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MOSCOW: Approximately 20,000 convicted foreign nationals remain in the United Kingdom following their release from custody despite active deportation orders against them, Sputnik/RIA Novosti reported, citing The Times newspaper and official data from the UK Home Office.
According to the newspaper, the proportion of deported criminals remains critically low, even though the number of individuals removed from the country has risen from 8,000 in 2020 to 36,000 in 2025.
Foreign criminals still account for less than 30 per cent of the total number of people removed from the UK, the publication said.
Up to June 2025, 20,000 foreign offenders were living freely in the community despite being subject to deportation orders. For some countries, the return rates are so low that fewer than one in 20 can expect to actually be deported, the publication noted.
The Times pointed out that the deportation rate for criminals to Nigeria and Jamaica has fallen below five per cent, while for Somalia, Sierra Leone and the Congo, it ranges from 0.6 per cent to 2.7 per cent.
Migrants often seek to reach the UK illegally and obtain refugee status.
In 2025, more than 41,000 migrants arrived in Britain illegally by boat across the English Channel — the second-highest figure on record, following the peak seen in 2022. At that time, more than 45,700 migrants reached British shores.
The UK authorities are spending several million pounds a day on accommodating asylum seekers in hotels. — BERNAMA