More Than 40,000 Immigration Returns Recorded as Home Office Enforcement Figures Rise

A total of 40,605 immigration returns were recorded during the 12 months ending June 2026, according to government statistics published on 27 August.

This was approximately 8% higher than the 37,500 returns recorded in the previous 12-month period.

The figures cover people leaving the UK under several immigration enforcement and voluntary departure arrangements.

How many people were forcibly removed?

The Home Office recorded 9,669 enforced returns during the year ending June 2026.

This was a 7% increase from 9,077 in the previous year.

Enforced returns involve people subject to immigration removal or deportation action carried out by the Home Office.

Such returns can include individuals who have no legal right to remain in Britain, including certain foreign national offenders and people whose immigration applications have been refused.

What about voluntary departures?

The majority of immigration returns were recorded as voluntary.

Official statistics show that 30,936 voluntary returns took place during the same period, an increase of 9% compared with the previous year.

Voluntary returns include people who depart through Home Office-assisted schemes, as well as other departures subsequently confirmed through official records.

Not all voluntary departures involve government-funded return arrangements.

What about people refused entry at the border?

The Home Office also recorded 18,646 people who were refused entry to Britain at a port or other entry point and subsequently departed.

These are classified separately as port returns and are not included in the total of 40,605 enforced and voluntary returns.

This distinction matters when comparing different government announcements about removals and deportations.

Are these all failed asylum seekers?

No.

The published returns figures cover several immigration categories and should not be presented as exclusively involving failed asylum seekers or people who entered Britain in small boats.

Likewise, a voluntary departure should not automatically be described as a deportation.

Returns figures also do not, on their own, establish how many people remain in the country without permission.

What happens next?

Immigration enforcement remains an important element of government border policy.

However, assessing its effectiveness requires examining the different types of departure, the legal processes involved and how return arrangements operate with other countries.

Keep Updated UK will continue examining official immigration enforcement statistics and checking claims about the number of people being removed from Britain.