UK records high asylum application amid immigration crackdown- Report

The United Kingdom recorded over 108,000 asylum applications in 2024, marking the highest number in any 12-month period since records began in 2001, according to government figures released on Thursday.

The new figures represent an 18 percent increase from the 91,811 asylum requests lodged in 2023, surpassing the previous record of 103,081 applications set in 2002.

The surge comes at a time when Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government is under mounting pressure to tackle migration challenges.

Starmer, who took office in July 2024, has promised to tighten immigration laws, making it nearly impossible for undocumented migrants who arrive via the English Channel to secure UK citizenship.

His Labour-led government is also facing scrutiny following the strong electoral performance of the far-right Reform UK party, which gained around four million votes in the last general election.

According to AFP, Pakistani nationals made up the largest group of asylum seekers, accounting for 9.7 percent of the total applications.

Additionally, applications from Vietnamese nationals more than doubled, rising from 2,469 in 2023 to 5,259 last year.

Since assuming office, Starmer abandoned the controversial Rwanda deportation plan introduced by former Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Instead, his administration has focused on dismantling human smuggling networks and reducing the number of people entering the UK illegally.

UK Border Security and Asylum Minister Angela Eagle stated that the government is working to speed up asylum decision-making and enforce the removal of applicants whose claims are unsuccessful. As of December 2024, 124,802 people were still awaiting an initial decision on their asylum requests.

Eagle also reaffirmed the government’s commitment to reducing legal migration, which remains at historically high levels. The net migration figure for 2023-2024 was 728,000—down from the previous year’s record high of 906,000.

“We are also ensuring that legal migration continues to come down after the previous government quadrupled net migration in the space of four years,” Eagle said.

Meanwhile, undocumented migrants crossing the Channel in small boats accounted for 32 percent of asylum applications in 2024. Official data shows that 36,816 individuals made the dangerous journey from France to England—slightly higher than the previous year’s figures.