Northern Ireland hosts fewer than two and a half per cent of the UK’s asylum seekers
20:25, 23 Jun 2025Updated 22:40, 23 Jun 2025
The map shows the number of individuals in each council area receiving asylum support
According to the latest Home Office figures, less than 2.5 per cent of those seeking asylum in the UK live in Northern Ireland.
The Home Office does not publish the number of asylum claims lodged in Northern Ireland; however, it does publish the number of people receiving asylum support in the region.
According to the latest statistics, in March 2025, 106,771 people received asylum support in the UK, of which 2,637 were located in Northern Ireland. This compares to March 2020, when the number of asylum seekers in receipt of asylum support in Northern Ireland was just below 1,000.
In 2024, there were around 16 asylum applications for every 10,000 people living in the UK, and across the EU27, there were 22 applications for every 10,000 people. This means that the UK was below the average among EU countries for asylum applications per head of population, ranking 14th.
Asylum seekers who are destitute are eligible to apply for asylum support which consists of basic accommodation and a weekly stipend while their asylum case is ongoing and this can be removed for several reasons including breaching their accommodation rules, committing an act of seriously violent behaviour, concealing financial resources or a change od circumstances such as no longer being considered destitute.
As of March 2025, the figures show that 92 asylum seekers were living in temporary accommodation in Northern Ireland, 288 were living in hotels, and 2,246 were living in dispersal accommodation (private dwellings or HMOs).
Asylum seekers are not permitted to apply for social security benefits, and most are not permitted to work. Those living in private dwellings or HMOs are entitled to a weekly financial support rate of £49.18, while those living in hotels receive a weekly payment of £9.95.
Pregnant women receive an additional £5.25 per week, while babies under the age of one receive an additional £9.50 per week and toddlers aged between one and three receive £5.25 per week.
A significant portion of asylum support in Northern Ireland is concentrated among a few nationalities, with Somalia, Syria, and Eritrea leading the numbers.
Somalia accounts for the largest group, with 672 individuals receiving support. Syria follows with 255 individuals. Eritrea is the third-highest, with 244 individuals. Sudan and Iran also represent substantial numbers, with 206 and 176 individuals, respectively.
Four individuals from the United States, two from the Netherlands, one from Denmark, and one from Germany are among the other nationalities receiving support.
The table below shows the breakdown of those receiving Asylum Support in Northern Ireland by nationality.
Somalia
The interactive map below shows the geographical spread of those receiving asylum support in Northern Ireland, broken down by council area.
Mid and East Antrim, the area which saw a number of race-related riots in recent weeks, was the only area of Northern Ireland where there are no individuals receiving asylum support.
Belfast continues to have the largest number of individuals receiving asylum support at 1841, followed by Derry City and Strabane with 271.
The Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council area has the third highest number of people receiving asylum support, with 174, followed by Antrim and Newtownabbey, with 159.
Armagh City, Banbridge, and Craigavon had the fifth-highest number in receipt of asylum support (66), followed by Ards and North Down (53) and Lisburn and Castlereagh (39).
Newry, Mourne and Down had 31 people receiving asylum support, Fermanagh and Omagh had two individuals receiving support while Mid Ulster had just one.
For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.