How many people arrive in the UK by small boat, and how many claim asylum?

The Home Office recorded 41,472 people arriving in the UK by small boat in 2025, compared with 299 in 2018 and 45,774 in 2022; 39,952 people who arrived in 2025 claimed asylum within 14 days, 98.42% of the 40,595 arrivals in its matched asylum table. Its provisional daily count gives 20,935 arrivals from 1 January to 22 October 2026, against 36,954 in the same dates of 2025. In the year ending June 2026, 47.7% of initial decisions on small boat arrivals' claims were grants.

Choose a figure

Small boat arrivals, UK, 2025

41,472

people detected arriving by small boat, 2025

Moderate trust, 63 of 100 Only IER_D01 counts: Daily series republishes it, so there is nothing independent to check it against.

Each source by year: people detected arriving by small boat

IER_D01
Daily series

Recorded change in how a source reports; hover or focus the ring for details.

Show the data as a table

Year	Home Office, Immigration system statistics: Illegal entry routes detailed dataset, table IER_D01	Home Office, Migrants detected crossing the English Channel in small boats: time series, table SB_01
2018	299	299
2019	1,843	1,843
2020	8,466	8,462
2021	28,526	28,526
2022	45,774	45,755
2023	29,437	29,437
2024	36,816	36,816
2025	41,472	41,472

What this number counts

Counts: Small boat arrivals (Home Office category): people detected, not all people who entered
Where: United Kingdom
When: Calendar year 2025 (sum of four quarters) (one year, not an average)

The figure from IER_D01, the only source that counts here.

Where the number comes from (2 sources)

Source	Figure and year	Definition	Quality	Counts for
Home Office, Immigration system statistics: Illegal entry routes detailed dataset, table IER_D01Home Office · Administrative recordsRetrieved 2026-10-27 · Data (Excel file)	41,4722025	People detected on arrival in the UK, or detected in the English Channel by UK authorities and brought to the UK, having crossed the Channel in a small boat in the previous 72 hours (Home Office definition). The most common vessels are rigid-hulled inflatable boats, dinghies and kayaks. Counts people, not boats; people on larger vessels or hidden in vehicles on ferries are not included, nor anyone who arrived undetected. Calendar-year total of the quarterly counts in IER_D01; matches summary table IER_01. 2026 so far (January-June): 11,884.	4 of 5 checks Yes: Method and definitions published. Definitions in the dataset notes and in section 9 of the Home Office user guide to Immigration system statistics. Yes: Official statistics or peer-reviewed. Official statistics in the Home Office Immigration system statistics release (not Accredited Official Statistics). Yes: Full count or representative sample. Every recorded detection, not a sample; people who were not detected are not covered. Yes: Raw data downloadable. Quarterly counts by method, nationality, region, sex and age group downloadable as a spreadsheet (IER_D01). No: No known break or quality problem. Taken from a live operational database and revised: January 2025 to March 2026 small-boat data were revised with new record-level processing; 2022 Q3 comes from caseworking systems instead of manual records.	100%
Home Office, Migrants detected crossing the English Channel in small boats: time series, table SB_01Home Office · Administrative recordsRetrieved 2026-10-27 · Data (spreadsheet)	41,4722025	Daily count of people detected arriving by small boat, summed to calendar years. Same operational source as IER_D01 in a provisional form, so it is shown but not counted as a second source. File dated 23 October 2026, last day 2026-10-22.	3 of 5 checks Yes: Method and definitions published. Notes in the file define a small boat and who is and is not counted. No: Official statistics or peer-reviewed. Provisional operational data published weekly; the Home Office calls the quarterly release the "final and authoritative statistics". Yes: Full count or representative sample. Every detected arrival per day, not a sample. Yes: Raw data downloadable. Daily arrivals and boats downloadable as an ODS file from 1 January 2018. No: No known break or quality problem. Provisional and subject to change; 9 days from 2023 to 2025 are flagged as revised in the file.	Not counted

Better and more direct sources count for more. A source that only copies another does not count.

IER_D01 100%

IER_D01100%

Shown but not counted: Daily series (republishes IER_D01).

How the trust score was worked out

Quality32 / 40: How well the sources are made
Agreement15 / 30: Unknown with one source, so set to half
Independence6 / 20: How many separate ways the number was measured
Freshness10 / 10: How recent the newest data is

How the score works

Who reports it, and since when

Which kinds of source measure this number, which years each one published, and where the reporting stops or has holes.

