The number of people granted asylum by the Home Office jumped by more than a third last year.
Official figures showed nearly 55,000 migrants were handed refugee status or another type of permission to stay in Britain in the year to December.
It was up 35 per cent on the previous 12 months but 14 per cent below the peak seen in 2023.
Eritreans made up the largest group with just under 8,700 successful asylum claims, followed by Sudanese with 7,000 and Iranians with 6,900.
The figures only cover those granted asylum by the Home Office at the initial decision stage, and do not include those who successfully appeal against a refusal in the immigration courts which had a backlog of 70,000 cases at the last count.
There were 46,497 illegal arrivals into the country in 2025, up seven per cent on the previous year.
It included 41,472 by small boat across the Channel - a figure which was already known from daily updates published by the Home Office - with the rest coming by 'clandestine' routes such as stowing away in the backs of lorries.
Small boat arrivals were up 13 per cent on 2024 but lower than the peak of 45,772 seen in 2022.
Statistics also showed the total number of asylum claims lodged in the year was 101,000, a four per cent fall on the previous year but still at a near-record level.
The total number of claims to receive an initial decision from the Home Office hit an all-time high of more than 135,000, meaning the proportion of those granted was 42 per cent, down from 47 per cent the previous year.
A migrant 'mega-dinghy' with about 120 people aboard crosses the Channel to Britain in September last year
A record number of asylum claims - just over 80,000 - were rejected by the Home Office, a significant 75 per cent jump on the previous year.
The rise indicates a large number of unfounded claims are being lodged by migrants, although after initial rejection many go on to bring lengthy appeals.
The number of migrants receiving taxpayer-funded support dipped at the end of last year, including those given full-board accommodation in hotels.
Data showed there were 107,003 people receiving State support, a five per cent fall year-on-year and 14 per cent below the peak of almost 124,000 in September 2023.
Of those 31,000 were in hotels, 19 per cent lower than a year previously.
Just under 73,000 were in other types of accommodation such as self-catering properties, up two per cent.
There was a 15 per cent rise in those receiving subsistence-only hand-outs – and no accommodation – to 3,577.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: 'Labour are moving illegal immigrants from asylum hotels to residential housing.
'There are far fewer checks and safeguards in dispersal accommodation which allows illegal immigrants to work illegally, commit more crime, and disappear into your community.
'Keir Starmer has presided over the highest number of Channel crossings of any Prime Minister on record.
'Labour only have removed six per cent of small boat arrivals.'
He added: 'Labour do not have the backbone to tackle the illegal immigration crisis.
'Shabana Mahmood has no control of our border, and things are getting worse.'
Dr Peter Walsh from Oxford University's Migration Observatory said: 'Refused applications will inevitably lead to tens of thousands more appeals, adding significant pressure to the already very stretched tribunals system.
'Hotel accommodation is unpopular all round: it is expensive for the UK taxpayer and not suitable for long-term living.
'However, the government has struggled to expand capacity in other types of accommodations, such as disused military sites or dispersed houses of multiple occupancy.
'It is also struggling to reduce the number of people in the asylum system, because asylum applications remain unusually high and because of the appeals backlog.'
The new data showed the number of enforced deportations from Britain was up 21 per cent year-on-year to 9,914, while voluntary removals were up five per cent to just over 28,000.
It included 2,550 small boat migrants who were removed during the year, the highest number on record since the start of the Channel crisis in 2018. Six out of 10 were Albanian.
The total number of asylum-related returns was 11,631, up 23 per cent year-on-year.
In addition, 5,634 foreign national criminals were removed from Britain, an increase of 11 per cent on 2024.
Home Office minister Alex Norris said: ‘Today’s figures show the impact of our action to end the costly use of taxpayer-funded hotels, with overall asylum costs dropping by 12 per cent as a result.
‘The population in asylum hotels has fallen by nearly 20 per cent in the last year and by 45 per cent since the peak under the previous government.
‘But we won’t stop until every asylum hotel is closed.
‘We are already moving out of hotels and into alternative accommodation, including ex-military sites.
‘And we are making major reforms to reduce the pull factors that draw people to this country, and increasing removals and deportations of those with no right to be here.’
