London: Pakistanis was the main nationality among asylum candidates in 2024-25 in the United Kingdom, according to figures published by the Home Office.
The Pakistanis represented 11,048 people, or 10.1% of the total asylum candidates in the past year, the Ministry of the Interior said.
A total of 109,343 people asked for asylum in the year until March 2025, the highest number for a period of 12 months since the start of current files in 2001. The number was up 17% compared to 93,150 during the year ending in March 2024, according to figures published by the home office.
In 2023-24, the Pakistanis was the third most common nationality (7.5% of the total) and that year, 7,003 applied to asylum.
The previous record was 108,138 in the 12 months until December 2024. The number of asylum applications in the United Kingdom reached a new summit, although the backlog waiting for a decision has fallen at its lowest level since 2021.
Migrants who arrived in the United Kingdom after crossing the English chain in small boats represented 33% of the total number of people claiming asylum during the year to March.
“Afghan” was the second most common nationality among people claiming asylum during the year to March (8,069 people, 7.4% of the total), against 9,738 (10.5%) in 2023-24 when it was the most common nationality.
With Pakistan, the highest increase in asylum complaints in 2024-25 came from Syrian nationals, which amounted to 6,175 (5.6% of the total), against 4,232 (4.5%) in 2023-24.
The figures also show that 109,536 people were waiting for an initial decision on an asylum request in the United Kingdom at the end of March 2025.
This is down 12% compared to 124,802 at the end of December 2024 and is the lowest number since December 2021.
The total culminated at 175,457 at the end of June 2023, which was the highest figure since the start of current recordings in 2010.
The number of people waiting for more than six months for an initial decision would be at 67,373 at the end of March, against 73,866 at the end of December and well below the recent summit of 139,961 in June 2023.
Distinct figures published by the home office show Thursday the number of applied quarterly returns from people who are not allowed to stay in the United Kingdom have gone slightly from 2,365 in October-December 2024 to 2,312 in January-March 2025.
These two figures have been higher than for any other quarter since 2018.
Interior secretary, Yvette Cooper, said: “We have considerably increased the application of immigration, taking good measures to return more foreign criminals and failed asylum seekers who are not allowed to be in the United Kingdom.
“The work of immigration application teams to considerably increase illegal work raids, yields and deportations is an important element in the strengthening of our border security. As part of the reforms of the White Immigration Paper, we will strengthen the rules so that more foreign national delinquents can be returned.”