Administrative records · 2

No source of these kinds: population register, model-based estimate.

Single source: nothing to check it against
IER_D01, 2018: The quarterly series starts in 2018 Q1, with arrivals by method of entry, nationality, world region, sex and age group (IER_D01, "2018 onwards"). source
IER_D01, 2021: From 2021, some small-boat arrivals have no nationality, sex or age recorded yet ("Not currently recorded": 582 in 2021, 877 in 2025). Home Office: "Data, particularly from more recent periods, may have a number of cases where a full breakdown is not yet available." source
IER_D01, 2022: Home Office: "The 2022 Q3 (July to September) total small boat arrivals figure is sourced from case working systems rather than manual records due to more detailed reporting." source
IER_D01, 2025: Home Office: data "for January 2025 onwards for small boat arrivals" were produced using "enhanced data processing and matching methods at the individual record level", which "may result in small differences compared with historical publications"; January 2025 to March 2026 were revised in the August 2026 release. source
IER_D01, 2025: Nationality, age and sex are taken from the latest information at extraction, not from the first record. Home Office: people deemed stateless "will later have their nationality updated to 'Refugee'" after being granted refugee status (22 arrivals were listed as "Refugee" in 2023, 1,256 in 2025). source
Daily series, 2023: The Home Office flags 9 days between 2023-02-08 and 2025-09-06 as "Revised" in the daily series. source

Years each source has a figure here

'18'20'25IER_D01Daily series

figure no figure here, inside its range no later figure recorded change

Share of 2025 small boat arrivals who claimed asylum

98.42

% of small boat arrivals who claimed asylum within 14 days, Arrivals in calendar year 2025

Moderate trust, 63 of 100 Only one source (IER_D02), so it cannot be checked against another.

Each source by year: % of small boat arrivals who claimed asylum within 14 days

Recorded change in how a source reports; hover or focus the ring for details.

Show the data as a table

Year	Home Office, Illegal entry routes detailed dataset, table IER_D02 (asylum claims from small boat arrivals, by arrival date)
2018	98.25
2019	98.91
2020	98.45
2021	90.2
2022	90.57
2023	97.91
2024	98.27
2025	98.42

What this number counts

Counts: People who claimed asylum within 14 days of arrival, as a share of small boat arrivals in the asylum-matched table
Where: United Kingdom
When: Arrivals in calendar year 2025 (one year, not an average)

The figure from IER_D02, the only source that counts here.

Where the number comes from (1 source)

Source	Figure and year	Definition	Quality	Counts for
Home Office, Illegal entry routes detailed dataset, table IER_D02 (asylum claims from small boat arrivals, by arrival date)Home Office · Administrative recordsRetrieved 2026-10-27 · Data (Excel file)	98.422025	39,952 people with an asylum claim divided by the 40,595 small boat arrivals in IER_D02 (IER_D01 gives 41,472; the Home Office says the totals differ because of extraction dates).	4 of 5 checks Yes: Method and definitions published. Notes define the matching, the 14-day window and the date basis; user guide section 9 describes the method. Yes: Official statistics or peer-reviewed. Official statistics in the Home Office Immigration system statistics release (not Accredited Official Statistics). Yes: Full count or representative sample. All matched small-boat arrivals, not a sample. Yes: Raw data downloadable. Arrivals by asylum claim, nationality, sex, age group and UASC status downloadable (IER_D02). No: No known break or quality problem. Relies on matching arrival and asylum records, so some claimants are missed; 2023-2025 revised with new matching methods while earlier years were not; totals differ slightly from IER_D01.	100%

Better and more direct sources count for more. A source that only copies another does not count.

IER_D02 100%

IER_D02100%

How the trust score was worked out

Quality32 / 40: How well the sources are made
Agreement15 / 30: Unknown with one source, so set to half
Independence6 / 20: How many separate ways the number was measured
Freshness10 / 10: How recent the newest data is

How the score works

Who reports it, and since when

Which kinds of source measure this number, which years each one published, and where the reporting stops or has holes.

Administrative records · 1

No source of these kinds: population register, model-based estimate.

