More than 25,000 migrants reach UK by Channel crossings in 2025 – earliest this milestone has been reached since records began
More than 25,000 migrants have crossed the English Channel so far in 2025, the first time that number has been reached as early as July, according to official figures.
The Home Office said 898 people were brought ashore in Dover on Wednesday, bringing the annual total so far to 25,436.
Since the government started releasing the numbers of arrivals in 2018, the earliest the annual total reached 25,000 was on 27 August in 2022.
Tories Call It ‘National Emergency’
Following the news that over 25,000 migrants have crossed the Channel on small boats so far this year – the earliest point that milestone has been reached since records began – the Conservative Party issued a stark warning.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: “The Labour government are doing nothing to stop the crossings. This is now a national emergency.”
He went on to say that the returns deal with France “will not even make a dent”, claiming it would take 10 years to deport all those who have already arrived so far this year.
The Tories, he said, would “detain illegal arrivals on the spot, deport them without delay”, and leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) if it “stands in our way.
Major Equipment Seizure in Bulgaria
The government said it was sharing intelligence and strengthening cross-border co-operation with France to tackle people smuggling gangs, and on Thursday the National Crime Agency announced it had worked with Bulgarian authorities to seize 25 small boats intended for use in the Channel.
The NCA confirmed its officers worked in partnership with Bulgarian law enforcement to intercept a consignment of 25 boats that was due to be transported across Europe for use by criminal gangs in the English Channel. The inflatables were found in a lorry which had just crossed the Bulgarian border at the Kapitan Andreevo checkpoint.
When inflated, the boats are around eight metres long, and each would typically have been used to carry 50 to 60 people. The seizure is the biggest single detection of small boats this year.
Dramatic Increase from Previous Years
In the whole of 2020 there were 8,461 crossings, and in 2019 that number was 1,835.
In 2018 there were 297 people recorded making the journey, although figures were only published from 3 November.
The dates on which 25,000 people made the crossing in previous years are:
- 2021 – 20 November
- 2022 – 27 August
- 2023 – 2 October
- 2024 – 4 October
The annual total for 2025 hit 10,000 at the end of April, and 20,000 by the end of June.
Weather Conditions Factor
Also in June the government released figures highlighting the increased number of days with favourable weather for making the journey in 2024 and 2025.
According to Home Office analysis, the year ending April 2025 had a greater number of “red days” (190) – days with favourable crossing conditions – compared to the previous year (106), and 81% more red days than the average number in the years ending April 2022 to 2024.
The average number of people per boat has also increased, rising to 54 people per boat in the year ending March 2025, compared with 50 people per boat in the previous year and 29 in the same period ending March 2022.
Government Response
A Home Office spokesperson said: “We all want to end dangerous small boat crossings, which threaten lives and undermine our border security.
The people-smuggling gangs do not care if the vulnerable people they exploit live or die, as long as they pay and we will stop at nothing to dismantle their business models and bring them to justice.
“That is why this government has put together a serious plan to take down these networks at every stage.”
Border Security Command Strategy
The spokesperson added: “Through international intelligence sharing under our Border Security Command, enhanced enforcement operations in Northern France and tougher legislation in the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, we are strengthening international partnerships and boosting our ability to identify, disrupt, and dismantle criminal gangs whilst strengthening the security of our borders.
The UK’s Border Security Commander, Martin Hewitt, said of the Bulgarian seizure: “International collaboration is a key part of our work to break down the business model of criminal gangs operating across borders, putting lives at risk.
This seizure marks a significant step forward in our joint work alongside the NCA to disrupt the supply chain fuelling these dangerous small boat crossings.”
France Returns Deal Under Fire
The government announced in July a new “one-in-one-out” deal with France to return some people who arrive by small boat, in exchange for accepting an equal number of asylum seekers from France.
Unconfirmed reports suggested that around 50 people a week may be returned to France during an initial pilot phase, though Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has said that numbers were not fixed.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp dismis
