MigrationWatchdog

Belfast

Northern Ireland — asylum support snapshot, as at 31 Mar 2026.

1,607
asylum seekers supported
as at 31 Mar 2026 · source
1,539
in dispersal accommodation
as at 31 Mar 2026 · source
59
in initial accommodation
as at 31 Mar 2026 · source
9
other or unclassified support
as at 31 Mar 2026 · source

Belfast ranks #5 of 344 UK local authorities with supported asylum seekers, carrying 67.5% of Northern Ireland's supported caseload. No contingency accommodation (hotel or otherwise) is recorded here at this snapshot. Compare all authorities →

The last 12 quarters

2.7k030 Jun 202331 Mar 202630 Jun 2023 — 2,68130 Sep 2023 — 2,49831 Dec 2023 — 2,04331 Mar 2024 — 2,06230 Jun 2024 — 1,86330 Sep 2024 — 1,88831 Dec 2024 — 1,94031 Mar 2025 — 1,84130 Jun 2025 — 1,76030 Sep 2025 — 1,77931 Dec 2025 — 1,74931 Mar 2026 — 1,607
People in receipt of Home Office asylum support in Belfast, quarterly snapshots. Asylum seekers in receipt of Home Office support by local authority, year ending March 2026 (Home Office, Immigration system statistics).

Down 40% since 30 Jun 2023.

The legal route, locally

Alongside asylum dispersal, Belfast has received 419 people through formal resettlement schemes since 2014 (none in the last four published quarters).

four quarters to 2026 Q1, and cumulative since 2014 · source

Ranked nearby

Support counts are a point-in-time snapshot by registered address; contingency sites open and close between quarters. Census context is unavailable: the 2021 census covered England and Wales only — Northern Ireland ran its own census. Numbers say where the asylum system places people — they say nothing about any individual.

Data as of

Sources for this page