Record number of migrants cross English Channel in first half of 2025

More than 20,000 migrants have crossed the English Channel to the UK in the first six months of 2025, marking a new record for this period and an increase of nearly 50 percent compared to the same timeframe in 2024.

According to the latest figures from the Home Office, 19,982 people made the dangerous crossing from France in small boats between January 1 and July 1, including 879 arrivals on July 1 alone — the third highest daily total so far this year, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media. 

Visual evidence from the Channel on July 1 confirmed that more boats continued to arrive, pushing the total well above 20,000 for the first time since data collection began in 2018.

This figure represents a 48% rise from the 13,489 migrants recorded in the first half of 2024 and a 75% increase compared to 11,433 in the same period of 2023. On June 30, 13 boats arrived carrying an average of around 68 people each.

The highest number of crossings recorded on a single day in 2025 was 1,195 on May 31, while the overall record remains 1,305 on September 3, 2022.

A government spokesman described the situation as "clearly unacceptable," attributing the surge to people smuggling gangs that "have been allowed to embed industrial-scale smuggling enterprises across Europe" in recent years.

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp commented: "One year into Labour's government and the boats haven't stopped - they've multiplied."

By Sabina Mammadli