From claim to outcome: how many people claim, how long they wait, what the decisions are — including for small-boat arrivals — and the support system that houses them meanwhile.
People (main applicants and dependants) claiming asylum, by year of claim. Asylum summary tables, year ending March 2026 (Home Office, Immigration system statistics).
The backlog: people awaiting an initial decision
People with an asylum claim pending initial decision, quarterly. Peak: 175,457 (as at 30 Jun 2023). Asylum claims awaiting a decision detailed datasets, year ending March 2026 (Home Office).
The backlog peaked at 175,457 in mid-2023 and stands at 48,758 (as at 31 March 2026) — of whom 17,668 have already been waiting 12 months or more.
People awaiting an initial decision, by duration since claim
Initial-decision outcomes of asylum claims from people who arrived by small boat, by outcome date (people). The grant rate is calculated on cases, as published.
Small-boat grant rates by nationality, Year ending March 2026
Grant rates of asylum claims from small-boat arrivals, top nationalities
Top nationalities as published. Grant rates are at initial decision only, by outcome date; rates move with policy decisions (pauses, country guidance) as well as caseload.
Grant rates cut both ways and are reported exactly as published: most small-boat claims from some nationalities are granted, most from others are refused, and rates move sharply with policy (a decision pause shows up as a collapsed rate). Initial decisions only — appeals change final outcomes. This page states the numbers; it does not convert them into an argument the data doesn't make.
Grants per year since 2010
Asylum-related grants at initial decision, by year of decision (excludes resettlement). Asylum summary tables, year ending March 2026 (Home Office, Immigration system statistics).
People in Home Office-provided accommodation, total and in contingency hotels. Asylum seekers in receipt of support by local authority, year ending March 2026 (Home Office).
What the inspectorate found
“the inspection found that, across AHRO, it is being recognised that quality has been the poor relation to productivity over the past few years.”
ICIBI: An inspection of asylum casework (June – December 2025) · 25 June 2026 · para 2.9. AHRO is the Home Office's Asylum and Human Rights Operations directorate — the unit that clears the backlog charted above.
1,330 people were identified for consideration under the inadmissibility rules in 2026 Q1 — the mechanism for declining to consider a claim from someone with a connection to a safe third country.