The number of refugees allowed to settle in the UK through UN-backed resettlement schemes has fallen sharply, dropping 26% in one year, according to new Home Office data.
Between September 2024 and September 2025, only 7,271 people were granted protection, compared with 9,872 the previous year.
About half of those resettled were Afghans whose lives were put at risk after a UK defence official accidentally leaked the personal details of nearly 19,000 applicants. Of the total, 3,686 arrived under the Afghanistan Response Route, while others came through the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy and the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme.
Meanwhile, just 830 refugees arrived through the main UK Resettlement Scheme run with the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), and only four were admitted under the mandate resettlement programme.
This marks a continued decline in the limited safe and legal pathways available.
Enver Solomon, head of the Refugee Council, said the shrinking resettlement routes leave vulnerable people with little choice but to risk dangerous journeys, including crossing the Channel in small boats.
He warned that suspending refugee family reunion is a scheme mostly used by women and children which further increases the pressure on families trying to stay together safely.
The fall in numbers comes as Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood prepares to introduce three new refugee routes, expected to admit only a modest number of people. Details are still being awaited by the UNHCR.
The Home Office said the government remains committed to helping genuine refugees and plans to expand safe, legal routes as part of wider asylum reforms.
Read also: UK to introduce temporary protection for refugees in major asylum system overhaul
