Small boat Channel crossings
Home Office figures for people detected crossing the English Channel in small boats, updated from the department’s weekly release. Numbers only — no commentary.
Year totals: data to 30 October 2026. Daily figures to 3 November 2026 are shown separately.
Source data 31 October 2026 · last checked 4 November 2026, 18:22 · Home Office weekly release
Over the same dates in 2025 the figure was 36,954. That is a fall of 40.8%. Arrivals this year came on 317 boats, an average of 69 people per boat.
Both years are counted to the same date so the comparison is like for like — a part year measured against a full one would be misleading.
Last seven days
people, 28 October to 3 November 2026, on 23 boats
| Day | People | Boats | Uncontrolled landings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28 Oct | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 Oct | 263 | 3 | 0 |
| 30 Oct | 671 | 9 | 0 |
| 31 Oct (after the weekly file) | 259 | 4 | 0 |
| 1 Nov (after the weekly file) | 477 | 7 | 0 |
| 2 Nov (after the weekly file) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 Nov (after the weekly file) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Shaded days come after 30 October 2026, where the weekly file ends: 736 people on 11 boats in 4 days. They are not in this page’s year totals yet; they join them when the next weekly file is published (Fridays).
Provisional figures from UK and French operational data, as listed on the Home Office’s “last 7 days” page; they can be revised. Uncontrolled landings are boats recorded arriving without being intercepted; they are counted in the boats column. View the Home Office daily page →
Arrivals by year
The published series begins in 2018. The highest full year recorded was 2022, at 45,755.
* 2026 is a part year, to 30 October 2026 — not comparable with the complete years above it.
Most recent week
people, on 12 boats
arrivals on 0 boats · 0 prevented across 0 events
The two panels cover different periods: the left is the last seven days in the weekly file’s daily series, the right is the Home Office’s own most recent completed reporting week.
Source: Home Office — Migrants detected crossing the English Channel in small boats (weekly time series). The year-to-date figure, the year totals and the most recent week come from this weekly file, published on Fridays, and run to its own cut-off, 30 October 2026. The last-seven-days panel comes from the same release’s daily “last 7 days” page, dated by that page’s own “Updated” line, and is shown only while that date is no more than 3 days old. Days after the weekly cut-off are never added to the year totals here; they join them when the next weekly file includes them.
These are provisional figures drawn from UK and French operational data and are revised over time. Final statistics are published quarterly by the Home Office in Immigration System Statistics. View the original release →
Questions
How many people have crossed the Channel in small boats in 2026?
21,869 people were detected arriving in small boats between 1 January 2026 and 30 October 2026, according to Home Office figures. Over the same period in 2025 the figure was 36,954, so arrivals are down 40.8% year on year. These are provisional operational figures and are revised over time.
How many people crossed the Channel in small boats in the last 7 days?
Home Office daily figures, updated 4 November 2026, show 1,670 people arriving on 23 boats in the seven days from 28 October to 3 November 2026. The year-to-date figure on this page runs to 30 October 2026, where the weekly file ends, so it does not yet include the 4 days after that. These are provisional figures and may be revised.
Are small boat crossings going up or down?
Compared like for like — the same calendar period in each year — crossings are down 40.8% on 2025. Looking further back, the highest full year in the published series was 2022 at 45,755. Year-to-date comparisons only make sense against the same dates, which is how the figures on this page are calculated.
Where do these numbers come from?
From the Home Office publication "Migrants detected crossing the English Channel in small boats". Its time series runs back to 2018 and is updated weekly on a Friday; the year-to-date and yearly figures on this page come from it and show the date its data runs to. The same publication's "last 7 days" page lists each recent day, and this page shows it in a separate, dated panel while it is current, without adding those days to the totals.
Are these figures final?
No. They are provisional figures taken from UK and French operational data and are subject to revision. The Home Office publishes finalised statistics quarterly in its Immigration System Statistics release, and those figures are the authoritative ones.
What does 'migrants prevented' mean?
The Home Office weekly summary reports crossings prevented alongside arrivals — people stopped from departing, and the number of separate events involved. Those figures come from French operational reporting and are published on the same weekly basis.
