backlog. The open caseload has increased from 7,600 at the end of June 2023 to 33,000 at the end of June 2024. In addition to Asylum appeals, this data includes appeals relating to Protection and Revocation of Protection, which were introduced as part of the Immigration Act 2014.

2. How many asylum cases are awaiting an initial decision?

At the end of September 2024, there were 97,170 cases (relating to 133,409 people) awaiting an initial decision, 22% fewer than a year earlier (September 2023), but 13% higher than at the end of the previous quarter (June 2024).

Figure 1 shows that while the number cases awaiting an initial decision has fallen from the peak of 134,046 in June 2023, this remains much higher than in the period 2010 to 2018, where the number of cases awaiting a decision grew from around 6,000 to 27,000.

Asylum claims are split into three cohorts. These are determined by whether the Nationality and Borders Act (2022) applies to the claim, and whether the claim was also made after the removal of the retrospective application of the Illegal Migration Act (2023).

  • cohort 1: pre-NABA backlog (claims made on or before 27 June 2022)
  • cohort 2: post-NABA backlog (claims between 28 June 2022 and 22 July 2024)
  • cohort 3: flow (claims made on or after 23 July 2024)

The Nationality and Borders Act (NABA) which came into force in 28 June 2022 meant that claims made on or after that date would be subject to a higher standard of proof. The Illegal Migration Act 2023 introduced the following year meant that asylum claims from anyone who arrived irregularly in the UK after 7 March 2023 were put on hold. On 22 July 2024, the Home Office removed the retrospective application of the Illegal Migration Act, and so cases that had been put on hold can now be progressed.

Figure 1: Number of cases and people awaiting an initial decision, as at 30 September 2014 to as at 30 September 20241, 2

Source: Asylum and resettlement summary tables – Asy_10a and Asy_10b

Notes:

  1. The number of cases includes main applicants only, whilst the number of people includes dependants as well.
  2. Figures relate to the number of applications or people awaiting a decision at the end of the period, rather than the total throughout the period.

As at the end of September 2024, there were very few pre-NABA backlog cases awaiting an initial decision (1,669 cases) as the previous government committed to clearing this backlog (previously known as the ‘legacy’ backlog) by the end of 2023. The remaining cases have been assessed as complex after being reviewed (requiring additional checks or investigation for a final decision to be made). The number of post-NABA cases in the backlog fell slightly as cases for those that had claimed asylum on or after 7 March 2023 were on hold under the Illegal Migration Act, so could not receive initial decisions until recently.

Between June 2023 and June 2024, the number of cases awaiting an initial decision fell as more decisions were issued. However, in the latest quarter, the number of cases awaiting a decision has risen, because the number of decisions have fallen substantially while the number of new claims has risen.

Figure 2: Quarterly asylum claims, initial decisions, other outcomes, and changes in the number of cases awaiting an initial decision1, 2

Source: Asylum applications, initial decisions and resettlement – Asy_D01, Asy_D02 and Asy_D03

Notes:

  1. Main applicants only.
  2. Claims, initial decisions (grants and refusals) and other outcomes (withdrawals and administrative outcomes) are based on the quarter they occurred in, while the change in the cases awaiting an initial decision (ID WIP) is the change between the initial decision WIP at the end of the quarter compared to at the end of the previous quarter.

Figure 2 shows that the increase in cases awaiting an initial decision between June 2021 and June 2023 follows the increase in claims during this period. The following decrease in cases awaiting an initial decision largely reflects an increase in the number of initial decisions in the second half of 2023, while the number of claims in the second half of 2023 was lower than the same period in the preceding year.

The increase in the number of decisions in the second half of 2023 was due to a combination of factors, including an increase in the number of asylum decision makers, and improvements in decision maker productivity. This included simplified guidance, shorter focused interviews, and streamlining initiatives (including the Streamlined Asylum Process, which sought 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).

By December 2023, caseworkers had completed processing the majority of cases which were raised prior to the Nationalities and Borders Act (2022). However, asylum claims from individuals who claimed asylum on or after 7 March 2023 had been on hold under the Illegal Migration Act. This led to a reduction in the numbers of decisions in 2024. The Home Secretary laid a statutory instrument on 22 July 2024 to remove the retrospective application of the Illegal Migration Act, which has allowed decision-makers to progress the cases that had been put on hold.

