Official figures obtained by the Financial Times show that the number of outstanding asylum appeals waiting to be heard in the First-tier Immigration Tribunal jumped from 50,976 in March 2025 to 69,670 in September 2025 – a 37 per cent increase in just six months. The backlog is now more than double the level recorded a year earlier and threatens the government’s pledge to end the use of costly hotel accommodation for migrants.
The Ministry of Justice attributes the rise to a shortage of immigration judges and advocates willing to take low-paid legal aid work, coupled with a spike in appeals after the Home Office stepped up initial decision-making. Nearly four in ten appeals were successful in the latest quarter, suggesting that poor-quality refusals are fuelling additional caseload. Average waiting times have stretched from 53 to 60 weeks, leaving applicants – and local authorities funding support – in limbo.
If you need help navigating the UK’s increasingly complex immigration landscape—whether as an asylum seeker, employer or mobility adviser—VisaHQ offers end-to-end document checking, application preparation and real-time status tracking. Their dedicated UK portal (https://www.visahq.com/united-kingdom/) can guide users through visa options beyond the asylum route, assist with extensions or status changes and flag upcoming regulatory shifts, helping to reduce costly errors and delays.
![Asylum appeal backlog surges 37 % despite Home Office push to clear hotels]()
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood told MPs she will pilot an “independent arbitration panel” able to determine straightforward protection claims within 12 weeks, mirroring New Zealand’s fast-track model. Critics warn that without extra judges and meaningful legal-aid uplifts, the new process could simply create a parallel backlog.
For employers, the swelling queue increases uncertainty for staff on asylum-related work routes (e.g. skilled refugees) and may prolong right-to-work document checks. Mobility teams are advised to remind hiring managers that asylum applicants can work only on the Shortage Occupation List, and that delays may exceed a year. Companies using hotel accommodation contracts should review cancellation clauses given the slower-than-expected draw-down.
The Treasury, facing a £3 million-per-day hotel bill, is pressing for cross-Whitehall action, including expanded judge recruitment incentives and digital filing systems. Failure to reverse the trend could shape the 2026 Budget debate on immigration court resourcing.
The Ministry of Justice attributes the rise to a shortage of immigration judges and advocates willing to take low-paid legal aid work, coupled with a spike in appeals after the Home Office stepped up initial decision-making. Nearly four in ten appeals were successful in the latest quarter, suggesting that poor-quality refusals are fuelling additional caseload. Average waiting times have stretched from 53 to 60 weeks, leaving applicants – and local authorities funding support – in limbo.
If you need help navigating the UK’s increasingly complex immigration landscape—whether as an asylum seeker, employer or mobility adviser—VisaHQ offers end-to-end document checking, application preparation and real-time status tracking. Their dedicated UK portal (https://www.visahq.com/united-kingdom/) can guide users through visa options beyond the asylum route, assist with extensions or status changes and flag upcoming regulatory shifts, helping to reduce costly errors and delays.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood told MPs she will pilot an “independent arbitration panel” able to determine straightforward protection claims within 12 weeks, mirroring New Zealand’s fast-track model. Critics warn that without extra judges and meaningful legal-aid uplifts, the new process could simply create a parallel backlog.
For employers, the swelling queue increases uncertainty for staff on asylum-related work routes (e.g. skilled refugees) and may prolong right-to-work document checks. Mobility teams are advised to remind hiring managers that asylum applicants can work only on the Shortage Occupation List, and that delays may exceed a year. Companies using hotel accommodation contracts should review cancellation clauses given the slower-than-expected draw-down.
The Treasury, facing a £3 million-per-day hotel bill, is pressing for cross-Whitehall action, including expanded judge recruitment incentives and digital filing systems. Failure to reverse the trend could shape the 2026 Budget debate on immigration court resourcing.
