READ OUR OFFICIAL STATEMENT ON THE U.S. FY2026 REFUGEE ADMISSIONS CAP AND PRIORITIZATION
SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCES WITH DISPLACEMENT, RESETTLEMENT, DEPORTATION, AND ICE #ANONYMOUSAMONGUS

United Kingdom

Along with its lush countryside and rich heritage, the United Kingdom has a long history of welcoming those who have been displaced, including large numbers of refugees from WWI and WWII. Most recently, UK citizens welcomed more than 100,000 people from Ukraine into homes across the UK and continue to advocate and care for forcibly displaced persons. The Community Programs team in the United Kingdom is actively engaged with local nonprofit organizations, serving in the community, and developing opportunities for collecting and sharing refugee stories.

Demographics
ARRIVALS

FY 2017-2021 data sources: gov.uk, The Migration Observatory

FY 2022 data source: gov.uk, includes 213,307 arrivals under Ukrainian Visa scheme

TOP COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN

FY 2016-2022 data source: Asylum summary Sept 2022 tables and 2022 Ukrainian newcomers. Does not include Afghan arrivals under the ARAP and Pathways 1 and 3 of ACAP.

TOP NEWCOMER LANGUAGES
  • Ukrainian
  • Persian
  • Albanian
  • Arabic
  • Dari
  • Pashto
  • Tigrinya
  • English

FY 2022 data source: Languages based on the official and/or most common language of arrivals’ country of origin.

These numbers currently do not include the full number of people resettled from Afghanistan over the past 2 years. Data on those resettled under Pathway 2 of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) is included (approximately 40). Data on those resettled under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and Pathways 1 and 3 of the ACRS are not included at this time (estimated at 20,471 as of March 2023).

Small boat arrivals accounted for 41% of asylum applications in the year ending September 2022. To view small boat arrivals by country of origin, click here.

23,226 people entered immigration detention in the year ending September 2022. At the end of September 2022, there were 2,077 people in immigration detention (including those detained under immigration powers in prison). Source: UNHCR

Story Gallery
Explore the stories of the people who call United Kingdom home.
ROYA AND MUNIR OUR LIVES BEFORE UNTHINKABLE LOVED ONE THREATENED
Roya  ·  Afghanistan
Our Lives Before: The Unthinkable Happened
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Leadership
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Alice Hearne
Community Programs Coordinator, England
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Community Liaison
Contact Us
Reach out to our local team with any questions. We love to connect with people interested in welcoming newcomers to our community.
What would you do if you had to leave everything behind?

By the end of 2024, more than 123.2 million people worldwide had been forcibly displaced from their homes due to war, persecution, or human rights abuses.

An increase of 7.2 million over 2023, that’s more than 19,619 people every day — roughly one person every 4.4 seconds.

They arrive in refugee camps and other countries, like the US, seeking the one thing they’ve lost: safety.

Fleeing political imprisonment, ethnic violence, religious persecution, gang threats, or war crimes, they come with what little they managed to carry:

Legal papers – if they’re lucky.

A single backpack.

Sometimes a child’s hand in theirs.

They also carry the weight of what they left behind: fractured families, homes they’ll never return to, professions they loved, friends and relatives they may never see again.

They carry loss most of us can’t imagine – but also the truth of what they’ve endured.

At TSOS, we believe stories are a form of justice. When someone shares their experience of forced displacement, they reclaim their voice. And when we amplify that voice – through film, photography, writing, and advocacy – the world listens. Hearts soften. Communities open. Policy begins to shift.

That shift matters. Because when neighbors understand instead of fear…

when lawmakers see people, not politics…

when a teacher knows what her student has survived…

Rebuilding life from the ashes becomes possible.

We’re fighting an uphill battle. In today’s political climate, refugee stories are often twisted or ignored. They’re reduced to statistics, portrayed as national threats, or used to score political points.

The truth – the human, nuanced truth – gets lost, and when it does, we lose compassion.

We are here to share their truth anyway.

At TSOS, we don’t answer to headlines or algorithms. We are guided by a simple conviction: every person deserves to be seen, heard, and welcomed.

Our work is powered by the people we meet — refugees and asylum seekers rebuilding after loss, allies offering sanctuary, and communities daring to extend belonging.

Your support helps us share their stories — and ensure they’re heard where they matter most.

“What ultimately persuaded the judge wasn’t a legal argument. It was her story.”

— Kristen Smith Dayley, Executive Director, TSOS

Will you help us keep telling the truth?

No donation is too small — and it only takes a minute of your time.

Why give monthly?

We value every gift, but recurring contributions allow us to plan ahead and invest more deeply in:

  • New refugee storytelling and advocacy projects
  • Resources to train and equip forcibly displaced people to share their own stories
  • Public education that challenges fear with empathy
  • Local efforts that help communities welcome and integrate newcomers

As our thank-you, monthly supporters receive fewer fundraising messages — and more stories of the impact they’re making possible.

You don’t have to be displaced to stand with those who are.

Can you give today — and help carry these stories forward?

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