UK Asylum Statistics: 1st Quarter Jan/Feb/March 2008

The Home Office have published  their quarterly bulletin on Asylum statistics for January, February and March 2008, in that period:

Removals: Principal asylum applicants removed in Q1 2008: 2,805;

Total persons removed in Q1 2008: 16,760; 12% higher than Q1 2007 (14,970)

* 970 persons were removed under Assisted Voluntary Return schemes in Q1 2008 (320 non-asylum cases, 575 principal asylum applicants and 75 asylum dependants).

Top Ten nationalities accounting for the highest number of asylum removals in Q1 2008 (principal applicants) were

Afghan (270),

Iraqi (205),

Turkish (190),

Chinese (185)

Pakistani (185)

Jamaica (105)

Iraq (95)

Iran (75)

Eritrea (65)

Sri Lanka( 55)

Immigration detention: 2,305 persons were recorded as being detained under Immigration Act powers

* Asylum detainees as at 29 March 2008:

1,640 persons who had sought asylum at some stage were being detained in the UK solely under Immigration Act powers at 29 March 2008. This accounted for 71% of all detainees.  This excludes persons detained in police cells and prison establishments.

 * 1,585 were held at Immigration Service Removal Centres

55 at Immigration Short Term Holding Facilities. 

* Nationalities accounting for the highest number of asylum detainees

Chinese (170)

Nigerian (140)

Afghan (105)

Pakistan (95)

85% of asylum detainees as at 29 March 2008 were male.

35 people detained solely under Immigration Act powers were recorded as being less than 18 years old. 20 of these had been in detention for less than 29 days, 15 for between 29 days and two months and the remainder for between two and three months

Asylum applications: Applications in Q1 2008: 6,595, 16% higher than Q1 2007  * The number of applications for asylum in the UK, excluding dependants, was 16% higher in Q1 2008 (6,595) compared with Q1 2007 (5,680).  The number of applications for asylum in 2007/08 (24,345) was 7% higher than in 2006/07 (22,835).

Top 10 applicant nationalities Q1 2008

Iraq             700

Zimbabwe                 640

Iran5            80

Eritrea         470

Somalia         430

Sri Lanka                355

China            335

Pakistan                 305

Nigeria         200

Other Nationalities      1,745

Total            6,595

Source for this Message:

Home Office Press Office

UKBIA

 Derby for Africa Initiative

The Indpendent