Asylum applications

Aside from the number of applications, the rest of the data are estimates only.

The total number of main applicants in 2008 was 3,485. In 2012, this had dropped to 1,008. This means that in less than five years, the number of Afghan applications had dropped by more than a third.

Asylum grants for Afghans have been steadily falling over the past four years. In 2008, there were 443 main applicants given asylum. In 2012 this had dropped to 217. This means that in less than five years, the number of asylum grants for Afghans had dropped by more than 50%.

But when the proportion of applicants given asylum are looked at there is a different story. In 2008, 13% of Afghan applicants were given asylum. In 2012 this had risen to 22%, an increase of nearly 10%. This means that though the number of asylum grants for Afghans has dropped since 2008, Afghans who applied for asylum in 2012 were 10% more likely to obtain asylum than in 2008.

Other grants may include the right to stay temporarily. For example an Afghan minor may be given the right to remain in the UK until they are 18. Afterwards they will need to reapply for asylum or face being returned back to Afghanistan. Other grants have dropped dramatically from 1,123 in 2008 to 129 in 2012.

The number of refusals are dropping which reflect the fall in applications as well as the increased likelihood of being given asylum in 2012 than in 2008.

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