Top African Countries With Citizens Claiming Asylum From The UK

• Six nationalities accounted for almost half of all UK asylum claims in the year ending March 2026
• Asylum claims from certain countries surged sharply in the latest year, driven largely by increases in small boat arrivals
• Syrian and Vietnamese claims fell considerably, while Jordanian and Colombian applications collapsed following visa-free arrangement removals

UK government immigration data has outlined shifts in asylum claim patterns for the year ending March 2026, with some nationalities recording steep surges while others saw applications collapse.

The six nationalities filing the highest number of asylum claims were Pakistan, Eritrea, Iran, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Sudan.

The six collectively accounted for 46% of all claimants in the period.

UK data showed that Afghan nationals continued to arrive in significant numbers, with 6,197 people claiming asylum in the latest year.

Although that figure represents a 47% drop from the peak recorded in the year ending September 2023, claims have remained at a relatively elevated level since the Taliban retook control of Afghanistan in August 2021.

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Since October 2021, a total of 36,887 Afghans have sought asylum in the UK, with most having entered via small boats.

A further 37,532 Afghans have been resettled through the Afghan Resettlement Programme, which launched in March 2021.

Pakistan and Bangladesh both recorded increases above their pre-2021 levels.

The majority of claimants from both countries held a valid visa or other leave before submitting their asylum applications. These two nationalities, along with India, have seen substantial growth in work and study visa grants since January 2021, linked to changes introduced to the UK immigration system.

Somalians Claims More Than Double

Among the most striking movements in the data were sharp rises tied to small boat arrivals. Eritrean claims climbed 46% year-on-year, while Sudanese applications grew by 20%. Somalian nationals recorded the most dramatic increase, with claims rising 151% from 1,863 to 4,676.

Ethiopian claims also grew considerably, up 67% from 1,165 to 1,946. In each of these cases, the rise in asylum applications corresponds directly with an increase in small boat crossings.

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At the opposite end of the scale, Syrian claims fell by 72%, dropping from 5,965 to 1,697, a trend linked to the fall of President Bashar al-Assad's government in December 2024.

Vietnamese applications also declined sharply, falling 56% from 4,488 to 1,987, a movement the data associates with stronger UK-Vietnam returns cooperation and expanded deterrence measures.

The largest proportional declines of all were recorded by Jordanian and Colombian nationals. Jordanian claims fell by 89%, from 1,545 to just 166, while Colombian applications dropped by 88%, from 1,586 to 189. Both collapses followed the removal of visa-free entry arrangements for those nationalities in 2024.

Source: YEN.com.gh