UK records biggest rise in asylum claims in Europe
CP
The UK recorded the largest increase in asylum applications across Europe in 2024, according to new figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
A total of 108,000 asylum claims were lodged in Britain last year, a 28 per cent rise on the 84,000 recorded in 2023. The figure represents the highest number of asylum applications ever recorded in the UK, surpassing the previous peak of around 103,000 in 2002.
The surge contrasts with trends in other major European countries, including France and Germany, where asylum applications fell over the same period.
The OECD data shows that more than 10,000 of the UK’s asylum seekers in 2024 came from Pakistan, while around 8,000 each originated from Afghanistan and Iran. The organisation also estimated that around 44,000 attempts at illegal entry were made into the UK last year, mostly through Channel crossings, up from 37,000 in 2023.
The rise in claims is expected to renew debate over the Government’s handling of illegal migration and its efforts to deter small boat arrivals.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer acknowledged earlier this year that Labour had failed to recognise problems over the number of people seeking access to the country, acknowledging the party “did shy away from people’s concerns around illegal immigration”.
“It has been too easy for people to enter the country, work in the shadow economy and remain illegally,” the Prime Minister wrote in The Telegraph.
Lee Anderson, a Reform UK MP, said the figures showed “decades of failed Tory and Labour governments … who continue to posture on immigration while refusing to end the endless incentives that draw more arrivals.”
“Migrants know that when they reach our shores, they’ll be met with blankets, warm clothes, four star hotels and sometimes a prison bed,” he said. “The British people are sick of seeing our leaders treat this country like a charity for the world’s poor and war torn.”
Across the OECD’s 38 member nations, asylum applications reached more than three million in 2024, the highest total on record. The United States accounted for the largest share, receiving 1.7 million claims, up from 1.2 million in 2023. Germany received nearly 230,000, down by around 100,000 on the previous year after introducing temporary border controls. France also saw a decline following tighter migration laws, while Spain and Italy each received over 150,000 applications.
Despite the rise in asylum seekers, overall migration to the UK fell last year. Britain received 436,000 permanent migrants in 2024, compared with 743,000. However, critics point out that 2023’s figure was unusually high, reflecting a post-pandemic surge as the UK and other Western nations sought to bolster their health services, logistics sectors, and other essential industries. However, of those granted entry, just over a quarter came as workers, while around 60 per cent arrived as family members.
The OECD said overall permanent migration across its member states dropped by four per cent to 6.2 million, though the organisation noted that levels remain “historically high.”
Leave a Reply