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Back to ‘Immigration system statistics, year ending March 2026’ contents page

This Accredited Official Statistics publication provides comprehensive statistics on the operation of the UK immigration system.

The UK immigration system undertakes a wide range of activities including issuing visas to those outside of the UK, changes to visas, and grants of settlement and citizenship to those already in the UK. It also provides safe and legal (humanitarian) routes of entry, as well as granting asylum and carrying out enforcement action. Figure 1 illustrates the different aspects of the immigration system and provides the numbers of people dealt with by each in the year ending (YE) March 2026.

Figure 1: Summary of the UK immigration system, YE March 2026

Notes:

1. This diagram is a simplification and doesn’t include all parts of the immigration system, such as people crossing the border who do not require a visa or have entered via an illegal route. Data in different parts of the immigration system is not always comparable.
2. The EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) figure relates to grants of settled status, including the estimated figure for automated grants of settled status, in the YE March 2026.
3. Within the publication, the latest Refugee Family Reunion figures are referenced in both the Family and Safe and Legal (Humanitarian) sections. To avoid duplication, Refugee Family Reunion grants for the latest year ending are presented within the Family visas figure in Figure 1.

1. How many people come to the UK each year?

In the YE March 2026 there were 136.8 million arrivals to the UK. The majority (57%) were British nationals. Of the non-British arrivals, most will be short-term visitors, with smaller numbers arriving for other reasons such as work, study, family and humanitarian protection.

• there were 2.2 million Visitor visas and 19,853 Transit visas granted in the YE March 2026
• in addition, 25.1 million Electronic Travel Authorisations (ETAs) have been issued in the YE March 2026, which allow eligible individuals to visit the UK for short periods
• people also come to the UK for other reasons, such as work, study, family and humanitarian reasons, and usually require an entry clearance visa – there were 779,000 visas issued for a non-visit reason in the latest year

Figure 2: Total numbers of visas granted in key categories and people detected entering via illegal routes, in the YE March 2026

Source: Entry clearance visa applications and outcomes - Vis_D02; Safe and legal (humanitarian) routes summary tables - Hum_01; Illegal entry routes to the UK - IER_D01

For further details see ‘How many people come to the UK each year?’.

2. Why do people come to the UK - Work?

• there were 253,000 work visas granted across all work categories in the YE March 2026, 17% fewer than the previous year and 59% fewer than in the YE December 2023, when the number of work visas peaked
• there were 111,000 Skilled Worker visas granted in the latest year, which was 76% fewer than the peak in the YE December 2023. This fall was due to a decline in Health and Care visas issued (primarily care workers), with visas issued to main applicants in a Caring Personal Service occupation falling from 108,000 to 1,400 over this period
• there were 83,000 visas granted for ‘Temporary Workers’ in the YE March 2026, which was 7% higher than the previous year
• the number of extensions granted on work routes, remained stable in the latest year at 738,000, following increases since 2021 – the increases reflect the high number of entry clearance grants issued in 2022 and 2023, many of which now require extensions of leave to remain

For further details see ‘Why do people come to the UK - Work?’.

3. Why do people come to the UK - Study?

• in the YE March 2026, there were 410,000 sponsored study visas grants, 3% less than the previous year, and 37% fewer than the peak in YE June 2023
• this included 392,000 main applicants – 3% less than YE March 2025 – and 18,000 dependants – at a similar level to the previous year

For further details see ‘Why do people come to the UK - Study?’.

4. Why do people come to the UK - Family?

• there were 62,000 family-related visas granted in the YE March 2026, 17% fewer than in the YE March 2025
• Partner visa grants fell by 17% to 39,000, continuing the decline observed over the past 2 years, following the introduction of the higher minimum income requirement for sponsors
• Refugee Family Reunion visa grants fell by 17% to 17,000, as grants declined from September 2025 due to the temporary pause to new applications
• there were 77,000 extensions of stay on family routes in the YE March 2026, a 34% increase on the YE March 2025; with the increase reflecting a higher volume of Partner visa entry grants from late 2021 onwards

For further details see ‘Why do people come to the UK - Family?’.

5. How many people come to the UK via safe and legal (humanitarian) routes?

• there were 191,000 grants of leave on safe and legal (humanitarian) routes, allowing people to come to, or remain in, the UK in the YE March 2026; this was 2.5 times higher than in the YE March 2025, largely due to grants on the Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme which will have been granted to people on existing Ukraine schemes
• grants to those already in the country accounted for over three-quarters of the total (147,000), with most (140,000) being on the UPE
• there were 44,000 out-of-country grants, predominantly on refugee family reunion (38%) and Ukraine (34%) routes; out-of-country grants were 25% fewer than the previous year

For further details see ‘How many people come to the UK via safe and legal (humanitarian) routes?’.

6. What is being done to stop organised immigration crime (OIC)?

• 4,400 disruptions to OIC (offences which have the effect of exploiting vulnerable migrants by smuggling them across borders for profit) were recorded in the YE March 2026, 46% higher than the previous year, continuing the recent upward trend
• this included over 100 major disruptions in the YE March 2026, a 50% increase on the previous year
• moderate and minor disruptions increased by 76% and 43% respectively in the latest year

For further details see ‘What is being done to stop organised immigration crime?’.

