Image source, PA MediaThe boat arrived in the UK in the early hours of Monday
ByDaniel Sexton and Simon Jones, South East
A small boat has crossed the English Channel carrying 230 people, the largest-ever recorded number to make the journey in a single vessel.
The boat arrived in the UK in the early hours of Monday.
The 230 people on one boat breaks the previous record from July when 165 people made the crossing on a single vessel.
A Home Office spokesperson said this latest incident demonstrated the “reckless and dangerous tactics employed by criminal gangs… who continue to put lives at risk by cramming ever greater numbers of people onto unseaworthy vessels”.
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How many people cross the English Channel in small boats?
Between 1 January and 3 August 2026, a total of 14,561 people crossed the English Channel by small boat from France. This was down by 43% on the same period the previous year.
These crossings have become the most common way for people to be detected entering the UK illegally since 2020.
Nearly all those who arrive by small boat claim asylum. Under international law, this means they are allowed to stay in the country while their asylum application is considered.
Small boat arrivals made up 42% of asylum applications between April 2025 to March 2026.
Boats that arrived in the UK from 4 August 2025 to 3 August 2026 carried an average of 67 people. This has more than doubled since 2021.
Experts say overcrowding in boats makes crossings riskier. At least 84 people died while attempting to cross the Channel in 2024, according to the United Nations (UN).
When looking at the scale of small boats crossings, the number of these arrivals is about 5% of the size of total immigration into the UK from January 2025 to December 2025.
The government has pledged to “smash the gangs” behind these crossings in order to reduce the numbers.
Who is arriving in the UK on small boats?
People from Eritrea accounted for 18% of all arrivals from April 2025 to March 2026.
In the latest figures covering January 2025 to December 2025, at least 2,000 people who arrived by small boat were found to be potential victims of human trafficking or other forms of modern slavery, according to the Home Office.
How else do people stay in the UK without permission?
Another 4,535 people were detected entering the UK without permission via other methods including hiding in vehicles, travelling on ferries or through airports from April 2025 to March 2026. This was down by 22% on the same period the previous year.
There are also individuals who arrive legally, for example via a work or study visa, and then overstay their limit.
The total number of people who live in the UK illegally after arriving legally is not known.
Provisional Home Office figures for the number of people who have crossed the Channel to the UK this year so far is 14,819 – 43% lower than the number recorded by this time last year, and down 16% on the same period in 2024.
Earlier this month, more than 170 people were rescued after the boat they were using to make the crossing caught fire.
On X, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said: “At 2.30am this morning a boat carrying 230 people was taken into Dover.
“This is a record number in a single vessel.
“It’s yet more proof that this illegal invasion is a national security emergency.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “We are making progress, with the number of small boat crossings down this year and the lowest number recorded for the month of July since 2020.
“But we must go further, which is why we have signed a payment-by-results deal with the French to put 40% more boots on the ground on French beaches.”
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