ICERAS

Eritreans have overtaken Afghans as the most common nationality among migrants making the journey to the UK across the English Channel (Gareth Fuller/PA) (PA Wire) Eritreans have become the most common nationality of migrants arriving in the UK after crossing the English Channel, new figures show. Some 1,291 arrivals in the first three months of 2025 were from […]

EritreaA majority of Eritrean refugees worldwide are hosted in neighbouring countries or throughoutthe immediate region. Over 300,000 Eritrean refugees and asylum-seekers have soughtprotection in Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda andYemen. Globally, there are almost 600,000 Eritrean refugees and asylum-seekers displacedtoday.x UNHCR’s Eligibility Guidelines for Assessing the International Protection Needs ofAsylum-Seekers from […]

After leaving dire conditions in their home country, asylum seekers are placed in a long and stressful application process. Their expectations for their new dream life quickly change as they are exposed to the harsh realities of seeking asylum. Informed by narrative interviews with highly educated Eritrean migrants, Samson Maekele Tsegay discusses the experiences of Eritrean asylum […]

Asylum seekers from the Horn of Africa have been the focus of recent press scare-mongering after three of the suspects in the attempted bombings in London on 21 July were revealed to be refugees from Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia. Now a new report, available to download from IRR News, sheds light on the reality of […]

A high court judge has halted the removal of an Eritrean trafficking victim to France under the UK’s “one in, one out” scheme, after raising concerns that forcibly sending him back could cause him harm. The controversial deal, under which one asylum seeker who arrives in the UK on a small boat is forcibly returned to […]

The front page news in the Guardian last week, that “Home Office Eritrea guidance softened to reduce asylum seeker numbers” will not surprise those who have been following the debacle of Eritrean asylum claims in the UK for some time. The Public Law Project managed to obtain internal Home Office documents that evidenced UK government efforts to seek more […]

Overview: University student Al-Zubier Adem fled human rights abuses in Eritrea as a teenager, making a perilous journey across Africa and Europe to build a new life in the UK. Here he tells his story and calls for a more humane government policy towards people fleeing conflict and persecution. I came to the UK in […]

“For refugees who have lost everything, who are often without the support of family and friends, and who may carry the scars of trauma and tragedy, building a new life can be a difficult and daunting task. Mandated to protect refugees, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency provides life-saving shelter and assistance to refugees around the […]

People were first detected crossing the Channel on small boats at a significant scale in 2018, when 299 people were recorded arriving the UK in this manner. Numbers rose sharply, reaching a peak of around 46,000 in 2022. Arrivals then fell in 2023, before rising again to around 41,000 in 2025. The charts below show […]

An Eritrean man who has been fighting to stay in the United Kingdom is set to be deported to France after losing a High Court bid to have his removal temporarily blocked. The 25-year-old Eritrean man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, crossed the English Channel in August and was originally due to be removed […]