Decision making on these claims has now resumed and the number of interviews completed has increased after the statutory instrument was laid. (Source: Immigration and protection data: Q3 2024) As most cases need to be interviewed prior to decision, there will be a lag before initial decisions also increase. Therefore, in the latest quarter, the number of initial decisions has fallen, while the number of new asylum claims has risen, leading to a 13% increase in the number of cases awaiting an initial decision in the latest quarter.

3. How long do people wait for an initial decision?

As at the end of September 2024, 32% of cases that were awaiting an initial decision had been waiting for more than 12 months.

Figure 3: Percentage of claims awaiting an initial decision by duration, between the 30 September 2019 and 30 September 20241

Source: Migration Transparency Data collection – Asy_02

Notes:

  1. Main applicants only.

Figure 3 shows that as at 30 September 2024, 60% of cases that were awaiting an initial decision had been doing so for more than 6 months, and 32% of total cases had been awaiting an initial decision for more than 12 months. This is a lower proportion than a year prior when 72% of cases had been waiting more than 6 months and 46% of cases had been waiting more than 12 months.

The proportion of cases waiting more than 12 months for an initial decision has fallen in the latest year, likely because of the sharp increase in decisions in the year ending September 2024, compared with the previous year.

However, since the end of June 2024, the proportion of cases waiting more than 12 months for an initial decision has increased. This is likely because cases from 7 March 2023 onwards in the post-NABA backlog were previously on hold, so the number of cases waiting more than 12 months increased.

4. How many asylum seekers are receiving housing and financial support?

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

At the end of September 2024, there were 109,024 individuals in receipt of asylum support, 12% fewer than a year prior.

Figure 4: Number of people in receipt of asylum support, by the type of support, at the end of each quarter from December 2022 to September 2024

Source: Asylum applications, initial decisions and resettlement – Asy_D09

Figure 4 shows that at the end of September 2024, there were 109,024 individuals in receipt of asylum support. This was 8% higher than a quarter ago (the end of June 2024) and 12% fewer than a year ago (the end of September 2023), when the number of supported asylum seekers peaked at 123,758 people. Of these:

  • 35,651 (33%) were in hotel accommodation, up 21% from 29,585 at the end of June 2024, and down 36% from the peak of 56,042 at the end of September 2023
  • 70,530 (65%) were in other accommodation, including initial, contingency and dispersal, up 5% from 67,057 at the end of June 2024
  • 2,843 (3%) were in receipt of subsistence support only, down 35% from 4,353 at the end of June 2024

At the end of September 2024, there were 102,692 people on Section 95 support. This was made up of 50,146 single applicants, 49,703 members of family groups (13,864 families) and 2,843 people in receipt of subsistence only support (for which group type was not available).

As at 30 September 2024, 4% (4,013) of people claiming asylum support were doing so under Section 4. This is available when an asylum application has been finally determined as refused, but the applicant is destitute and there are reasons that temporarily prevent them from leaving the UK. The remaining 96% (105,011) of people claiming asylum support were doing so under either Section 95 or Section 98, where the vast majority are awaiting a decision on either an asylum claim or an appeal.

Nationality and region data is not available for those in receipt of subsistence only support, so the following focuses on the accommodated supported population. Please note that the data excludes unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, who are supported by local authorities.

At the end of September 2024, the majority of asylum seekers housed by Home Office were accommodated in England (89%). The north-west had 20% of the total accommodated population (21,084 people), while London had 19% (19,922).

The north-west and the north-east regions accommodated the largest percentage of asylum seekers as a proportion of the overall population (2,774 and 2,740 per million of the regions’ populations respectively).

Figure 5: Accommodated asylum seekers per million population, by local authority as at end of September 20241, 2, 3, 4

Source: Regional and local authority data on immigration groups – Reg_02

Notes:

  1. Includes main applicants and dependants.
  2. Per million population figures are based on population of the local authority.
  3. Local authority data are based on the registered address of the asylum seeker. This is not necessarily the location at which the individual regularly resides.
  4. Excludes those in receipt of subsistence only support.

Of individual local authorities, Glasgow City was accommodating the highest number of asylum seekers (4,075), followed by Hillingdon (2,719), Liverpool (2,612), Birmingham (2,476) and Manchester (2,084).

In addition to accommodated asylum seekers, people will have come to the UK on safe and legal (humanitarian) routes and will be accommodated in local authorities. More detail is available in table Res_D01 of the ‘Asylum and resettlement data tables’ and table Reg_02 of the ‘Regional and local authority data on immigration groups’.

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

Further links:

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