Home Secretary Priti Patel struck the deal with the Albanian government (Danny Lawson/PA)
(Picture: PA Wire)Albanians now account for more than half of the migrants arriving on small boats across the Channel after a huge surge in arrivals from the country, official figures have revealed.
The disclosure came as Home Office statistics showed the number of asylum applications has hit its highest level in two decades with more than 75,000 people claiming sanctuary in the year to the end of June.
The Home Office figures show a huge leap of small boats making the perilous journey with 1,034 detected in 2021, compared with only 43 in 2018, and a recent surge in Albanian arrivals with 1,727 crossing the Channel in May and June alone. Albanians account for between 50 and 60 per cent of small boat arrivals.
The numbers on each vessel are increasing with an average of 35 people on each boat arriving in the first six months of this year. That is five times the average tally of seven per boat for 2018.
The figures show that more than nine out of ten of those arriving make an asylum claim.
The Albanian approval rate for decided cases stands at 53 per cent, according to today’s figures, although the Home Office, which yesterday announced a new drive to fast-track the return of ineligible Albanians, emphasised that this figure did not take account of the recent surge in arrivals.
