Asylum Statistics

On 16 November the Home Office released asylum statistics which cover the third quarter of 2004. Asylum applications rose by 685 (9%) to 8,605 in July to September 2004 in comparison to the previous quarter. The slight increase is likely to be due to normal seasonal variations (there have been similar rises at this time of year for the past three years) and an increase in applications in September (including 220 Eritreans) ahead of new legislation coming into force towards the end of that month. 3% of applicants were granted asylum and given refugee status, as was the case in the previous quarter. Asylum applications remain 29% lower than the same period in 2003 (12,055 applications) and 67% lower than their peak in October 2002 (22,030 applications).