Single source: nothing to check it against
IER_D02, 2023: Home Office: IER_D02 to IER_D05 for "2023 onwards" were produced using enhanced record-level matching; 2023-2025 were revised in May and August 2026, earlier years were not. source

Years each source has a figure here

'18'20'25IER_D02

figure no figure here, inside its range no later figure recorded change

Detected arrivals via illegal routes, by method of entry (people, 2018-2025)

Each line is the source that counts most for that group.

Small boat arrivals
Inadequately documented air arrivals
Recorded detections in the UK
Recorded detections at UK ports

Group	Figure	Year	Trust
Small boat arrivals	41,472	2025	63 Moderate
Inadequately documented air arrivals	3,016	2025	63 Moderate
Recorded detections in the UK	1,816	2025	63 Moderate
Recorded detections at UK ports	204	2025	63 Moderate

Show every year as a table

Year	Small boat arrivals	Inadequately documented air arrivals	Recorded detections in the UK	Recorded detections at UK ports
2018	299	4,769	7,257	1,052
2019	1,843	5,237	8,492	959
2020	8,466	2,328	5,428	808
2021	28,526	2,561	5,036	662
2022	45,774	5,130	3,379	291
2023	29,437	3,854	2,836	236
2024	36,816	3,349	2,900	225
2025	41,472	3,016	1,816	204

Small boat arrivals, 1 January to 22 October of each year (people, provisional daily data, 2018-2026)

Each line is the source that counts most for that group.

Group	Figure	Year	Trust
1 January to 22 October	20,935	2026	55 Low

Show every year as a table

Year	1 January to 22 October
2018	45
2019	1,389
2020	7,459
2021	19,574
2022	37,603
2023	26,116
2024	28,353
2025	36,954
2026	20,935

Small boat arrivals by whether they claimed asylum within 14 days (people, by arrival year 2018-2025)

Each line is the source that counts most for that group.

Asylum claim raised
No asylum claim raised

Group	Figure	Year	Trust
Asylum claim raised	39,952	2025	63 Moderate
No asylum claim raised	643	2025	63 Moderate

Show every year as a table

Year	Asylum claim raised	No asylum claim raised
2018	280	5
2019	1,813	20
2020	8,276	130
2021	25,276	2,747
2022	41,188	4,290
2023	27,610	590
2024	35,276	622
2025	39,952	643

Small boat arrivals and asylum, % (2018-2026)

Each line is the source that counts most for that group.

Claimed asylum within 14 days (% of arrivals)
Initial decisions that were grants (% of grants and refusals)
Arrival-year cohort: initial decisions that were grants so far (%)

Group	Figure	Year	Trust
Claimed asylum within 14 days (% of arrivals)	98.42	2025	63 Moderate
Initial decisions that were grants (% of grants and refusals)	47.7	2026	63 Moderate
Arrival-year cohort: initial decisions that were grants so far (%)	56.95	2025	63 Moderate

Show every year as a table

Year	Claimed asylum within 14 days (% of arrivals)	Initial decisions that were grants (% of grants and refusals)	Arrival-year cohort: initial decisions that were grants so far (%)
2018	98.25	–	54.66
2019	98.91	–	50.14
2020	98.45	–	55.65
2021	90.2	–	75.99
2022	90.57	–	73.22
2023	97.91	–	49.25
2024	98.27	–	48.28
2025	98.42	55.72	56.95
2026	–	47.7	–

Small boat arrivals by nationality, top 10 in 2025 (people, 2018-2025)

Each line is the source that counts most for that group.

Eritrea

Afghanistan

Iran

Sudan

Somalia

Ethiopia

Iraq

Syria

Vietnam

Yemen

Group	Figure	Year	Trust
Eritrea	7,583	2025	63 Moderate
Afghanistan	4,801	2025	63 Moderate
Iran	4,505	2025	63 Moderate
Sudan	4,447	2025	63 Moderate
Somalia	3,806	2025	63 Moderate
Ethiopia	1,745	2025	63 Moderate
Iraq	1,706	2025	63 Moderate
Syria	1,531	2025	63 Moderate
Vietnam	1,440	2025	63 Moderate
Yemen	1,332	2025	63 Moderate

