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UK small boat arrivals fell 42 percent by July 2026 but one dinghy carried a record 128 people
Home Office figures show 12,214 people reached the UK on small boats through 9 July, down from 21,117 in the same period of 2025. Irregular crossings into Europe also declined nearly 40 percent in the first half of the year.
Jul 18, 4:57 AM·1m read1 source
The IndependentAudio version
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UK small boat arrivals fell 42 percent through 9 July 2026 compared with the same period in 2025, The Independent reported. Home Office data recorded 12,214 arrivals by that date, down from 21,117 the previous year. Through the end of June the decline stood at 41 percent, with 11,884 people arriving versus 20,143 in 2025.
The number of boats also dropped. In 2026 so far, 187 boats reached the UK, compared with 362 in the equivalent period of 2025. A record 128 migrants arrived in a single dinghy during the week of 9 July, exceeding the previous high of 125 set in September 2025.
The UK-France one-in-one-out scheme, which began in August 2025, returned 1,087 people to France by the end of June. Reports indicate French authorities may end the programme in October to pursue a wider European approach. Dr Mihnea Cuibus of the University of Oxford’s Migration Observatory said arrivals are down across Europe and that last year’s decline may now be feeding through to UK figures.
He noted that the share of removals under the bilateral scheme remains low and that broader factors, including arrivals into the EU, are also at work. Eritrea remained the leading country of origin. In the first three months of 2026, 743 Eritrean citizens arrived, followed by 735 Sudanese and 598 Afghans.
Somali arrivals rose sharply from 697 in 2024 to 3,783 in 2025. Irregular crossings into Europe fell almost 40 percent in January–June 2026, with nearly 39,000 detections recorded by Frontex. Detections on the Western African route dropped 71 percent, while arrivals in Italy via the central Mediterranean route fell 52 percent to 14,340.
The International Organisation for Migration recorded nearly 1,300 deaths in the Mediterranean so far this year. Judith Sunderland of Human Rights Watch said EU-funded enforcement in Libya, Tunisia and elsewhere carries significant risks for migrants and that physical prevention measures can divert rather than eliminate journeys.
