More than 100,000 failed asylum seekers feared to be living in Britain illegally because they've not been deported

More than 100,000 failed asylum seekers are feared to be living in the UK illegally because they have not been deported, a new analysis has claimed.

The analysis, obtained by the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, shows a total of 108,022 people refused protection after claiming asylum between 2010 and 2024 have not been removed from Britain.

Approximately 26,850 rejected applicants have stayed in the country for a minimum of ten years after first seeking sanctuary between 2010 and 2016.

Records indicate around 2,000 individuals who initially applied for protection in 2010 had not departed by March 2026, representing roughly one in four of those whose claims were denied that year.

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Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp delivered a scathing assessment of Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, telling the Sunday Express: "This makes a mockery of immigration law when even failed asylum seekers, most of whom are illegal immigrants, get to stay.

"They all need to be kicked out immediately. If Shabana Mahmood was at all serious, then she would act now.

"To make the removal of illegal immigrants easier, we need to leave the ECHR and exit the Modern Slavery treaty which the next Conservative Government will do on day one."

He went on to say unsuccessful applicants sometimes receive taxpayer-funded accommodation, contributing to the £4billion annual asylum budget, while adding limited economic value due to their skill levels and housing expenses.

Reform UK's home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf similarly condemned the revelations, describing the situation as scandalous and attributing it to longstanding political neglect.

"It is outrageous that only around half of those whose claims have been rejected have actually been removed thanks to decades of complacency from the political establishment," he said.

"Successive Governments have allowed thousands of people with no legal right to be here to remain in the country. Reform UK would ensure they are swiftly detained and deported."

The University of Oxford research revealed the proportion of rejected applicants being deported has declined substantially, falling from 67 per cent in 2012, when 6,124 individuals were returned, to just 33 per cent in 2018, when 2,328 were removed.

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By the end of 2025, approximately half of all applications submitted between 2010 and 2022 that ended in rejection had resulted in departures from Britain, according to the Migration Observatory.

Return rates vary dramatically depending on nationality, with Albanian and Brazilian citizens facing relatively high removal likelihood whilst Iranian, Iraqi and Turkish nationals see far fewer deportations despite substantial numbers of rejections.

The Home Office disputed the analysis as misleading, noting the statistics reflect individuals not recorded as departing rather than a confirmed tally of those still present.

A Home Office spokesman said: "The figures reported by the Express are misleading. Immigration enforcement activity is at the highest level on record - with the largest number of raids, arrests and removals ever.

"Nearly 70,000 illegal migrants and foreign criminals returned since this Government took office up 41 per cent on the 21-month period before.

"But we must go further with sweeping reforms to track down and remove more."

Officials went on to claim the figures revealed to the Express are "based on people who have not been recorded as leaving the UK, not a confirmed count of those still in the country".

"It does not account for individuals who may have left voluntarily without being recorded or those who have since gained permission to stay, meaning it should be treated as an estimate rather than a definitive total."

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