The number of people waiting for an initial decision on their UK asylum application has reached a record 175,000, the government reported on Thursday (August 24).

The UK Interior Ministry attributed the overall rise in pending cases to applications entering the asylum system outpacing the number of decisions released. However, the government also noted that the growth in backlog was slowing. 

Some 23,700 initial decisions have been made since the start of the year, with around 70% of applicants receiving refugee status, humanitarian protection or other similar permits allowing them to remain in the country. The previous year, an estimated 14,730 decisions were released. 

In a separate statement, the department said it was confident that by the end of 2023, it would meet UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s pledge to clear the “legacy backlog” -- cases that were filed before the end of June 2022. 

Emotional limbo of waiting 

Humanitarian agencies slammed the delay in application processing as “unacceptable”, stressing the emotional toll waiting for an asylum decision can take. 

In a statement, the UK Refugee Council said, “Long waits have a devastating impact on refugees, who find themselves stuck in limbo, living in unsuitable accommodation such as hotels at huge cost, and unable to work or move on with their lives.” 

According to the charity, three-quarters of pending asylum applications were lodged more than six months ago. 

The Refugee Council expressed skepticism toward the government’s promise to clear out legacy backlog applications by the end of the year. Working out the math, this would mean releasing 8,700 decisions every month, equivalent to about 435 decisions every day. 

The charity called for accelerating asylum claims of unaccompanied children and applications older than three years and fast-tracking decisions from countries with high grant rates to ease the pileup of asylum applications. 

Also read: 'More than 200' migrant children went missing in the UK, admits minister

Curbing irregular migration

Last November, the Guardian reported that more than 40,000 UK asylum seekers had been waiting between one and three years for a decision. A separate estimate showed that about 155 children had been waiting for more than five years for their application to be evaluated. 

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has made cracking down on irregular migration a focal point of his administration. A number of initiatives to stem and discourage irregular arrivals include a Stop the Boats bill which aims to deter people from sailing into Britain’s shores, outsourcing its migration program to other countries like Rwanda, and housing migrants in former military sites and barges. 

However, the UK government is also easing requirements to make it easier for skilled workers to move to the country. The UK is grappling with a massive labor shortage in key industries such as construction and healthcare.

Government statistics for formal migration showed that 1,438,471 visas were issued in the year to June 2023, a 28% increase from the year before.

Also read: UK: First asylum seekers move on to divisive barge

With Reuters and The Guardian