Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Busiest day recorded for migrant Channel crossings in 2025 so far

Men and women wearing blankets and life jackets were brought ashore on Monday from a Border Force boat in Dover, Kent.

Flora Thompson
Tuesday 14 January 2025 12:46 GMT
Home Office figures show 260 people made the journey in five boats on Monday, marking the third day of crossings in January (Gareth Fuller/PA)
Home Office figures show 260 people made the journey in five boats on Monday, marking the third day of crossings in January (Gareth Fuller/PA) (PA Wire)

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.

Nearly 400 migrants have arrived in the UK so far this year after the busiest day for Channel crossings since the start of 2025.

Home Office figures show 260 people made the journey in five boats on Monday – the third day of crossings in January.

Pictures showed men and women wearing blankets and life jackets being brought ashore from a Border Force boat in Dover, Kent, amid good weather conditions at sea.

The latest arrivals take the provisional total for the year to date to 388.

It comes just days after the Government confirmed the first death of the year of a migrant trying to reach the UK from the French coast.

The French coastguard said 35 people were rescued in the Channel overnight on Friday. According to media reports, a Syrian man was crushed by other people on a leaky dinghy.

Last year no crossings took place until January 13 when 124 people made the journey.

Separate figures published on Tuesday by the EU border agency Frontex show there were 67,552 detections of attempted Channel crossings to the UK last year, up 9% on 2023.

This number includes migrants who did not reach the English coast, having been intercepted soon after departure or turned back mid-journey by French authorities.

The most common nationalities of migrants attempting to reach the UK across the Channel were Afghan, Syrian and Vietnamese, according to the data.

Frontex also reported that irregular border crossings into the EU fell 38% in 2024 compared with 2023.

This was driven by a 59% year-on-year drop in arrivals across the central Mediterranean, due to fewer departures from Tunisia and Libya, plus a 78% decline on the western Balkans route thanks to a crackdown by local countries.

Migrants entering the EU via the eastern Mediterranean rose 14%, predominantly from Syria, Afghanistan and Egypt, Frontex said.

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