Around 40,000 migrants living in the UK are still ‘pending relocation’ after having their asylum claims ruled inadmissible, officials have admitted. 

The Illegal Migration Act – passed last July and backdated to March – bars anyone who has entered the UK without prior permission from claiming asylum. 

Officials say 33,000 people arrived in the UK without government approval from March 3 to the end of the year followed by another 6,200 in 2024.

These people are now liable for removal, but in practice this is often impractical due to the lack of returns agreements between the UK and other nations and the absence of alternative places wiling to take them. 

Simon Ridley, second permanent secretary at the Home Office, was asked by MPs yesterday what was happening to the 40,000 arrivals. 

Simon Ridley (left), second permanent secretary at the Home Office, was asked by MPs yesterday what was happening to 40,000 migrants whose asylum claims had been ruled inadmissible but remained in the UK. Pictured right is Sir Matthew Rycroft 

A total of 534 migrants in ten boats reached Britain on Sunday, following 214 in five dinghies the day before

‘They are pending relocation,’ he told the Public Accounts Committee, adding that they would be provided with accommodation and subsistence while in the UK. 

Sir Matthew Rycroft, permanent secretary at the Home Office, told MPs he could not say how many of these people could be sent to Rwanda if the government is able to begin flights to the country. 

But he insisted Rwanda is ready and able to take as many migrants as Britain can send, saying: ‘They have that capability to accommodate the people who will be relocated.’   

Sir Matthew also told the committee that the number of migrants arriving illegally in Britain should fall by about 10,000 for the Rwanda policy to prove value for money. 

He said a one-third reduction in small boat crossings from last year’s figure of 29,437 would be needed given the cost of the deportations, which will reach £290million by next year.

He revealed that the government in Kigali will be handed another £50million of the total almost as soon as the new law is passed.

A total of 534 migrants in ten boats reached Britain on Sunday, following 214 in five dinghies the day before. That takes the total number of arrivals so far this year to 6,265 – 28 per cent higher than by this time last year.

Downing Street has admitted the figures were ‘unacceptable’ and said they showed the need for the new Safety of Rwanda Bill – which has been held up by Government defeats in the House of Lords – to deter more people from making the crossing. 

The House of Lords will again debate the Prime Minister’s flagship Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill this afternoon

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: ‘It’s an unacceptable number of people who continue to cross the Channel and it demonstrates exactly why we must pass this Bill and get flights off the ground as soon as possible and provide the important deterrent that the Bill will provide.’

The legislation, which declares Rwanda is a safe country for migrants to be sent to after the Supreme Court ruled the scheme unlawful last autumn, returned to the Commons last night for fresh consideration of amendments voted through by the Lords before Easter.

More Channel migrants have come from Vietnam this year than any other country, it emerged this week – with ministers blaming the surge for driving a record number of arrivals. 

Vietnamese migrants are often trafficked by gangs to work in nail bars, cannabis farms and the sex trade. 

This has meant crime bosses have tended to use lorries instead of small boats – where passengers are more likely to be detained by Border Force – but tighter security has made the cross-Channel route increasingly common. 

The death of 39 Vietnamese migrants in a refrigerated lorry trailer in Essex in 2019 may have also persuaded more people to take the sea route. 

Mimi Vu, a trafficking and modern slavery expert in Vietnam, said some people pay as much as £20,000 to trafficking gangs.

A government spokesperson said: ‘Asylum seekers who arrived illegally after 20th July 2023 will be relocated to a safe third country such as Rwanda.

‘Once the Safety of Rwanda Bill and Treaty are in place, we will get flights off the ground as soon as possible.’