The Home Office published provisional figures on 26 June 2026 on National Referral Mechanism referrals raised after charter-flight returns were arranged in 2025, with comparisons to 2024 for one measure.
Report, 26 June 2026.
The Home Office has published an ad hoc statistical release on referrals to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) made before an arranged return from the UK. It says the publication supports the forthcoming Immigration and Asylum Bill.
The NRM is the UK's framework for identifying and supporting potential victims of modern slavery. The release covers individuals with no legal right to remain in the UK whose return was being arranged by charter flight in 2025.
The provisional figures are:
- 34% (434) of returns that were arranged but failed to go ahead involved an NRM referral made after the return was arranged. Over the same period in 2024 the figure was 38% (207).
- 76% (180) of cases that raised NRM referrals ahead of all charter flights with an NRM out of hours decision-making service were raised between 3pm on the day before the planned removal and 6am on the day of the planned charter removal.
- Of the total number of referrals, 15% (36) were raised after 11pm.
The Home Office says the figures are provisional, come from live operational systems and are subject to revision. Some of the data is collected and processed manually and has not been assured to the quality level of official statistics.
The release adds that arranged returns can fail for several reasons even where no NRM referral is made. It lists representations such as an asylum claim or Judicial Review, disruption by the person being returned, cancelled flights, problems with travel documentation and rescheduled departure dates.
It also states that the data does not capture the full operational impact of late NRM-related claims. It adds that, in addition to late referrals, reconsideration requests following initial NRM decisions can also delay or prevent removals. Where out of hours support was provided, the Home Office says this mitigated the impact of late claims and supported planned removals, though the data shows removals can still be disrupted in some cases.
The timing data excludes scheduled flight removals. It also excludes charter flights where the Immigration Enforcement Competent Authority (IECA) did not provide out-of-hours support, including those operated solely for voluntary departures and charters to Romania and Poland.
Sources
- Supplementary information on referrals to the NRM made prior to an arranged return from the UK, 2025, Home Office, published 26 June 2026