Show every year as a table

Year	Eritrea	Afghanistan	Iran	Sudan	Somalia	Ethiopia	Iraq	Syria	Vietnam	Yemen
2018	0	3	238	0	0	0	33	1	4	0
2019	0	69	1,213	0	0	5	471	14	3	0
2020	511	494	2,373	969	14	108	1,648	776	118	252
2021	2,875	1,437	8,319	1,064	318	544	6,117	2,451	1,403	135
2022	2,020	9,088	5,841	1,762	86	530	4,574	3,006	505	160
2023	2,666	5,511	3,582	1,658	248	249	2,536	2,275	1,306	91
2024	3,480	6,065	4,214	2,748	697	508	2,142	4,693	3,658	1,300
2025	7,583	4,801	4,505	4,447	3,806	1,745	1,706	1,531	1,440	1,332

Small boat arrivals by nationality, top 10 in 2025 (% of all arrivals, 2018-2025)

Each line is the source that counts most for that group.

Eritrea

Afghanistan

Iran

Sudan

Somalia

Ethiopia

Iraq

Syria

Vietnam

Yemen

Group	Figure	Year	Trust
Eritrea	18.28	2025	63 Moderate
Afghanistan	11.58	2025	63 Moderate
Iran	10.86	2025	63 Moderate
Sudan	10.72	2025	63 Moderate
Somalia	9.18	2025	63 Moderate
Ethiopia	4.21	2025	63 Moderate
Iraq	4.11	2025	63 Moderate
Syria	3.69	2025	63 Moderate
Vietnam	3.47	2025	63 Moderate
Yemen	3.21	2025	63 Moderate

Show every year as a table

Year	Eritrea	Afghanistan	Iran	Sudan	Somalia	Ethiopia	Iraq	Syria	Vietnam	Yemen
2018	0	1	79.6	0	0	0	11.04	0.33	1.34	0
2019	0	3.74	65.82	0	0	0.27	25.56	0.76	0.16	0
2020	6.04	5.84	28.03	11.45	0.17	1.28	19.47	9.17	1.39	2.98
2021	10.08	5.04	29.16	3.73	1.11	1.91	21.44	8.59	4.92	0.47
2022	4.41	19.85	12.76	3.85	0.19	1.16	9.99	6.57	1.1	0.35
2023	9.06	18.72	12.17	5.63	0.84	0.85	8.62	7.73	4.44	0.31
2024	9.45	16.47	11.45	7.46	1.89	1.38	5.82	12.75	9.94	3.53
2025	18.28	11.58	10.86	10.72	9.18	4.21	4.11	3.69	3.47	3.21

Small boat arrivals by sex (% of all arrivals, 2018-2025)

Each line is the source that counts most for that group.

Male
Female
Not currently recorded

Group	Figure	Year	Trust
Male	83.05	2025	63 Moderate
Female	14.84	2025	63 Moderate
Not currently recorded	2.11	2025	63 Moderate

Show every year as a table

Year	Male	Female	Not currently recorded
2018	91.3	8.7	0
2019	84.32	15.68	0
2020	87.21	12.79	0
2021	87.25	10.44	2.04
2022	87.24	11.84	0.44
2023	84.35	12.05	3.52
2024	85.17	12.82	2.01
2025	83.05	14.84	2.11

Small boat arrivals by age group on arrival (% of all arrivals, 2018-2025)

Each line is the source that counts most for that group.

17 and under
18 to 24
25 to 39
40 and over
Not currently recorded

Group	Figure	Year	Trust
17 and under	13.57	2025	63 Moderate
18 to 24	31.34	2025	63 Moderate
25 to 39	45.46	2025	63 Moderate
40 and over	7.51	2025	63 Moderate
Not currently recorded	2.11	2025	63 Moderate

Show every year as a table

Year	17 and under	18 to 24	25 to 39	40 and over	Not currently recorded
2018	8.36	13.71	66.56	11.37	0
2019	16.71	15.63	56.65	11.01	0
2020	17.12	22.75	50.4	9.73	0
2021	15.15	33.58	43.09	6.14	2.04
2022	17.83	34.54	39.85	7.34	0.44
2023	17.84	33.4	37.97	7.26	3.52
2024	14.75	33.87	42.01	7.37	2.01
2025	13.57	31.34	45.46	7.51	2.11

About this data

Every source on this page (6)

