Has Northern Ireland the lowest number of registered asylum seekers in the UK?

• The number of people seeking asylum in Northern Ireland reduced between March 2023 and March 2024.
• Northern Ireland has the lowest number of people – 2748 as of March 2024 – seeking asylum in receipt of support in the UK, with the next being Wales with 3031 individuals.
• NI ranks in the middle of UK regions for people seeking asylum when overall population is factored into the calculation 
• The numbers of people seeking asylum varies between local authorities in Northern Ireland, with Belfast having the largest number of people (1981) seeking asylum.

On the BBC Radio Ulster’s Nolan Show on 6 August 2024 [from 1.08], the presenter Stephen Nolan stated the following:

“We asked the Home Office to confirm their numbers and by the end of March this year, there were 2748 asylum seekers supported by local councils here. That figure stood at 3030 at the same time last year. So it’s actually gone down. It’s down 282. Statistics show… Northern Ireland has the lowest number of registered asylum seekers in any part of the UK.”

This claim has two parts: 

1. The number of asylum seekers has gone down in a year in Northern Ireland in the previous 12 month period; and
2. Northern Ireland has the lowest number of registered asylum seekers in any part of the UK. 

We verified the source of the claims and found them both to be ACCURATE. However, directly comparing regions of the UK is troublesome given the big variations in size and population. Factoring in overall regional populations, NI is not the smallest of the commonly used 12 UK regions. 

We go into more detail on this data below – read on.

• What is an “Asylum Seeker”? 

An “Asylum Seeker” is described as  “… a person who is seeking international protection and has applied for refugee status under the [refugee] convention, but whose claim has not yet been determined.”

The UN describe it more comprehensively in the following terms:

“An individual who is seeking international protection. In countries with individualized procedures, an asylum-seeker is someone whose claim has not yet been finally decided on by the country in which the claim is submitted. 

The 1951 UN Refugee Convention defines “a refugee” as a person who is unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin “owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion”. 

The UN also details that not every asylum-seeker will ultimately be recognized as a refugee, but every refugee was initially an asylum-seeker until a decision was made.

The UK Government has outlined that those seeking asylum have the right to: 

• be treated fairly and lawfully regardless of race, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation or any disability;
• practise their own religion, and are expected to show respect for people of other faiths;
• have their application considered fairly and accurately;
• have access to support and accommodation if they meet the requirements for it;
• have access to free health care from the National Health Service (NHS); and 
• have legal representation (free legal help may be available, depending on income and the case). 

• The data 

The Nolan Show references “Home Office statistics”.  Statistics relating to immigration to the UK are published by the Home Office and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (formerly known as the.Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities) on a bi-annual basis and can be accessed here.  The relevant dataset pertaining to this fact check is titled “Asylum seekers in receipt of support”. 

This details the following: 

• As of March 2024, there were 2748 people who are seeking asylum in receipt of support in Northern Ireland;
• Back in March 2023, there were 3030 people who are seeking asylum seekers in receipt of support in the region; 
• This is a reduction of 282 people seeking asylum in Northern Ireland over that 12 month period. 
• It is a 200% increase on the figures for March 2021 (two years ago).
• Since last June there has been a sharp decline in the number of people seeking asylum being housed in hotels (more than halved, down from 1,244 to 520).

• Northern Ireland compared

The same data set also details the data relating to numbers of people seeking asylum being supported by region. 

Government statistics often break the UK up into 12 regions: nine covering England plus Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland. This details that Northern Ireland has the lowest number of people – 2748 as of March 2024 – seeking asylum in receipt of support in the UK, with the next being Wales with 3031 individuals. 

However, the 12 statistical regions of the UK differ greatly in size and overall population. Taking the overall regional population into account – using mid-year 2022 figures which are the latest ones from the Office for National Statistics right across the UK – Northern Ireland is in the middle of the table when the regions are ranked by the number of people being supported seeking asylum per 1 million population.

These statistics are due to be updated towards the end of August 2024. 

• Northern Ireland in focus

The most up to date available data can also be broken down into numbers of people seeking asylum by local authority.  This outlines the following: