The first Border Security Commander's annual report, published in July 2026, covers the 2025/26 financial year and assesses the UK's border security system against organised immigration crime enabled by small boats.
Updated on the source page on 6 August 2026.
The report is the first annual report from the Border Security Commander. It sets out how the Commander exercised statutory responsibilities under the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration (BSAI) Act 2025. It also assesses delivery and impact against organised immigration crime (OIC) enabled by small boats. It is published by the Home Office as a corporate report.
Small boat arrivals. Crossings rose by 3% in FY2025/26 compared with the previous financial year, but began to fall in the second half of the year. The report says arrivals in April, May and June 2026 were 44% lower than last year.
Law enforcement. Law enforcement partners, led by the National Crime Agency (NCA), delivered 46% more disruptions and 74% more arrests in the UK and overseas. Major disruptions rose by 29%. Arrests overseas rose by 50%. The report says over 500 items of small boat equipment were seized in 2025.
Returns. The report records 2,750 returns of small boat arrivals, up 16%. A pilot with France returned more than 400 migrants in FY2025/26 and over 1,000 as of June 2026.
France. The report says France prevented more than 20,000 crossing attempts in the last financial year, with UK funding and support, and more than 40,000 since the Command was created. The Ministerial foreword refers to a new agreement with France, struck in April, that links payment to performance.
Entry routes. Of detected arrivals in FY2025/26, 90% came by small boat, 6% were inadequately documented arrivals by air, and 4% entered clandestinely or by other illegal means. The report also states that 39% of asylum seekers in the year to March 2026 had previously entered the UK on a visa or other leave with relevant documentation.
The report describes the small boat threat as persistent and adaptive, and says the future is uncertain. It says the summer months could see crossings increase again.
Sources
- Border Security Commander's annual report 2025 to 2026, Home Office, GOV.UK