UK (Parliament Politics Magazine) – The UK recorded 41,472 Channel crossings in 2025, the second-highest total on record, despite new measures and expanded asylum reforms.
According to Anahita Hossein-Pour of The London Standard, figures show 41,472 migrants arrived in the UK via the English Channel in 2025, the second-highest annual total on record.
What did the figures show about Channel crossings in 2025?
Officials confirmed there were no Channel crossings on New Year’s Eve, extending a period of zero arrivals over the festive season.
The data showed that while 2025 did not exceed the record level set in 2022, when 45,774 migrants arrived, the total still finished just 9% below that peak. At the same time, arrivals rose sharply compared with recent years, increasing by 13% in 2024 and by 41% compared with 2023.
During most of 2025, arrivals by boat remained near record levels, marking the highest numbers since Channel crossing data was first published in 2018.
In the final months of 2025, migrant arrivals slowed sharply, with extended periods of no crossings, including 28 days from November 15 to December 12.
The average number of people per boat rose again in 2025, continuing a trend that has been in place since 2018, with 62 migrants per vessel, up from 53 in 2024 and 49 in 2023.
The government faced growing pressure in 2025 over the rising number of migrants attempting the dangerous Channel crossing, after pledging in the July 2024 election to “smash the gangs” behind people-smuggling.
Since Labour took office, almost 65,000 migrants have reached the UK by small boat.
Martin Hewitt, the UK’s Border Security Chief, told MPs in October that the 2025 arrival numbers were “frustrating,” but efforts to close the Channel smuggling routes “would take time.”
In December, the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act became law, establishing new criminal offences and allowing authorities to use counter-terror measures against people-smuggling gangs.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced in November plans for wide-ranging asylum reforms, calling them
“the most significant changes in modern times,”
aimed at reducing new arrivals and streamlining deportations.
Under measures inspired by the Danish system, refugee status will be temporary, reviewed every 30 months, and permanent settlement in the UK will be extended to 20 years, up from five currently.
Ms Mahmood’s asylum reforms could end the Government’s legal duty to support asylum seekers, putting both housing and weekly allowances at risk.
Amid rising concerns over costs and local opposition, the Government has pledged to end the use of hotels for asylum seeker accommodation by 2029.
A wave of protests occurred over the summer at the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, after a small-boat asylum seeker housed there was charged, jailed, and deported for sexually assaulting a woman and a 14-year-old girl.
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy held talks with ministers from ECHR member states, who agreed to consider treaty reforms to tackle illegal migration. Cross-border cooperation is a key part of the Government’s strategy, including the “one in, one out” returns deal with France, which took effect in August.
Under the pilot scheme, migrants arriving in the UK by small boat can be detained and returned to France, in exchange for an equal number entering through safe and legal routes.
Border Security Minister Alex Norris told peers on December 16 that 193 migrants had been returned to France, while 195 arrived in the UK under the returns deal, aimed at discouraging risky Channel crossings.
The Conservatives and Reform UK have called for leaving the human rights treaty to tackle illegal immigration, while Labour insists it will remain in the ECHR and focus on how UK law interprets immigration cases.
How did the Refugee Council respond to the 2025 Channel crossings?
Commenting on the total number of Channel crossings for 2025, Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said,
“Most men, women and children taking these journeys have fled oppressive regimes like the Taliban in Afghanistan and brutal civil wars in countries like Sudan.”
He stated,
“No-one risks their life on a flimsy boat in the Channel except out of desperation to be safe in a country where they have family or community connections. It’s right the Government wants to stop Channel crossings but plans that will punish people found to be refugees are unfair and not an effective deterrent.”
Mr Solomon said addressing the issue requires a “multi-pronged approach,” including targeting gangs and international cooperation to ensure refugees have access to safe and legal routes, a strategy reflected in Ms Mahmood’s reforms.
What is the UK’s Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act?
The UK’s Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 became law after receiving Royal Assent on 2 December 2025, marking a major overhaul of the country’s immigration system.
The law strengthens border enforcement, creating offences for aiding illegal immigration, such as supplying boats, and sets up the Border Security Command with new powers.
Under the new Act, parts of the former government’s Rwanda policy are removed, including the 2024 Rwanda Act and mandatory removal rules, while restrictions on giving legal status to some who entered the UK irregularly are lifted.
How many asylum seekers are in the UK in 2025?
A total of 110,051 individuals claimed asylum in the UK in the year ending September 2025, the largest number recorded in a single year since 1979, exceeding the 2002 record.
There were 62,200 asylum cases awaiting an initial decision in September 2025. Although 54% lower than the mid-2023 peak, the backlog remains unusually large.