Number of refugees allowed to settle in UK under UN schemes falls 26% in a year

Refugee Council says Home Office figures show safe and legal pathways are disappearing when most needed'

The number of refugees allowed to settle in the UK under UN-facilitated schemes has dropped by more than a quarter in a year, according to figures released by the Home Office.

Just 7,271 people were granted protection through refugee resettlement programmes in the year ending September 2025, about half of whom were Afghans whose lives were at risk after an accidental data breach by a UK defence official.