UK Prosecuted 1,109 Migrants for Illegal Arrival Since 2022

The UK Home Office prosecuted 1,109 people for the offense of illegal arrival between July 2022 and January 2026. Introduced in 2022 to deter irregular migration via small boats and lorries, the legal charge has resulted in convictions for survivors of torture, victims of trafficking, and at least 30 age-disputed children. Of those children, 19 were held in adult prisons.

Of the total prosecuted, 628 individuals arrived by small boat, though only 12 were convicted of the more serious offense of facilitation. The government's approach faced a legal challenge in a judicial review involving a South Sudanese trafficking survivor who had been forced to pilot a boat at gunpoint. The Home Office settled the case, with officials agreeing to implement better protections for trafficking victims.

Critics argue the prosecutions are arbitrary and violate the refugee convention, which prohibits penalizing refugees for their method of travel. Criminologist Victoria Taylor and the organization Captain Support UK contend that the process is cruel and lacks evidence that such prosecutions effectively deter people from attempting to cross the Channel.