Asylum Statistics: January to March 2019

The immigration statistics for the first quarter of 2019 (Q1) have been released today. Key asylum figures are below and you can find the data tables here. Some headlines from the stats are below, and a lengthier overview is available here.

·       There were 31,589 asylum applications in the UK (main applicants only) in the year ending March 2019, 18% more than the previous year but below the level seen in the year ending March 2016 during the European migration crisis.

·       There were 3,223 applications from UASCs, 31% more than the previous year. UASCs accounted for 10% of total asylum applications in the latest year.

·       In the last year, 39% of initial decisions on asylum applications were grants of asylum, humanitarian protection or alternative forms of leave, compared with 30% in the previous year.

·     There were 32,309 cases pending initial decision at the end of March 2019, of which 43% (13,994) were more than 6 months old. This is the largest backlog recorded in asylum statistics.

·       At the end of March 2019, 45,643 asylum seekers in the UK were in receipt of support under Section 95, up 8% from the same time the previous year.

In the year ending March 2019, 5,794 people were provided protection under resettlement schemes (a similar number to the previous year). The Vulnerable Person Resettlement Scheme (VPRS) accounted for three-quarters (4,328) of those resettled in the UK in this time.