The UK Government has paused decisions on asylum applications from Syrians following the collapse of Bashar Assad’s regime.
Asked why cases had been suspended, Dame Angela Eagle told Times Radio on Tuesday that “one of the main reasons why people were fleeing and claiming asylum was to get away from the Assad regime”.
She added: “Because things are so fluid we need to wait a little bit before we try to recommence asylum decisions in a territory where things are changing so rapidly.”
Here the PA news agency looks at the latest official figures for Syrian nationals granted asylum or resettlement in the UK.
– How many people from Syria apply for asylum in the UK?
Some 5,548 Syrians applied for asylum in the year to September 2024: the highest number for any 12-month period since current data began in 2001.
Applications per year were in the low hundreds in the early 2000s, then jumped sharply following the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011, climbing to 2,615 in the 12 months to September 2015.
The number fell back in the second half of the 2010s, but has risen steeply in recent years and hit a record level in the latest 12-month period, according to figures published by the Home Office.
– What proportion of UK asylum applications are from Syrians?
Syrian nationals accounted for around one in 20 (5.6%) of all applications made in the year to September 2024.
A total of 99,790 people claimed asylum in the UK in this period, with Syrians the fifth most common nationality (5,548 applications).
Pakistan accounted for the largest share, with 9,560 applications or 9.6% of the total.
This was followed by Afghanistan at 8,453 (8.5%), Iran at 7,895 (7.9%), Bangladesh at 6,522 (6.5%) and then Syria.
– How many have Syrians been granted asylum?
Some 3,838 Syrian nationals were granted protection or another type of leave to remain in the UK in the year to September 2024.
This is down from 4,831 in the previous 12 months, but well above levels seen for much of the previous 20 years.
More protections were granted in the two years to September 2024 (8,669) than in the previous seven years to September 2022 (7,267).
Of the 3,838 Syrians granted protection in the 12 months to this September, almost all (3,788 or 99%) were granted refugee status.
There were 49 people (1% of the total) who were granted humanitarian protection status, meaning the claimant did not meet the criteria of refugee status, but was considered at risk of serious harm if they were to return to their country of origin; and there was one “other grant” of leave, which covers decisions such as grants under family and private life rules.
– What proportion of UK asylum grants were for Syrians?
Overall, 52,739 people were granted protection or another type of leave in the UK in the 12 months to September 2024.
Syrians accounted for 7.3% of this total (3,838), ranking fifth in size behind Iran (9,468 or 18.0%), Afghanistan (6,894 or 13.1%), Iraq (4,723 or 9.0%) and Sudan (4,005 or 7.6%).
– Have Syrians been able to come to the UK via other legal routes?
Yes, through the Government’s refugee resettlement schemes.
The first programme, the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme, was launched in response to the escalation of the Syrian conflict, ran from 2014 to 2021, and saw 20,319 refugees resettled in the UK.
Its successor, the UK Resettlement Scheme, offers what the Home Office describes as a “direct safe and legal route to the UK for refugees in need of protection”, including people from Syria.
Under this scheme, 1,576 Syrian nationals have been resettled in the UK since the start of 2021.
– What about illegal routes, such as crossing the English Channel?
Some 2,895 Syrian nationals arrived in the UK in the first nine months of 2024 after crossing the English Channel in small boats.
Syrians accounted for 12.0% of all such arrivals during this period, where the person’s nationality has been recorded.
Afghans made up the largest proportion of small boat arrivals from January to September this year (17.3%), followed by Vietnamese (13.0%) and Iranians (12.3%), with Syrians the fourth most common nationality.
Almost every Syrian who arrives in the UK via this route goes on to claim asylum.
Of the 3,372 Syrians small boat arrivals logged in the year to September 2024, 3,354 (99%) raised a claim for asylum.
Similarly, almost every claim for asylum by Syrian nationals arriving on small boats is granted.
Of the 1,996 Syrian asylum case decisions made in the year to September 2024, 99.1% were granted, while the equivalent grant rate in the previous 12 months was 99.8%.
