Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Number of asylum-seekers falls

Jason Bennetto
Thursday 22 May 1997 23:02 BST
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The number of people applying for asylum in Britain dropped last year by nearly a third, to 28,000, following tough new immigration restrictions, a government report revealed yesterday.

The drop of 16,000 is believed to be partly due to the decision to increase the number of countries considered free from serious risk of persecution and the removal of some social security benefits for asylum-seekers.

Of the 39,000 cases dealt with in 1996, about 20 per cent - 7,300 - were allowed to stay. These were mainly from the former Yugoslavia, Somalia, and Afghanistan. The number of cases refused asylum increased by a third to 31,700 on the previous year.

Control of Immigration: Statistics UK, Second Half and Year 1996. Home Office, Information and Publications, 0181 760 8340. Free.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in