• The Home Office is simplifying the asylum application process.
• By doing away with interviews and requiring applicants.
• To complete a 10-page English quiz in lieu of a face-to-face interview.

Almost 166,000 persons are currently on the backlog of asylum seekers in the UK who are awaiting a judgement on their application.

According to information released on Thursday by the Home Office, almost 110,000 people have been waiting for at least six months.

According to the most recent statistics, 89,000 persons applied for asylum in the UK in 2022, which is a 19-year high.

The Home Office revealed intentions on Wednesday to simplify the process by doing away with interviews in some circumstances.

The goal of the action is to lessen the backlog in asylum applications, which Prime Minister Rishi Sunak hopes will be entirely eliminated by the end of this year.

Over 12,000 asylum applicants from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Libya, Syria, and Yemen will complete a 10-page English quiz in lieu of a face-to-face interview.

According to the Home Office, applicants from these nations have already had 95% of their asylum requests granted.

According to officials, if caseworkers are unsatisfied with the information presented in the questionnaire, applicants will be required to participate in a face-to-face interview.

According to the most recent data, the majority (75%) of asylum decisions made in 2022 were in favor of granting asylum, which is the greatest percentage in more than 30 years.

Nonetheless, actual decision-making in 2022 was 10% lower than it was prior to the epidemic.

In addition to those awaiting initial decisions, there are 166,000 people on the backlog who are awaiting the results of appeals.

This number is up 60% from last year and surpasses 160,000 for the first time.

In the year to the end of September, 3,531 of individuals whose applications were rejected the previous year were repatriated by the Home Office, either voluntarily or forcibly, a little increase from the year before.

Yet, compared to 2012, when there were 15,000 returns, and to 2004, when there were more than 21,000, these numbers are significantly lower.

When compelled returns are taken into account individually, the number for last year was only 489, compared to approximately 6,800 in 2010.

Conservative party chairman Greg Hands said: “We need to get to grips with the backlog… Absolutely we’re committed to the safety and security of this country.

“There’s still a very strong process in place. We’re talking here about cases that would be granted, we’re just going to do it more quickly in a more streamlined way whilst making sure that public safety is secure.”

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