Q1 2018 Asylum Stats
The immigration statistics for the first quarter, January to March, of 2018 (Q1) were released 24th of May. Key asylum figures are below and you can find the data tables here.
Applications:
- In Q1 of 2018 there were 6,713 asylum applications, compared to 7,175 in Q4 of 2017.
- In the last year (2017 Q2 – 2018 Q1) there were 26,547 asylum applications, compared with 28,983 in the year before (2016 Q2 – 2017 Q1), a fall of 8%.
Decisions:
- There were 5,990 initial decisions in Q1 of which 19% were grants of asylum (1,164) and 3% (193) were grants of HP/ DL. This compares to 5,454 initial decisions in Q4 of which 24% were grants of asylum (1,294) and 1% were grants of HP/ DL (61).
- In the last year there were 21,327 initial decisions of which 25% (5,296) were grants of asylum and 2% (377) were grants of HP/ DL. This compares to 24,259 initial decisions in the previous year, of which 29% (6,996) were grants of asylum and 1% (297) were grants of HP/ DL.
Applications by Nationality
- The nationalities with the largest number of asylum applications in the year ending March 2018 were:
o Iranian (2,482 applications, down 26%)
o Pakistani (2,401, down 13%)
o Iraqi (2,391, down 2%)
o Sudanese (1,754, up 25%)
o Bangladeshi (1,542, down 20%)
- In the year ending March 2018, the number of applications from Syrian nationals fell 42% compared with the previous year (from 1,074 to 619), a fall consistent with the previous two years.
- Over the same period, there was a fall in both the number of Syrian nationals granted asylum (down 54%) and a 20% decrease in the number of Syrian nationals being granted protection in the UK through other means such as the VPRS (from 5,453 to 4,342).
Pending cases
- There were 24,593 cases pending initial decision at the end of Q1 2018, of which 9,824 were more than 6 months old. This compares to 24,557 cases pending at the end of Q4 2017, of which 10,366 were more than 6 months old. **NB data for Q4 2017 was updated since last release which had previously shown nearly 15,000 pending cases more than 6 months old.
Appeals
- There were 3,364 appeals received in Q1 2018 and 3,030 appeals determined, of which 37% (1,116) were allowed. This compares to Q4 2017 there were 3,430 appeals received and 2,639 appeals determined, of which 38% were allowed (991).
- In the last year, 11,871 appeals were received and 11,974 appeals were determined of which 36% were allowed (4,332). This compares to the previous year when 11,908 appeals were received, 15,776 were determined, of which 38% were allowed (6,008).
Asylum Support
- At the end of Q1 2018, there were 42,352 asylum-seekers supported under section 95 support (39,132 in dispersed accommodation, and 3,220 subsistence only). This compares to Q4 2017, when there were 40,736 asylum-seekers on section 95 support (3,020 subsistence only and 37,716 in dispersed accommodation).
- At the end of Q1 there were 4,333 people receiving section 4 support, compared to 4,114 at the end of Q4.
Resettlement
- In Q1, there were 200 people resettled via the Gateway Protection Programme, 5 via the Mandate scheme, 1,111 via the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme and 153 via the Vulnerable Children Resettlement Scheme.
- A total of 5,760 people were resettled in the UK in the year ending March 2018 under various schemes.