Sharp rise in Indians crossing the English Channel to illegally enter UK: report

The number of Indians illegally crossing over into the United Kingdom across the English Channel has increased sharply to 683 last year from 67 in 2021, data from the British government has shown.

The figure, according to the latest UK Home Office report showed that no Indians had crossed over into Britain in 2018 and 2019.

However, this saw an increase in 2020 when 64 Indians crossed over illegally in small boats followed by a small rise to 67 in 2021.

The majority of the 'irregular arrivals' from India on small boats were made up of men between the ages of 25 and 40, out of a total of 45,755 in 2022.

The UK has a returns agreement with India under the Migration and Mobility Partnership (MMP), something which was referred to by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in Parliament last week.

"We have returns agreements with India, Pakistan, Serbia, Nigeria and — crucially — now with Albania, where we are returning hundreds of people," Sunak told the Commons during Prime Minister's Questions.

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