The UK asylum system is under intense pressure (Image: Getty)
Some 27,000 migrants claimed asylum after arriving on work and study visas, shocking analysis has revealed.
The number of people claiming asylum in the UK hit a record 111,084 during Sir Keir Starmer's first year in office.
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It is the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
But analysis has revealed how 27,000 migrants claimed asylum after arriving in the UK on either a student or a work visa.
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A staggering 14,800 people claimed asylum after arriving on a student visa. Another 12,200 arrived on a work visa, prompting more fears of widespread abuse. Home Office sources have confirmed they have identified it as a “new route” into the UK and are scrambling to close the loophole.
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CPS Research Director Karl Williams said: “While the government might be tempted to highlight the fact that the number of migrants being returned to their home countries is increasing back towards pre-Covid levels, ultimately these numbers - 9,100 in the year to June 2025 - are a drop in the ocean.
“Around 111,000 people made asylum claims over the same period, the highest level on record, surpassing the previous peak of 103,000 in 2002. Worryingly, this is not just driven by the small boats, which account for only 39% of claims in the last year.
“Many people are also arriving on legal routes only to then claim asylum at a later date. In the last year this included 14,800 migrants on study visas and 12,200 on work visas. Nevertheless, it is the Channel crossings - and the migrant hotels - which worry the British public the most.
“So far Channel crossings have averaged 124 migrants per day under the current government. Were this rate to continue, around 230,000 migrants could arrive in small boats during this Parliament.”
Channel migrants account for less than half of asylum claims (Image: Getty)
The number total number of asylum claims is up 14% from 97,107 in the year to June 2024, according to Home Office data. The previous record for a 12-month period was 109,343 in the year to March 2025.
Migrants who arrived in the UK after crossing the English Channel in small boats accounted for 39% of the total number of people claiming asylum in the year to June. Pakistani was the most common nationality among asylum applicants in the year to June 2025, accounting for 11,234 people, or 10.1% of the total.
This is up from 8,383 in the year to June 2024, when it was the second most common nationality (8.6% of the total).
Afghan was the second most common nationality in the latest period, (8,281 people, 7.5% of the total), down from 9,342 (9.6%) in the previous 12 months, when it was the most common nationality.
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Iranian was third (7,746 people, 7.0% of the total), the same ranking as in the previous 12 months (7,660 people, 7.9%). The fourth most common nationality was Eritrean, with 7,433 people (6.7% of the total), up year on year from 4,405 (4.5%) when it ranked in eighth place.
But the number of Channel migrants being deported has fallen under Labour, new figures show. Some 2,330 people who arrived on small boats have been removed during Sir Keir Starmer's first full year in office.
The figure is 7% lower than the 2,516 sent back in the final year of the Conservative Government. The drop will prompt renewed fears over the lack of a deterrent to people hoping to make the dangerous crossing. Just 1,174 small boat migrants have been deported so far this year, compared to 2,377 in 2024, according to the data.
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