Malu Cursino
Live reporter

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New Home Office figures show a drop in the number of visas, asylum claims and small boat arrivals in the year to June 2026.

During this period, the government granted 235,000 work visas, 383,000 study visas and 58,000 family visas.

A drop in work visas follows a tightening of rules, introduced by Rishi Sunak's government and retained by the Labour government, the BBC's home and legal correspondent writes.

Arrivals into the UK on small boats were 33,000, marking a 23% drop compared to the previous year - but still in line with the same period in 2024 and 2022.

Asylum claims were also down, with 86,000 people claiming refuge in the UK, however the government notes it's at similar levels seen prior to 2021.

The number of asylum seekers housed in hotels was also down to 16,00, as almost every local authority area saw a drop, our UK correspondent writes. More than 70,000 are housed in other accommodation, a rise from a year ago.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood says today's figures show her government "is restoring control at our border and fairness to the migration system" but "there is more we must do".

While asylum claims are being processed faster, the Migration Observatory notes that "the biggest remaining challenge for the government is now the backlog in the courts" as people appeal asylum decisions.

We're ending our live coverage here, but you can read more in our news story, and keep up to date with the BBC's tracker on UK immigration data.

There were 40,000 people waiting for an initial decision on their asylum claim at the end of June 2026.

This is 56% less than at the end of June 2025 and the lowest overall backlog level since June 2019.

Of the 93,000 applications processed in the 12 months to June 2026, 38% were granted refugee or protection status and 62% were refused.

Dr Nuni Jorgenson from the University of Oxford's Migration Observatory says that while the government is making asylum decisions faster, meaning asylum hotels are being used less, the problem is now the appeals backlog in courts.

"The initial backlog is now actually relatively low, and most decisions take a few months. The biggest remaining challenge for the government is now the backlog in the courts," Jorgenson says, adding that the government has proposed to reform the appeals system.

Our UK correspondent reported a moment ago that the number of asylum seekers housed in hotels is down in almost every local authority area in the UK.

The use of hotels to accommodate asylum seekers increased dramatically in 2020 driven by a backlog in processing asylum claims and a lack of long-term housing.

However, their use has proved controversial - sparking protests in some local areas.

The Labour government has promised to stop using hotels to accommodate asylum seekers by July 2029 - it says longer-term reform is under way on faster asylum decisions, higher removals, and tougher enforcement.

They are also using alternative sites such as military barracks - which itself has sparked local protests.

Today's figures show as of June 2026 there were 16,021 asylum seekers in hotels, and 1,255 in other forms of contingency accommodation - both figures represent a drop since March.

There were 69,028 in dispersal accommodation, which is usually a home in a community, up from 68,719 recorded in March 2026.

Daniel Sandford
UK correspondent

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The number of asylum seekers being housed in hotels as contingency accommodation is down in almost every local authority area in the UK.

Between March 2026 and June 2026 the number was only up in 20 local authorities, including in Derby which went from 99 to 140, Peterborough from 66 to 99, Stockport from 443 to 485 and Rugby from 391 to 433.

Separately, between March 2026 and June 2026 the number went to zero in Bedford, Broxbourne, North Herfordshire, Norwich, Bromley, Gravesham, Horsham, West Oxfordshire, Dudley, Stoke-on-Trent, Wolverhampton, Wychavon and Calderdale.

I have been tracking the hotels individually and by local authority for years and I have never seen such a striking set of figures.

In their analysis of the Home Office's latest stats, the University of Oxford's Migration Observatory highlight the rise in the number of people who applied to become British citizens.

Researcher Nuni Jorgensen says the number - 315,000 - "reflects rising non-EU migration even before Brexit, as well as a gradual increase in the share of non-EU migrants choosing to become citizens since 2021".

The numbers can be traced back to 2021 because immigrants can only apply for British citizenship once they have held the indefinite leave to remain (ILR) for 12 months.

As things stand, they can apply for ILR once they have been in the UK for five years.

Jorgensen says the data does not, however, tell us why there has been a "sudden change in people's desire to become British".

Dominic Casciani
Home and legal correspondent

Following the introduction of restrictions on how migrants could apply to bring family members to join them, only 58,000 such visas were granted in the year to June 2026 - 19% down on the previous 12 months.

Statisticians say that the fall was “largely driven” by new rules making it exceptionally hard for refugee families to come together in the UK.

That policy - which has faced challenges in the High Court - remains in place with the government believing it has an impact on deterring illegal arrivals across the English Channel.

Critics say it denies genuine refugees the chance to rebuild their lives.

Image source, Getty Images

There are a lot of numbers floating around today. Let's take a look at three key figures in the year to June 2026, shared in today's Home Office release.

• Visas: work visas (235,000), study visas (383,000) and family visas (58,000) all saw drops compared to the same period in the previous year
• Asylum claims: 86,000 people claimed asylum in the UK. The number is 21% lower than the year ending in June 2025 - but the government highlights it remains similar to levels seen before 2021
• Small boat arrivals: 33,000 people arrived in the UK on small boats. That marks a 23% drop compared to the previous year, but it continues to be in line with the same time frame in 2024 and 2022

Dominic Casciani
Home and legal correspondent

The statistics show that the Home Office granted 235,000 work visas in the year to the end of June 2026. That is down 18% on the previous year and 62% lower than the peak in December 2023.

That high related to policies followed by the former Prime Minister Boris Johnson to liberalise the work visa system.

But in its dying months the Rishi Sunak government tightened the rules, including by restricting the ability of international students and care workers to bring family members into the UK, and raised salary thresholds for work visas.

