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Number of asylum seekers housed in hotels halves and small boat crossings slashed
Developing
Nuni Jorgensen, researcher at the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, said: “The higher number of people applying for citizenship partly reflects rising non-EU migration even before Brexit, as well as a gradual increase in the share of non-EU migrants choosing to become citizens since 2021.
In the year ending June 2026, just over 315,000 people applied to become British citizens, the highest number on record, analysis by the University of Oxford’s Migration Observatory found. Jon Featonby, chief policy analyst at the charity, said that the government had shut down “vital routes for people to apply for asylum safely and legally”.
However the number actually granted citizenship remained level with previous years, at 245,520 grants in the year ending July 2026. A ban on refugees being able to apply to reunite with their families in the UK has left thousands trapped in conflict, analysis of Thursday’s figures by charity Refugee Council found.
Home secretary Shabana Mahmood said that the stats showed the “government is restoring control at our border and fairness to the migration system”. Some 235,000 work visas were granted in the year to June 2026, down 18 per cent on the past year.
What's confirmed
What's still developing
- Home secretary Shabana Mahmood said that the stats showed the “government is restoring control at our border and fairness to the migration system”.
- Some 235,000 work visas were granted in the year to June 2026, down 18 per cent on the past year.
- In the year ending June 2026, just over 315,000 people applied to become British citizens, the highest number on record, analysis by the University of Oxford’s Migration Observatory found.
- However the number actually granted citizenship remained level with previous years, at 245,520 grants in the year ending July 2026.
- Nuni Jorgensen, researcher at the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, said: “The higher number of people applying for citizenship partly reflects rising non-EU migration even before Brexit, as well as…
- A ban on refugees being able to apply to reunite with their families in the UK has left thousands trapped in conflict, analysis of Thursday’s figures by charity Refugee Council found.
- Jon Featonby, chief policy analyst at the charity, said that the government had shut down “vital routes for people to apply for asylum safely and legally”.
Sources
- The Independent — source text fetched for this pass link