An estimated 21,000 migrants entered the UK undetected last year, senior Home Office sources have revealed, Report informs referring to The Times.
They came to Britain in addition to the 54,563 migrants who arrived in 2022 without documentation by small boats, at airports or ports, or were picked up by the authorities elsewhere in the UK up to 72 hours after arrival.
Figures obtained by The Times from a Home Office source show that 30,000 people who applied for asylum last year stated on their application that they entered the UK via routes that did not include small boat crossings. Instead, they entered via other routes, including in the back of lorries and other vehicles, as stowaways on ferries or through the Channel tunnel.
The number of illegal immigrants crossing the Channel to reach the UK has been steadily increasing over the past five years, despite promises by the ruling Conservative Party to fight illegal migration.
In 2018, 299 such cases were recorded, in 2019 – 1,800. In 2020, already 8,400 people used the illegal sea route, and in 2021 – 28,500. Last year, this figure increased by 60% and reached 45,700. The maintenance of illegal immigrants in the UK costs taxpayers £6 million ($7.6 million) per day.