Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many third country asylum applications have been handled in Northern Ireland in each of the last 5 calendar years, following the applicants having been in the UK for 6 months and 1 day.

Obtaining the specific information requested would involve collating and verifying information from multiple systems owned by multiple teams across the Home Office and, therefore, could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

The safety and security of the United Kingdom is this government’s top priority. We work closely with the Irish government to stop illegal migrants and foreign national offenders exploiting the Common Travel Area.