The Labour government has retained the measures and in some cases expanded on them.

Significantly, the number of workers who could arrive on a specialist health and care worker visa fell by 90% in the latest figures - following progressive tightening of that route.

The number of applications for British citizenship has increased to 315,000 in the 12 months to June 2026. That's up 17% from 270,000 in the year ending June 2025.

Application numbers have been rising since the pandemic.

However the number of applications granted has decreased by 4% compared to last year - 246,000 British citizenship grants were issued in the 12 months to June 2026.

The three key legal routes into the UK are all showing big drops in the data covered by this time period, which is the year to June 2026.

• There were 235,000 work visas granted (including dependants) - that's 18% fewer than the previous year
• There were 383,000 sponsored study visas grants - that's 11% fewer than the previous year
• There were 58,000 family visas granted - that's 19% fewer than the year to June 2025

The Home Office says the fall in sponsored study visa grants was due to fewer main applicants - with dependants remaining stable.

The top two nationalities were China and India - together accounting for 46% of study visas issued to main applicants.

As we've just heard from Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, small boat arrivals are down in the year to June 2026.

The number of arrivals has dropped by 23% on the previous year, with 33,000 arrivals recorded to the UK.

Of those arriving on small boats, the government says the five most common nationalities are Eritrean, Sudanese, Afghan, Somali and Iranian.

Despite the drop, the figure remains in line with the number of arrivals seen in the years ending June 2024 (31,000) and June 2022 (35,000).

Last month, a record 165 people reached the UK in a single boat, described as a mega dinghy and estimated to be the same size as a standard bus at 13m (42ft) long. This fell outside the time period for these statistics and would not be counted within the figures today.

Image source, PA Media

In response to the figures, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood says after two years of the Labour government, the asylum backlog is down, as well as the number of asylum seekers in hotels.

In a statement, she adds that "illegal working arrests are at record levels, and deportations and returns are up markedly".

On small boat arrivals, she says numbers are falling, adding that they are "not complacent and there is more we must do".

"That is why I have boosted enforcement on the French beaches and overseas and introduced new legislation to tackle the pull factors that draw people here through unsafe and illegal routes.

“This government is restoring control at our border and fairness to the migration system," she says.

The Home Office says that 16,000 asylum seekers were housed in hotel accommodation in the year ending in June 2026.

According to the government, that is 50% lower than during the same period in the year ending in June 2025.

Earlier this month, the Home Office confirmed the government would go ahead with its plans to house asylum seekers on former military bases which sparked protests in some affected areas, like Piddington in Oxfordshire.

We can now bring you further details on the number of people claiming asylum in the year to June 2026, according to the latest Home Office statistics.

Just over half of asylum seekers coming to the UK across that time period arrived through illegal entry routes, such as small boats.

A further 41% of claimants had previously held a visa or other leave.

As of June 2026, there were 40,000 people still waiting for an initial decision on their claim - that is a 56% drop compared to the year to June 2025.

There's more data on the use of hotels and the outcomes of claims that we will bring you shortly.

The number of people claiming asylum in the UK in the year to June 2026 has dropped by 21% compared with the previous year.

Home Office figures show 86,000 people claimed asylum - that figure remains above the typical levels seen before 2021.

We'll bring you more data shortly, as we continue to work through the figures.

The Home Office has just released the latest set of quarterly statistics on UK immigration.

In among the figures is data on asylum claims, citizenship and how many people have come to the UK via illegal routes.

We're looking through the documents now and are working to bring you the key lines, stick with us.

There will be a number of different data sets in today’s release all of which will encompass the 12 months to June 2026.

The figures will broadly cover the following;

• The total number of arrivals to the UK
• A breakdown of those coming on work, study or family visas - as well as those who travelled here via legal (humanitarian) or illegal routes
• The number of asylum claims, their outcomes and how many are waiting for a decision
• Figures on detentions made using immigration powers
• How many people have been returned from the UK

Image source, PA Media

We don’t know much yet about Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s intended policies on migration - he became PM just over a month ago.

However, during his campaigning and since taking up office, he has voiced some ideas that give us an inclination of what he might look to tackle.

Earlier this month, in an interview with GB News, Burnham said he believed the poorest areas should not house all asylum seekers.

The comments came in response to a question about protests over plans to provide accommodation for asylum seekers on a former military base near Piddington, Oxfordshire.

Under Keir Starmer’s government, Labour pledged to end the use of hotels to house asylum seekers after the process became a focal point for anti-migrant protests.

The most recent set of statistics showed this had dropped by a third on the year before, as the Home Office has sought to use military sites as an alternative.

At the beginning of August, he pledged that his government will be "relentless" in curbing the number of people arriving in the UK on small boats.

He said they were "changing the whole approach", with enforcement officers tackling people-smuggling gangs doubled on both sides of the Channel.

Meanwhile, while campaigning for the Makerfield by-election in May, Burnham said net migration “needs to fall further”.

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The last set of statistics was released in July, which gave figures in the year to March 2026 - here's a snapshot at what they showed.

The number of people claiming asylum had dropped by 12% - with just over 93,500 claiming asylum in the year to March 2026.

The figure still represented more than double the levels of claims seen prior to the pandemic.

Other notable statistics from May included that the number of asylum seekers living in hotels, which was 20,885 in the year to March 2026, down from 30,657 people in December 2025.

That Home Office release coincided with statistics from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which showed that net migration had dropped to 171,000 in the year to December 2025, the lowest figure since 2012, excluding the Covid pandemic.

As a reminder, we won’t be getting new figures from the ONS today.