The UK government is set to extend hotel stays for asylum seekers as the number of appeals against rejected claims hits an all-time high.
Thousands of migrants are now facing delays of over a year—an average of 54 weeks—before their appeals are heard, due to mounting pressures on the immigration system.
As of March 2025, there were 50,976 outstanding asylum appeals, nearly double the number recorded in 2024 and over seven times the total from 2023, official data reveals.
The unprecedented backlog adds to the nearly 79,000 asylum applications still awaiting an initial Home Office decision.
Leading immigration barrister Colin Yeo told The Times that the average 54-week wait is likely understated, as it only reflects cases submitted last year when the appeal backlog was significantly smaller—just 27,133.
Enver Solomon, Chief Executive of the Refugee Council, said: “While we welcome efforts to improve a broken asylum system, urgent reforms are needed to ensure accurate decision-making at the first stage, so that bottlenecks don’t simply shift further down the process.”
Approximately a third of all asylum seekers—around 25,000 individuals—have now been waiting over 12 months beyond their initial claim decision.
This means tens of thousands may end up spending more than two years in legal limbo, many of them housed in taxpayer-funded hotel accommodation.
This comes as Chancellor Rachel Reeves pledged to end the use of hotels for asylum housing by 2029.
However, experts warn that extended stays may allow some migrants to establish legal rights—such as under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects family and private life—making deportation increasingly difficult.
The surge in appeals is linked in part to a sharp fall in the success rate of initial asylum decisions, prompting more individuals to challenge refusals through the courts.
