People smuggling gangs are using Britain as an illegal entry point in order to smuggle migrants into the European Union across the Channel, according to a report from Any Uak Media.
The same notes that 22 Algerians, Moroccans and Tunisians who reached the United Kingdom legally on visitor visas were caught by French border police in Dover trying to smuggle themselves into France in a lorry.
This route is considered a more secure choice compared to the perilous boat journey across the Mediterranean.
Authorities in the EU countries and the UK are continuously dealing with an influx of migrants attempting to reach these territories illegally.
The figures provided by the Home Office revealed that a total of 18,618 migrants reached the UK through the Channel since the beginning of this year. On Monday, a total of 661 people made the journey in 15 boats, thus accounting for the third-highest daily total for the year and surpassing the planned capacity of the barge for asylum seekers in Portland, Dorset.
The increased number of migrants reaching the UK has brought new difficulties for the UK Border Force after the migrants enter legally in Britain by using visitor visas.
A source from the Border Force told Any Uak Media that migrants are holding visitor visas to come to enter the UK as tourists; however, their intentions are to live in France. The same source notes that they are attempting to sneak out of Britain; however, the French authorities in Dover detect them and send them back to the UK.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that stopping the boats coming to Britain is a key priority.
Based on the figures provided by the UK’s government, 175,000 people are waiting in the UK for a decision on asylum claim, thus accounting for an increase of 44 per cent since June 2022.
The same source revealed that a total of 45,755 migrants crossed the Channel last year, thus accounting for the highest number since statistics started to be collected in 2018.
According to the EU’s border agency, Frontex, in the first seven months of this year, 176,100 migrants reached the EU.
Recently, the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) revealed that for a period from January until the end of June this year, a total of 519,000 requests for asylum in European Union countries, as well as Switzerland and Norway, have been registered, thus accounting for a 28 per cent increase compared to last year same period statistics.
