Asylum applications hit 20-year high - but just 15 rejected in a year

Asylum applications have hit a 20-year high of more than 60,000 in the past year, but just 15 failed claimants have been removed from the UK.

Immigration officials admit they are “sinking under the weight of asylum cases” as Channel crossings by migrants have doubled this year to more than 11,000 since January 1. It has now passed 50,000 since the first small boat was detected in 2018.

Amid fears that deportations of asylum seekers to Rwanda could be stalled for more than a year, official figures have shown that in the 15 months to March this year, just 15 migrants were forcibly returned to “safe” countries after their asylum claims were ruled inadmissible.

None of the 15 were returned to France, even though the country is the starting point for the boat crossings. It was also handed £54 million by the UK Government last year to combat illegal migration and create asylum camps to prevent them crossing the Channel.

The 747 flight taking asylum seekers to Rwanda was halted on Tuesday, after the European Court of Human Rights intervened. UK courts had accepted the policy to deter migrants from making dangerous and unnecessary crossings from safe countries was in the public interest.

“The number of asylum applications is 60,000-plus and rising exponentially week on week, with no clear plan about how to bring the numbers down,” said a senior immigration official.

“We are basically sinking under the weight of asylum cases which we have not got a grip of, which we cannot get down - short of letting people stay, which is not acceptable.”

The 60,000 asylum applications is more than double the number last year and is approaching levels last seen in the early 2000s - when Britain was forced to negotiate a new agreement with France to move the border to Calais, to stop migrants sneaking in via ferries or lorries.

It is up on the 55,000 for the year to the end of March. The overall backlog of outstanding asylum cases has increased to 90,000, which account for some 110,000 adults and children. This is double the number in March 2020.

“We are getting back to numbers that are similar to 2002, when there were 85,000 primary applications a year,” said Tony Smith, former director-general of Border Force. 

“If the predictions of 60,000 to 70,000 people crossing the Channel in small boats this week are accurate and you add that on, it is going to be meltdown in the Home Office as we haven’t got an outlet for all those cases.

“You are getting a global migration increase, a small boats increase, an increase in asylum cases and absent removals. We have to talk to the French, EU and wider world about this problem. We cannot fix it on our own.”

His fears are confirmed by figures from Frontex, the EU border agency, showing the number of illegal migrants entering the EU has increased by 82 per cent to 86,420 so far this year, compared with the same period last year. This excludes the 5.5 million Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion.

'Broken asylum system'

A Home Office spokesman said: “The broken asylum system is currently costing the UK taxpayer £1.5 billon a year - a 20-year record high - with almost £5 million a day spent on hotels alone.  

“This cannot continue, which is why our Migration and Economic Development Partnership with Rwanda is a key part of our plans to reform the system. We have also created an Asylum Action Group to identify ways to significantly increase the processing of claims.”

Dr Ben Greening, executive director of Migration Watch UK, said: "It boggles the mind that there was not one enforced return on inadmissibility grounds to France during a period when there were around 40,000 arrivals by boat and lorry, many directly from that country. 

“These figures reveal the shocking obstacles ministers face in enforcing the law and tackling asylum abuse. Vexatious legal challenges are one such hurdle, but another factor is ridiculous foot-dragging by the French - to whom, it should be remembered, we have paid hundreds of millions."

The Home Office has announced plans to start electronically tagging some migrants who arrive by small boat on the English coast.

The 12-month pilot scheme is designed to test whether those arriving in the country using "unnecessary and dangerous" routes can effectively be given immigration bail.

Those who are tagged will still be required to report to authorities on a regular basis and may be subject to a curfew or banned from attending certain locations. Those who fail to comply with their bail conditions could be prosecuted and returned to detention.

The Home Office said it hopes the scheme will help them to process claims for asylum more quickly and effectively.