Asylum appeals up but remain below pre-pandemic levelspublished at 12:38 GMT

12:38 GMT

Daniel Wainwright
BBC Verify senior data journalist

The number of asylum cases going to tribunal in the UK in the year to March were up 36% on the year before, while those closed went up by just 4%, according to the latest data., external

There were 79,005 immigration cases entering the system, just over half of which were to do with asylum refusals or losing protection as a refugee.

Other tribunal cases cover things like human rights or free movement for people from the European Economic Area.

This means the open caseload for immigration and asylum matters increased by 80% over the last year, according to the Ministry of Justice.

In the 12 months ending March 2025, there were 12,129 asylum appeals decided by tribunal, almost double the number the year before.

However, this is lower than the numbers going through the system before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Of those asylum appeals determined in the latest year, just over half (55%) were refused, the rest were granted. That’s a similar proportion to recent years.

Chart showing the number of asylum appeals granted and refused between year ending March 2008 and year ending March 2025. In the first year there were 9,837 refusals and 3,106 grants. The numbers fluctuate to reach 11,400 refusals and 4,656 grants in 2011 before falling back. In 2016, there were 6,754 refusals and 4,502 grants. This then rises sharply to 11,075 refusals and 7,696 grants in 2017 before falling again year on year to 6,877 refusals and 6,348 grants in 2020, just as the pandemic hit. The numbers fall to a low of 1,970 grants and 1,818 refusals in 2021 before rising again to 3,588 refusals and 3,348 grants in 2024, then rising sharply to 6,631 refusals and 5,508 grants in 2025. The source is the Ministry of Justice