Who is behind the sources

100% Police or justice agency

Each publisher, its funding and its own description

Home Office (UK) · Police or justice agencyFunding: UK government budget; it is a ministerial department. The Office for National Statistics publishes its police-recorded crime figures. sourceIn its own words: “The Home Office plays a fundamental role in the security and economic prosperity of the UK.” source, retrieved 2026-10-27

Home Office, Immigration system statistics: Illegal entry routes detailed dataset, table IER_D01Home Office (UK) (police or justice agency) · Administrative recordsUsed for 32 numbers; counts toward 32. Years 2025. Retrieved 2026-10-27.Data (Excel file)
Home Office, Illegal entry routes detailed dataset, table IER_D02 (asylum claims from small boat arrivals, by arrival date)Home Office (UK) (police or justice agency) · Administrative recordsUsed for 3 numbers; counts toward 3. Years 2025. Retrieved 2026-10-27.Data (Excel file)
Home Office, Migrants detected crossing the English Channel in small boats: time series, table SB_01Home Office (UK) (police or justice agency) · Administrative recordsUsed for 2 numbers; counts toward 1. Years 2025 to 2026. Retrieved 2026-10-27.Not counted where: it republishes IER_D01.Data (spreadsheet)
Home Office, Asylum summary tables, table Asy_02c (outcomes of small boat arrivals' claims at initial decision, by outcome date)Home Office (UK) (police or justice agency) · Administrative recordsUsed for 1 number; counts toward 1. Years 2026. Retrieved 2026-10-27.Data (spreadsheet)
Home Office, Illegal entry routes detailed dataset, table IER_D03 (initial decisions, by arrival date)Home Office (UK) (police or justice agency) · Administrative recordsUsed for 1 number; counts toward 1. Years 2025. Retrieved 2026-10-27.Data (Excel file)
Home Office, Asylum summary tables, table Asy_01c (people claiming asylum by prior route)Home Office (UK) (police or justice agency) · Administrative recordsUsed for 1 number; counts toward 0 (shown only). Years 2025. Retrieved 2026-10-27.Not counted where: it republishes IER_D02.Data (spreadsheet)

Why the numbers differ (4)

The daily series and the quarterly dataset come from the same operational records. The daily file is provisional; the quarterly release is quality-assured and later revised. Their calendar-year totals differ by -19 to +0 people in 2018-2025. (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)
IER_D02 counts people by arrival date and only claims made within 14 days of arrival (39,952 for 2025); Asy_01c counts people by the date of the claim, whenever they arrived (41,380 for 2025). The Home Office also cites different extraction dates and recording methods. (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)
Asy_02c gives the grant rate for decisions made in a period (47.7% in the year ending June 2026); IER_D03 follows an arrival cohort (56.95% for 2025 arrivals so far, with 4,154 main applicants still awaiting a decision). The cohort rate changes as decisions are made. (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)
The asylum-matched table IER_D02 holds 40,595 small boat arrivals for 2025, against 41,472 in IER_D01; the Home Office attributes the difference to the dates on which the data were extracted. (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)

Common mistakes (4)

Reading detections as all illegal entries. Home Office: "These statistics do not provide a full picture of how many people entered the UK without permission." (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)
Comparing methods of entry as if they were equally complete. Home Office: "it is not advisable to directly compare different datasets" and "Small boat arrivals are the most visible of the illegal methods of entry, so the most likely to be detected." (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)
Reading a claim as a grant. Claiming asylum is the start of a case; the grant rate covers initial decisions only, leaves out withdrawn claims and does not include appeals. (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)
Adding the daily series and the quarterly figures for the same period. They count the same people; the daily series is provisional. (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)

Context (3)

Sources considered and not used (4)

Preventions of crossings (SB_02, "Migrants prevented"): Operational estimates collected and provided to the UK by French authorities; they count people stopped before reaching the UK, not arrivals. (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)
Ministry of Defence daily small boat figures: Published from 14 April 2022 to 30 January 2023 only; the Home Office says they differ in when arrivals are counted and in counting boats rather than events. (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)
Modern slavery referrals of small boat arrivals (IER_D04, IER_D05): Outside the question of this page; the referral counts are in the same dataset. (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)
Population shares of the same nationalities: Small boat arrivals are not residents, so no population base from the same publisher fits these groups.

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Cite as: RealStats, “How many people arrive in the UK by small boat, and how many claim asylum?”, updated 2026-10-27, with the original sources listed on the page. Scores use formula version 1.0.
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