According to the Home Office, in 2025 there were 46,497 people who arrived in the UK vial illegal routes, an increase of more than 7% compared to the previous year.

Small boat arrivals made up 89% of those who reached the UK via illegal routes, Home Office figures show. Other illegal arrivals included those through lorries or inadequately documented air arrivals.

The total number of small boat arrivals was 41,472, a 13% increase from the previous year.

As a reminder, not all those who arrived through illegal routes went on to claim asylum in the UK.

Rob England
BBC Verify senior data journalist

The number of asylum seekers housed in hotels has fallen, as more people are moved into longer-term accommodation, according to the latest Home Office figures.

As of December 2025, 30,657 people were staying in hotels, down 19% compared with December last year.

Hotel use peaked at around 56,000 in September 2023.

A further 72,769 people were housed in longer-term accommodation, including houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) and "other accommodation", such as repurposed former military sites including Wethersfield in Essex.

Asylum seekers are entitled to housing if they cannot support themselves while their claim is being considered. Hotels are used when other types of accommodation is not available.

Ministers have pledged to end the use of asylum hotels by the end of this parliament, arguing they are significantly more expensive than longer-term housing.

There were 30,657 people being housed in asylum hotels at the end of December 2025.

This is down from 38,054 compared to the previous year.

More than 100,000 (100,625) people claimed asylum in the UK in 2025, down by 4% on the year before, according to new Home Office figures.

Slightly more than 40% arrived by small boats (41,262). Nearly the same amount had entered the UK on another visa before claiming asylum (39,095).

The Home Office has just released its latest quarterly statistics on immigration, with data up to the end of December 2025.

We're combing through the documents and will bring you key insights from the figures as soon as we have them.

The figures we are about to get from the Home Office will reflect the latest immigration data from the government.

These stats are published quarterly - every three months - and they relate to a 12-month period.

That's a lot of numbers, so to simplify: today we'll get immigration data encompassing the 12 months to December 2025. Conveniently for us, that's the calendar year of 2025.

Last time, Home Office data covered the 12 months to September 2025.

In November we had net migration figures. These showed a two-thirds drop in the year ending June 2025 compared with the previous 12 months.

The difference between the number of people arriving in the UK and those leaving was 204,000, down from 649,000, with the fall mainly driven by fewer arrivals for work and study, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

Today we won't get new ONS data, but the Home Office is releasing figures that include the number of people who have extended their stay in the UK, gained citizenship and applied for asylum.

Image source, PA Media

Ahead of today's information release, a group of migrants arrived in Ramsgate, Kent, marking the first crossing of the English Channel in just over two weeks.

On Wednesday, a large group of migrants, including children, could be seen disembarking both a lifeboat and Border Force boat, many wearing life jackets.

It was the first crossing on the dangerous route since 9 February where 322 people made the trip.

The Home Office recorded an arrival of 74 migrants on Tuesday by one small boat.

We'll get official figures, external for crossings on Wednesday, the warmest day of the year so far, later today.

Image source, PA Media

Image source, Getty Images

The Home Office releases a range of immigration statistics quarterly.

Today we’ll get the data for the year ending in December 2025 - but before that, let’s take a quick look back at what the data showed last time.

The last set of figures showed that 110,051 people claimed asylum in the UK in the year to September 2025 – a record high.

Small boat arrivals increased by 53% compared with the previous year, with 45,659 people arriving via this route in the 12 months to September 2025.

The figures also showed the number of asylum seekers in hotels as of September 2025 increased by 2% compared with the same time in 2024.

Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

The latest UK migration figures will be published this morning.

The quarterly figures from the Home Office will show the numbers of people coming to the UK, as well as those applying for asylum and those gaining citizenship. They will also show the statistics relating to people being detained or removed.

The figures are being published at 09:30 GMT – our team of reporters will be breaking down the numbers and bringing you the key lines and analysis.

Ahead of that, we can bring you some background and details of the most recent immigration figures.