UK asylum appeals backlog at new record high after almost doubling in a year

The UK asylum appeals backlog has almost doubled in a year to hit a new record high, the latest figures show.

There were 80,333 cases in the system at the end of December, up from 41,987 at the same point in 2024.

Data published by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) on Thursday showed that more than a third (36%) of appeals were successful between October and December last year.

This is down from 46% in the equivalent period in 2024 and is the lowest grant rate since April-June 2015, when the figure stood at 34%.

The average waiting time for asylum appeals was 63 weeks, the MoJ said, which is a rise from 48 weeks at the end of December 2024.

The Refugee Council said many people face being “stuck” in hotels and other asylum accommodation while they wait for a decision on their case.

An asylum case can refer to one person or to a group of people – typically a main applicant and their family members.

The charity estimated that 80,333 appeal cases would relate to 104,433 people, based on the latest ratio of 1.3 people per case waiting for an initial decision on an asylum claim.

Imran Hussain, director of external affairs at the Refugee Council, said: “These figures demonstrate what has been obvious for a long time – poor quality decision-making by the Home Office is forcing people into an appeals process, meaning that it can take years to reach the correct decision.

“In our frontline work, we see so many men, women and children whose hopes for safety rest on their asylum applications, but they are often met with flawed decisions that don’t address the facts of their situation.

“While they wait for an appeal, many are stuck in asylum accommodation, unable to work or rebuild their lives, at huge cost to the public purse.

“People who have fled violence and persecution in places like Sudan and Afghanistan deserve a quick and accurate decision the first time around.

“If the Government focused on improving initial decision-making, they could clear the backlog, reduce the cost of keeping people in expensive and unsuitable asylum accommodation, and avoid putting refugees through months of uncertainty.”

Statistics published at the end of last year showed that the backlog of asylum appeals was, for the first time, higher than the backlog of cases waiting for an initial decision on an application.

The latest Government statistics, published by the Home Office in February, showed the backlog of people waiting for an initial decision on an asylum application in the UK had dropped sharply to its lowest level in more than five years.

Some 64,426 people were waiting for an initial decision on an asylum application at the end of December 2025.

Experts have previously warned that the backlog in appeals underlines the challenges the Government faces as it aims to end the use of hotels for asylum seekers.

Labour has pledged to no longer use asylum hotels by the end of this Parliament, which would be 2029, if not earlier.

The number of asylum seekers being housed temporarily in UK hotels has fallen to its lowest level for 18 months, according to other Home Office data published last month.

There were 30,657 people staying in such accommodation while they were awaiting a decision on their asylum claims at the end of December.

The issue of people being housed in hotels came to the fore last year with protests outside some sites.

Mihnea Cuibus, researcher at the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, said: “The rapidly growing appeals backlog means that even though the initial decision asylum backlog has fallen sharply in 2025, to the lowest level in five years, the total number of people receiving asylum support remains high, as does the number of asylum seekers in hotels.

“The courts backlog is now arguably the major barrier preventing the Government from making progress on its pledge to end hotel use.”

In November, the Home Office announced that asylum seekers whose claims are denied will be limited to making one appeal against their removal, instead of having the ability to make multiple challenges on different grounds.

The changes were announced as Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood unveiled plans to “restore order and control” to the asylum system modelled on the Danish approach.