7. Illegal entry routes

7.1 How many people come to the UK via illegal entry routes?

• there were 44,000 detected arrivals via illegal entry routes, in the YE March 2026 - small boat arrivals accounted for 39,000 (90%) of these
• the number of small boat arrivals was slightly higher than the previous year but 14% lower than the peak in 2022
• the top 5 most common nationalities (Eritrean, Afghan, Sudanese, Iranian, and Somali) arriving on small boats in the YE March 2026 accounted for more than three-fifths of all small boat arrivals in that period

For further details see ‘How many people come to the UK via illegal entry routes?’. For more recent data on daily small boat arrivals see ‘Small boat activity in the English Channel’.

7.2 How many small boat arrivals have claimed asylum or been referred to the National Referral Mechanism?

• since 2018, 95% of the people arriving in the UK on a small boat have claimed asylum
• 19% of small boat arrivals in the YE December 2025 have been referred to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) as a potential victim of modern slavery so far, 34% of whom were Eritreans

For further details see ‘How many small boat arrivals have claimed asylum or been referred to the National Referral Mechanism?’.

8. Asylum claims, outcomes and system

Figure 3: Asylum claims, outcomes and people awaiting an initial decision, YE March 2003 to YE March 2026

Source: Asylum claims and decisions – Asy_D01, Asy_D02 and Asy_D03

Notes:

1. ‘Outcomes’ includes initial decisions and non-substantive outcomes such as withdrawals and administrative outcomes.

8.1 How many people claim asylum in the UK?

• 94,000 people claimed asylum, in the YE March 2026, 12% less than the previous year
• just over half of asylum seekers arrived through illegal entry routes, such as small boats, while a further 39% of claimants had previously arrived in the UK on a visa or with other leave
• in the YE December 2025, the UK received the fifth largest number of asylum seekers in the EU+, after Germany, France, Spain and Italy and the fifteenth largest intake when measured ‘’

For further details see ‘How many people claim asylum in the UK?’.

8.2 How many people are granted asylum in the UK?

• 128,000 people received initial decisions on asylum claims in the YE March 2026, 32% more than the previous year
• the grant rate in the YE March 2026 was 39% and has now returned to a similar level to the period before 2020, down from 49% in the previous year and substantially below the peak grant rate of 77% in the YE September 2022

For further details see ‘How many people are granted asylum in the UK?’.

8.3 How many people are in the UK asylum system?

• there were 49,000 people awaiting an initial decision (relating to 36,000 cases) at the end of March 2026, 55% fewer than at the end of March 2025 and 72% lower than the peak at the end of June 2023 (175,000 people), following an increase in the number of initial outcomes in recent years
• at the end of March 2026 there were 98,000 individuals in receipt of asylum support, 9% lower than a year prior
• 21,000 supported asylum seekers (21%) were in hotel accommodation, 35% lower than a year earlier

For further details see ‘How many people are in the UK asylum system?’.

8.4 How many people have their age assessed?

• in the YE March 2026, 6,400 people were age assessed for the first time, 3% less than the previous year, and 43% of people who have received an outcome were found to be adults
• of those deemed to be adults at their first age assessment in July to December 2025, 17% were later found to be children

For further details see ‘How many people have their age assessed?’.

9. How many Indefinite Leave (Settlement and EUSS settled status) and Citizenship grants have been issued in the UK?

• 152,000 settlement grants were issued in the YE March 2026, an 11% decrease from the YE March 2025; while settlement grants generally increased between 2018 and 2025, the recent decline reflects lower arrival volumes in 2020, due to COVID-19 disruption
• there were 371,000 grants of settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme in the YE March 2026, 12% higher than in the YE March 2025; most grants were to individuals that previously held pre-settled status
• there were 237,000 British citizenship grants in the YE March 2026, a 12% decrease in the latest year; grant volumes remain high, with the latest year the second highest annual total since 2005

For further details see ‘How many Indefinite Leave (Settlement and EUSS settled status) and Citizenship grants were issued in the UK?’.

10. How many people are detained under immigration powers in the UK?

• 23,000 entered detention in the YE March 2026, 7% more than in the YE March 2025, continuing the upward trend since 2023; the increase in numbers of individuals entering detention may reflect the use of detention to facilitate the rising number of returns from the UK
• there were 2,000 people being held in immigration detention at the end of March 2026, 8% more than on 31 March a year earlier, with more than double the number of FNOs detained in prisons under immigration powers

For further details see ‘How many people are detained under immigration powers in the UK?’.

11. How many people are returned from the UK?

• 39,000 returns were recorded in the YE March 2026 (including enforced and voluntary returns); this is a 7% increase on the 36,500 returns in the same period 12 months prior. Of these:
  • 9,700 were enforced returns, an increase of 13% compared with the previous year, continuing an increase since 2021
  • 29,300 were voluntary returns, an increase of 5% compared with the previous year, driven by an increase in asylum-related returns and assisted returns
• there were 5,900 FNO returns in the YE March 2026, an increase of 13% compared to the previous year

For further details see ‘How many people are returned from the UK?’.

12. Additional Home Office migration statistics

For more details on new statistics and breakdowns added to this release see section 2 of ‘About this release’.

The Home Office publishes a range of research and statistics which can be found on the migration analysis pages.

Details on the developments and future plans for Home Office ‘Immigration system statistics’ can be found in ‘Developments in migration statistics’.

12.1 Migration transparency

Figures on performance against service standards and processing times are published as part of the Home Office migration transparency. For further details see ‘Migration transparency data’.

12.2 Migrant journey

The Migrant journey report provides an analysis of the behaviour of migrants entering the UK immigration system under the main routes of entry to the UK and the common pathways leading to settlement. The Migrant journey report is published annually in May.

12.3 Monthly entry clearance visa applications

The Monthly entry clearance visa applications report contains the most up-to-date statistics on visa applications for people coming to the UK on work, study and family routes.