London: Pakistaní was the main nationality among asylum applicants in 2024-25 in the United Kingdom, according to figures published by the Interior Ministry.
The Pakistanis represented 11,048 people or 10.1% of the total asylum seekers in the last year, the Interior Ministry said.
A total of 109,343 people requested asylum in the year until March 2025, the highest number for any period of 12 months since the current records began in 2001. The number has increased 17% of 93,150 in the year ending in March 2024, according to the figures published by the Ministry of Interior.
In 2023-24, Pakistaní was the third most common nationality (7.5% of the total) and in that year 7,003 requested asylum.
The previous registration was 108,138 in the 12 months until December 2024. The number of asylum applications in the United Kingdom has reached a new maximum, although the accumulation of cases waiting for a decision has fallen to its lowest level since 2021.
The migrants who arrived in the United Kingdom after crossing the La Mancha channel in small boats represented 33% of the total number of people claiming asylum in the year until March.
“Afghan” was the second most common nationality among people who claim asylum in the year until March (8,069 people, 7.4% of the total), below 9,738 (10.5%) in 2023-24 when it was the most common nationality.
Together with Pakistan, the greatest increase in asylum claims in 2024-25 came from Syrian nationals, which stood at 6,175 (5.6% of the total), compared to 4,232 (4.5%) in 2023-24.
The figures also show that there were 109,536 people waiting for an initial decision on an asylum application in the United Kingdom at the end of March 2025.
This decreased by 12% of 124,802 at the end of December 2024 and is the lowest number since December 2021.
The total reached its maximum point in 175,457 at the end of June 2023, which was the highest figure since the current records began in 2010.
The number of people waiting for more than six months for an initial decision stood at 67,373 at the end of March, below 73,866 at the end of December and well below the recent peak of 139,961 in June 2023.
The separate figures published by the Ministry of Interior on Thursday show the number of quarterly yields of people who have no right to stay in the United Kingdom fell slightly 2,365 in October December 2024 to 2,312 in January-March of 2025.
Both figures are higher than for any other quarter since 2018.
The Secretary of the Interior, Yvette Cooper, said: “We have substantially increased the application of immigration, taking strong measures to return more foreign criminals and failed asylum seekers who have no right to be in the United Kingdom.
“The work of immigration application equipment to substantially increase illegal work raids, returns and deportations is an important part of strengthening our border security. As part of the reforms of the White Immigration Paper, we will strengthen the rules so that more foreign national criminals can be returned.”
