United Kingdom: the number of pending asylum applications at its highest

The backlog of asylum claims in the UK hit a record high last year, marked by a surge in arrivals across the English Channel, increasing pressure on the government which has made the fight against illegal immigration a priority.

According to the Ministry of the Interior on Thursday February 23, the number of outstanding applications increased by 60% compared to the same period in 2021 and reached more than 160,000 at the end of December 2022.

An overwhelmed system

The number of people waiting more than six months for a first decision reached 109,641, up 77% from the previous year.

Last December, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promised to overcome the backlog of outstanding files by the end of the year, in order to relieve a completely overwhelmed system.

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According to the British press, the British Home Office intends to process thousands of requests via a simple questionnaire for applicants from countries with the highest approval rates, without the usual interview.

In the absence of a response, the applicants would expose themselves to the pure and simple cancellation of their request.

This approach has been criticized both by associations which point out that some applicants will not be able to complete a questionnaire in English and the conservative press which considers it lax.

A Brexit Promise

Despite Brexit promises to "

" of the borders, 2022 was marked by a record number: 45,755 migrants arrived illegally on English shores across the Channel in small boats.

In 2022, almost half of the migrants who made the perilous crossing were Albanians and Afghans.

The other most represented nationalities are Iranians, Iraqis and Syrians.

The Conservative government has multiplied plans to fight against the phenomenon, without success.

He increased aid to France to better monitor the beaches and announced that he wanted to send asylum seekers back to Rwanda, which he was never able to implement because of appeals.

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Rishi Sunak is planning a tough new bill against illegal immigration in the coming weeks, but the text is slow to come, despite pressure from his majority's right-wing aide.

A sign of the tensions linked to the situation: an anti-migrant demonstration organized by a far-right group in front of a hotel housing asylum seekers degenerated in mid-February in the north-west of England, leading to 15 arrests.