MigrationWatchdog

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Every cleaned series this site renders, as CSV and JSON. Each file carries its own provenance header: the official source, the period, the retrieval date and the licence. If you don't trust our charts, check our workings.

Arrivals and migration flows

Who arrives, how, and how that compares with lawful migration.

Downloadable cleaned datasets: Arrivals and migration flows
DatasetPeriodRowsAs ofDownload
Small-boat arrivals by monthDetected small-boat arrivals per complete month since January 2018 (provisional operational data).January 2018 to August 2026 (complete months)1042026-09-25CSVJSON
Small-boat arrivals by year (official)Detected small-boat arrivals per calendar year from the quarterly Illegal entry routes tables.calendar years, published in the year ending June 2026 release82026-09-02CSVJSON
Detected illegal entry by method and yearAll detected illegal entry routes (small boats, air, in-country and port detections), by year.calendar years, published in the year ending June 2026 release42026-09-02CSVJSON
Small-boat arrivals: top nationalitiesTop nationalities of detected small-boat arrivals, calendar year 2025.calendar year 2025102026-09-02CSVJSON
Illegal-route arrivals by nationality and yearDetected arrivals by illegal entry routes for the largest nationalities, per complete calendar year.calendar year 2025122026-09-02CSVJSON
Long-term net migration (ONS), year-ending seriesONS total long-term net migration by year-ending period — ALL routes and nationalities, overwhelmingly lawful. Context only: not a measure of irregular migration and not comparable with small-boat or asylum counts.year ending Jun 2012 to year ending Dec 2025552026-08-18CSVJSON
First-time asylum applicants, six EU statesFirst-time asylum applicants in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Belgium, latest complete calendar year (Eurostat). Indicative context only — the UK is outside Eurostat's collection and its counting basis differs.calendar year 202562026-08-18CSVJSON
Safe and legal (humanitarian) routes by yearPeople offered humanitarian routes per calendar year (route totals include in-country grants).calendar years and Year ending June 2026162026-09-02CSVJSON

The asylum system

Claims, the backlog, decisions, appeals and the legal aid behind them.

Downloadable cleaned datasets: The asylum system
DatasetPeriodRowsAs ofDownload
Asylum claims by yearPeople (main applicants and dependants) claiming asylum, by year of claim, since 2010.calendar years 2010 to 2025162026-09-03CSVJSON
Asylum backlog, quarterlyPeople awaiting an initial asylum decision at each quarter end since 2010.30 Jun 2010 to 30 Jun 2026652026-09-03CSVJSON
Asylum support and hotels, quarterlyPeople in Home Office-provided accommodation, total and in contingency hotels, per quarter.31 Mar 2014 to 30 Jun 2026502026-09-03CSVJSON
Asylum-related grants by yearAsylum-related grants at initial decision, by year of decision, since 2010.calendar years 2010 to 2025162026-09-03CSVJSON
Asylum claims by route of entryPeople claiming asylum by route of entry / latest leave held before the claim, latest year. The table is nested as published: rows with is_subtotal=true include the component rows beneath them — do not sum all rows together.Year ending June 202692026-09-03CSVJSON
Visa-holders claiming asylum, by nationalityPeople claiming asylum after entering with a visa or other leave, by nationality and visa type, latest year.year ending June 202652026-09-03CSVJSON
Asylum claims, decisions and grant rates by nationalityClaims, initial decisions, grant rate and people awaiting a decision, by nationality, latest year.Year ending June 2026202026-09-03CSVJSON
Tribunal appeals: open caseloadOpen caseload of the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber), total and asylum/protection, quarterly.2015/16 Q1 to 2025/26 Q4442026-09-02CSVJSON
Tribunal appeals: receiptsAppeals received by the First-tier Tribunal (IAC), total and asylum/protection, quarterly.2007/08 Q1 to 2025/26 Q4762026-09-02CSVJSON
Asylum claim cohorts: initial vs latest outcomesEach claim year followed to its latest outcome: initial and latest grant rates, and returns within the cohort.claim cohorts 2010 to 2025162026-09-02CSVJSON
Asylum decisions within 6 months, by quarter receivedShare of asylum applications receiving an initial decision within 6 months, by the quarter the application was received (table ASY_01). Recent cohorts can still rise as pending cases conclude.2014 Q2 to 2025 Q4472026-09-02CSVJSON
Legal aid for immigration and asylum, by financial yearCompleted Legal Help matters and spend on asylum and non-asylum immigration cases, by financial year, using the publisher's own case-category labels. Legal Help is initial advice, not representation; Exceptional Case Funding and application/grant rows carry volume but no spend.financial years 2008-09 to 2025-26182026-08-21CSVJSON

Enforcement, returns and detention

Returns, foreign national offenders, detention and enforcement activity.

