A new investigation has found that on average almost 1,000 migrants a year go missing before their asylum claims are processed. The data shows that 4,838 migrants have fled the UK asylum system over the past six years, with 3,158 migrants still missing as of January.
The Sun’s investigation compiled data spanning January 2020 to December 2025 from the UK Immigration Service’s operational database through a Freedom of Information request. These figures include migrants who have escaped from ports or immigration detention, as well as those on bail from immigration authorities who have stopped complying with reporting requirements. Individuals are officially recorded as having escaped after attempts to contact them have been exhausted. At this stage, the government cannot determine whether they remained undetected in the UK or left the country.
Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, told The Sun: “The majority of asylum claims come from illegal immigrants. We have no idea who these people are when they enter our country illegally, and we don’t even know where thousands of them are.
“Illegal immigration puts British society at risk. We must abandon the ECHR and any other obligations that stand in the way so that we can deport all illegal immigrants and foreign criminals.
“We must double funding for immigration enforcement so they have the resources they need to track down and remove those who have no right to be here. It’s a shame Andy Burnham and Shabana Mahmood are too weak to do it.”
According to the Home Office, migrants who do not comply with the asylum procedure risk having their application withdrawn. However, they may resurface later and make new claims on human rights grounds.
The data shows that since Labor came to power in 2024, just over 80,000 people living in the UK illegally have been evicted. Around 20,000 people were forcibly evicted and around 60,000 left the UK voluntarily.
In June the government acknowledged that some asylum seekers had disappeared but insisted officials knew the whereabouts of the “vast majority.” Meanwhile, the Public Accounts Committee said the system used to monitor migrants needed a “complete overhaul”.
A Home Office spokesman said: “People who have no legal reason to remain in the UK should be deported and we are committed to achieving this.
“We have a dedicated tracing unit within the Home Office that works with the police and other law enforcement agencies to track down those on the run.
“The number of fugitives is 70 per cent lower than in the peak year under the previous government. But we must move on.
“The Home Secretary will double the immigration budget to support tens of thousands more raids, arrests and deportations of those here illegally.”