More than 41,000 people crossed the English Channel in small boats to reach the UK in 2025, according to provisional Home Office figures, a 13% rise on the previous year and the second-highest annual total on record.
A Home Office spokesperson described the number as “shameful”, as ministers came under renewed pressure over the continued scale of irregular migration despite a series of measures introduced with the stated aim of deterring crossings and increasing returns.
The 2025 total is higher than the figure recorded in 2024 and is only below the peak reached in 2022, when arrivals by small boat climbed to about 45,774. The Home Office began systematically recording Channel crossings in 2018.
The latest figures land amid a politically charged debate over border enforcement and the capacity of the asylum system, with the government arguing it is tightening rules and increasing removals while prioritising action against organised people-smuggling networks.
Labour, which entered government in July 2024, has sought to replace the previous government’s approach with a strategy focused on policing and bilateral cooperation, including a returns agreement with France. Ministers have also pursued stricter asylum measures, including changes intended to make it harder for people who arrive through irregular routes to secure long-term status quickly.
Central to the government’s approach has been a UK–France “one-in, one-out” pilot arrangement announced in July 2025 and operational later in the year, under which some people arriving by small boat can be detained and returned to France, with the UK taking an equal number of asylum seekers from France via a controlled route, typically involving family connections.
However, early returns under the agreement have remained small compared with the number of arrivals. Reporting around the pilot suggests only around 150 to 200 people had been returned by November and December 2025, with the scheme operating at a practical cap of roughly 50 returns per week.
Speaking when the deal was unveiled last summer, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “There is no silver bullet here… but for the very first time, migrants arriving via small boat will be detained and returned to France.”
The government has also highlighted broader enforcement activity, pointing to about 50,000 removals from the UK since July 2024 across all routes, figures which are not limited to Channel arrivals.
Critics on the right seized on the 2025 crossings figure as evidence that the government’s approach has failed to deter people from attempting the journey. Reform UK and Conservative figures have argued Labour has been too cautious and have called for tougher deterrence measures, including changes to legal frameworks governing removals and asylum processing.
At the same time, refugee and human rights organisations have warned against policies they say risk punishing people seeking safety while failing to address the reasons people attempt the crossing, such as conflict, persecution, or the lack of accessible legal routes. They have also raised concerns about the safety of deterrence tactics and the risk of breaches of international obligations.
The crossings continue to carry a deadly toll. French authorities and international monitoring organisations have recorded at least several dozen deaths during Channel attempts in 2025, with tallies ranging from roughly the mid-30s to around 50, depending on the methodology used and whether bodies are recovered and identified.
Operational and legal constraints have also shaped the French response. French police unions have previously warned about the risk of fatalities if officers are required to intervene more forcefully at sea or in conditions that could cause overcrowded boats to capsize.
The UK–France pilot is due to run until June 2026, leaving ministers facing questions over whether returns capacity can be increased at scale, whether the scheme can survive legal scrutiny in France, and what alternative options would be available if crossings remain near 2025 levels.
With Channel arrivals remaining one of the most politically sensitive measures of border control, the government is likely to face intensifying demands to show a sustained reduction in crossings during 2026, while continuing to balance enforcement efforts with pressures on accommodation, asylum decision-making backlogs and the wider debate over safe routes for those seeking protection.