UK (Parliament Politics Magazine) – New Home Office data shows UK asylum seekers in hotels reach 36,273 by September, up 13% in three months, as 110,051 claim asylum.
As reported by The Telegraph, the latest Home Office figures showed over 36,000 asylum seekers were housed in UK hotels in September, marking a 2% rise year-on-year despite Labour’s pledge to curb hotel accommodations.
What did Home Office data reveal about asylum seekers in UK hotels?
The Home Office reported on Thursday that 36,273 asylum seekers were accommodated in hotels across the UK by September. The number of asylum seekers in hotels rose 13% since June, from 32,041 to 36,273, also exceeding the 35,628 recorded in September 2024.
The count of asylum seekers in UK hotels peaked at 56,018 under the Tories in September 2023 but dropped to a record low of 29,561 by June 2024.
Between September last year and this, 51,000 people arrived via irregular routes, with around 46,000 crossing the Channel by small boat, up more than 50% from 2024.
The data shows that asylum claims hit a new high of 110,000 last year, exceeding the 2002 record of 103,000. The number of Channel migrants returned fell to 446 between June and September, the lowest since 2023, with 2,272 small-boat arrivals sent back over the year, down from 2,462 in 2024.
A total of 111,651 people received taxpayer-funded asylum support, up around 5,600 in three months but still below the 124,000 peak seen in September 2023.
In the past year, 11,618 asylum seekers from Pakistan arrived in the UK, mostly through legal routes such as student or work visas, marking a fourfold increase since 2019. Eritrea (9,037) and Iran (7,890) followed.
The Office for National Statistics reported net migration fell to 204,000 in the year to June, driven by more Britons leaving the country. It said UK net migration declined 69% year-on-year to 204,000, after hitting a record 944,000 in March 2023.
ONS figures show 252,000 UK residents left by June 2025, compared to 143,000 arrivals. EU-plus nationals saw a similar trend, with 155,000 leaving and 85,000 arriving.
What did experts say about rising backlogs in the UK asylum system?
According to the Migration Observatory, asylum seekers accounted for 11% of UK immigration in the year to June 2025, up from 5% in 2019.
Analysts at the Migration Observatory warned that clearing the asylum backlog has led to rising numbers of unresolved appeals.
Dr Peter Walsh, senior research at the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, added,
“While the government has managed to reduce the main asylum backlog significantly, today’s data shows just how hard it is to relieve pressure on the asylum system when applications remain high, and the appeals backlog continues to grow.”
How did the Home Office respond to rising illegal migrants and asylum hotels?
A Home Office spokesman stated,
“We are furious at the levels of illegal migrants and asylum hotels. There are now fewer than 200 in use and we will close every single one. Work is well under way to move illegal migrants into military bases to ease pressure on communities across the country.”
They added,
“And that’s why last week we set out the most sweeping reforms in modern times to restore order and control to our borders. We will remove the incentives that draw illegal migrants to the UK and make it easier to remove and deport them.”
What is asylum, and who is eligible?
Asylum is legal protection granted to people who are unable to live safely in their own country because of a well-founded fear of persecution.
Someone can claim asylum if the feared persecution is based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership of a particular social group, such as gender or sexual orientation.
To apply for asylum in the UK, an applicant must already be in the country and should make the claim immediately upon arrival or as soon as they believe it is unsafe to return home.