The number of asylum seekers being housed in hotels across the UK has dropped to the lowest level for 18 months, new data shows.
The number of asylum claims also fell by 4% in 2025, from 104,000 to 101,000 – despite a 13% rise in small boat arrivals.
There are 30,657 people seeking asylum being housed in hotels, down from 56,018 under the previous Tory government at the end of September 2023, Home Office figures published on Thursday reveal.
However, the current number of asylum seekers in hotels remains slightly higher than when Labour took office, when there were 29,561 people in government-funded hotel housing.
There were 20% fewer asylum seekers in hotels at the end of 2025 compared with the end of the previous year – the three months from September to December saw a 15% drop.
Labour has pledged to end the use of hotels to house asylum seekers completely by the end of the parliament, in 2029.
Housing asylum seekers in hotels has proved controversial, with protests held outside some, such as the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex.
Separately, there was a 13% drop in the number of study, work or family visas granted in 2025 compared with the previous year, with 757,000 of these issued, down from 874,000 in 2024.
The number of study visas issued actually rose in 2025 by 2.4%, but the overall decrease is due to a 29% fall in work visas and a 22% decrease in family visas.
The refusal rate for all visa applications was also the highest it has been since 2007, at 18%. The proportion of work visa applications has almost doubled in two years, rising to nearly 12% in 2025, up from around 6% in 2023.
Reacting to the figures, a Home Office spokesperson said: “These statistics show real progress as we restore order and control to our borders.
“We have removed nearly 60,000 illegal migrants, numbers in asylum hotels are down, law enforcement action against people smugglers is at record levels, and we are bearing down on the asylum backlog.
“But we must go further. The number of people crossing the Channel is too high, and too many hotels remain in use.
“That is why the home secretary is introducing sweeping reforms to tackle the pull factors drawing illegal migrants to Britain, and we are ramping up removals of those with no right to be here.”