Downloadable cleaned datasets: Enforcement, returns and detention
DatasetPeriodRowsAs ofDownload
Returns by type and yearEnforced and voluntary returns from the UK per calendar year since 2004.calendar years 2004 to 2025222026-09-02CSVJSON
FNO returns by yearReturns of foreign national offenders per calendar year since 2010.calendar years 2004 to 2025162026-09-02CSVJSON
FNOs living in the community, quarterlyForeign national offenders subject to deportation action living in the community (criteria and non-criteria).2022 Q4 to 2026 Q2152026-09-02CSVJSON
Immigration detention by yearPeople entering, leaving and in immigration detention at year end, since 2010.calendar years 2010 to 2025162026-09-02CSVJSON
Organised immigration crime disruptions, quarterlyDisruptions of organised immigration crime by public agencies, by threat level, per quarter.2023 Jan - Mar to 2026 Apr - Jun142026-09-02CSVJSON
How long immigration detention lasted, by bandOccurrences of leaving immigration detention in the latest year ending, banded by how long that detention lasted. Occurrences, not people — someone detained twice appears twice — and not a measure of people currently held. Bands and their order are the publisher's own and sum exactly to its published total.Year ending June 2026142026-09-02CSVJSON
Leaving detention by reasonOccurrences of leaving immigration detention: removed from the UK vs bailed vs other, per year since 2010.calendar years 2010 to 2025162026-09-02CSVJSON
Detention cost per dayAverage £ per person per day in immigration detention, quarterly since 2013.2013 Q1 to 2026 Q2542026-09-02CSVJSON
Illegal-working civil penaltiesCivil penalties issued to employers for illegal working, count and value, quarterly.2016 Q1 to 2026 Q2422026-09-02CSVJSON
Returns of small-boat arrivalsThe Home Office's published cohort: returns of people who arrived by small boat, quarterly since 2018.2018 Q1 to 2026 Q2342026-09-02CSVJSON
Returns by type and asylum statusEnforced and voluntary returns split by whether the person had claimed asylum, per year since 2010.calendar years 2010 to 2025162026-09-02CSVJSON
FNO returns by nationality and offence groupThe full published cross-tab: FNOs returned, by nationality and offence group (counts only).year ending June 2026102026-09-02CSVJSON
FNOs released into the community by reason (discontinued series)Why FNOs were released into the community, quarterly 2012–2021. The Home Office discontinued this series with no successor.2012 Q1 to 2021 Q4 (discontinued)402026-09-02CSVJSON
Illegal working enforcement by regionImmigration Enforcement illegal-working visits and arrests by English region, publisher's comparison periods. Enforcement activity, not convictions.to the end of June 202692026-08-17CSVJSON
Illegal working visits and arrests, half-yearlyIllegal-working enforcement visits and arrests per half-year since 2019.to the end of June 2026152026-08-17CSVJSON
Returns from the UK, monthly operational countsThe Home Office monthly operational count of returns by type. A DIFFERENT SERIES from the quarterly official statistics on a different counting basis - the two must never be summed or plotted together.1 December 2022 and 31 January 2026382026-08-17CSVJSON
UK-France agreement transfers, monthlyTransfers into the UK (legal route) and returns from the UK to France under the UK-France agreement, monthly. Never compare against total arrivals as a rate.6 August 2025 and 30 June 2026 112026-08-17CSVJSON
Detention welfare series, quarterlyRule 35 medical reports (all levels summed), use-of-force incidents on escorted removals with attempted returns, and pregnant women detained, per quarter.2015 Q1 to 2026 Q2462026-09-02CSVJSON
EU returns following an order to leave, six statesThird-country nationals returned following an order to leave in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Belgium, latest complete calendar year (Eurostat, rounded). Counting bases differ from UK returns statistics.calendar year 202562026-08-18CSVJSON
Independent Monitoring Board detention reports and ministerial responsesRecent annual reports of the statutory monitoring boards for immigration removal centres and short-term holding facilities, and the Home Office's published written response to each.published up to 2026-09-02142026-09-02CSVJSON

Places and local impact

Accommodation, homelessness and schools, by local authority.

