Record 7,225 Bangladeshis seek asylum in UK in 2024
Bangladeshis filed a record number of asylum applications in the United Kingdom with 7,225 claims in 2024, according the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford.
Data from the Migration Observatory showed the number of asylum applications filed in 2024 was 42 per cent more than the previous year, as a total of 5,097 claims were filed by Bangladeshis in 2023.
The UK saw a rapid rise of Bangladeshis applying for asylum since 2014 when a little over 900 people claimed asylum. Asylum applications by Bangladeshis rose to 2,256 in 2016 before falling to 895 in 2020. Applications rose sharply by 318 per cent to 4,522 in 2022.
In 2024, asylum applications by Pakistanis increased to 10,542 claims – a 79 per cent rise compared to the previous year. However, less number of Indians (5,312) sought asylum in 2024 than the previous year. As many as 3,612 and 1,216 asylum applications by Indians were filed in 2023 and 2022.
Meanwhile, The UK had reached an agreement with Bangladesh to expedite the deportation of illegal Bangladeshi migrants in March last year. The deal was finalised in a meeting of the joint working group on home affairs at London
Nearly 11,000 Bangladeshis applied for permanent residency in the UK in 2023, after reaching there on student, travel, and work visas. A large majority – 95 per cent – of the applications were rejected by the UK immigration authorities.