Undocumented Migrants: English Channel
(asked on 7th September 2026) - View Source
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many small boat arrivals were recorded in each year between 2016 and 2024.
Small boat arrival figures are published on .GOV.UK. The following table details small boat arrivals between 2018 – 2024.
Method of entry | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
Small boat arrivals | 299 | 1,843 | 8,466 | 28,526 | 45,774 | 29,437 | 36,816 |
In relation to pre-2018 figures, the Home Office does not hold sufficiently complete or quality-assured data on small boat crossings. Small boat crossings were not recorded as a significant route of entry before this point, and recording arrangements were not designed to support the reporting and analysis undertaken today. Published small boat arrivals data therefore begins in 2018.