Downloadable cleaned datasets: Places and local impact
DatasetPeriodRowsAs ofDownload
Asylum support by local authoritySupported asylum seekers by UK local authority at the latest snapshot, with accommodation breakdown and census context where available.as at 30 Jun 20263462026-09-02CSVJSON
Homelessness after leaving asylum accommodation, by local authorityHouseholds owed a homelessness prevention or relief duty because they were required to leave Home Office asylum accommodation, by English local authority. Households, not people. The two duties are DIFFERENT and must not be summed — a household can move from prevention to relief.January to March 20262962026-08-19CSVJSON
Pupils by first language, by local authorityPupils in STATE-FUNDED schools whose first language is known or believed to be other than English, by local authority, with the English and unknown categories and the share of the three. First language is not immigration status and this is not a count of migrant children. Published at upper-tier authority level.academic year 2025/261532026-08-21CSVJSON
Prevent referrals by type of concernPrevent referrals by the Home Office's own type-of-concern categories, April 2024 to March 2025.April 2024 to March 2025122026-08-21CSVJSON

Money

Audited costs, departmental spending disclosures and provider filings.

Downloadable cleaned datasets: Money
DatasetPeriodRowsAs ofDownload
Home Office £25k+ spend disclosures, monthlyMonthly totals of the Home Office's transaction-level spending disclosures (individual transactions of £25,000 or more), with sums of transactions naming each of the three asylum accommodation providers. Provider transactions appear only intermittently — a £0 month means no disclosed transaction, not that the contractor went unpaid — so this series is not a record of contract payments.January 2025 to June 2026182026-09-02CSVJSON
Asylum costs and unit cost, by financial yearTotal asylum costs, the Home Office's own unit cost per asylum conclusion, and asylum caseworking staff, by financial year — the department's own accounting (table ASY_04). Nominal £.financial years 2010/11 to 2025/26152026-09-02CSVJSON
Cost figures (curated citations)Every curated cost figure with its verbatim source quote — there is no machine-readable government costs dataset.various (per row)242026-08-23CSVJSON
Asylum accommodation providers: accounts filing historyAccounts filings on the public register for the three AASC accommodation providers. Filing records only — no turnover figure, because Companies House serves these accounts as scanned PDFs with no extractable text and no iXBRL data.filings to 2026-08-17122026-08-21CSVJSON

Parliament and regulation

What is asked, what ministers claim, and what the statistics regulator says.

Downloadable cleaned datasets: Parliament and regulation
DatasetPeriodRowsAs ofDownload
Select committee reports on asylum and immigration, and the state of the government responseCommittee reports with the response deadline the parliamentary record gives and whether a response is recorded against each. 'None recorded' means none is recorded in the parliamentary record — not that none exists.reports published up to 2026-06-0572026-08-24CSVJSON
Coroners' Prevention of Future Deaths reports sent to the Home Office on the immigration systemReports made under Schedule 5 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 where the Home Office is a named recipient and the report concerns the immigration system. No name of any deceased person, no circumstances and no inquest conclusion are included — only the fact of the report, its recipients and a link.reports published up to 2025-07-1542026-08-24CSVJSON
Ombudsman investigations into deaths in immigration detention, by establishmentEvery immigration establishment in the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman's index with the number of published fatal incident investigations, including establishments with none. No personal detail of any kind is included.investigations published up to 2025-09-1292026-08-24CSVJSON
Answered written parliamentary questions on asylum and enforcementThe most recently answered written questions matching asylum, small-boat, deportation, enforcement and accommodation topics, with the date tabled, the date for answer the official record gives, the date answered, and whether the question was a named-day question. A question is an assertion by a member, not a finding of fact.answered up to 2026-09-182002026-09-21CSVJSON
Statistics regulator correspondence on Home Office immigration statisticsLetters between the Office for Statistics Regulation and the Home Office about immigration and asylum statistics. Not statistics: the regulator's assessment of how the department's figures are produced and released.published up to 2026-05-08102026-08-21CSVJSON
Quantified ministerial claims on immigration (Hansard)Whole sentences, verbatim from the Official Report, in which a minister made a claim involving a number about immigration or asylum, with the site subjects each claim is about. A claim is not a statistic and is not adjudicated here; the subject tags are what /claims uses to print an official figure beside each one.statements to 2026-07-15232026-08-21CSVJSON

Writing code against this? There is a versioned JSON API → — the same series behind documented, stable endpoints, plus the source register, every headline figure and the freshness check.

These files are cleaned republications of official statistics under the Open Government Licence v3.0, with Crown copyright acknowledged. The cleaning pipeline is described on the sources and methodology page; every parser fails loudly rather than writing partial data, and the build refuses to ship a figure without provenance.

Newest dataset as of