Migrants using longer, more dangerous routes across Channel

Migrants using longer, more dangerous routes across Channel

Smugglers have launched small boats from beaches much further from Calais and Dunkirk

A rising number of migrants are attempting Channel crossings in small boats by taking longer routes from beaches farther south and west of Calais and Dunkirk, French authorities say.

Last week, one boat departed from Normandy and remained at sea for more than 30 hours before Border Force intercepted it and brought it to Dover.

While departures from Normandy have been uncommon, authorities in neighbouring Seine-Maritime say there have already been 58 attempts this year, compared with 30 last year.

The government says it is cracking down on dangerous small boat crossings, and figures show a steep fall in arrivals this year.

Even though overall crossings are down, the section of coastline used by smugglers appears to be expanding.

Earlier this month, another migrant boat was met by lifeboats from the Isle of Wight after leaving the Cherbourg area.

These places are almost 80 miles (128 km) from the beaches where many small boats have crossed in recent years, meaning those on board spend longer at sea.

Recent attempted crossings have begun in parts of Normandy and the Dieppe area in Seine-Maritime.

Audrey Baconnais-Rosez, the local government representative in Seine-Maritime, said: "The number of attempts to cross the Channel has increased in number and it is getting further and further from the north of France."

She added that authorities were "managing to stop half of them".

She said the number of gendarmes patrolling the coast around Dieppe and farther toward the Le Havre area had been increased.

"Nowadays it's about 50 gendarmes on the coast and we have nearly 20 police officers in Dieppe and the surrounding [area] to try to stop them," she said.

Baconnais-Rosez also said some smugglers were still trying to use ferries to Newhaven in Sussex.

"We are still intercepting them and we are bringing them to justice as well," she added.

Dr Peter Walsh, a senior researcher at the University of Oxford's Migration Observatory, said it is highly plausible that the new routes are a result of police disrupting boat launches in northern France.

"It's not at all optimal for these boats to set off so far away from their intended destination," he said.

"Some of these journeys would not be 20 miles (32km) but 50 miles (80km) or even more, which substantially increases the danger of course on board the boats."

David McFarlane, a marine safety consultant, said the longer the trip, the greater the risk of encountering dangerous sea conditions.

"If a low pressure system is developing over the Atlantic, it can mean that in advance of the winds picking up, a swell will start to increase, with the increased likelihood of sea sickness for some, which can lead to dehydration," he said.

"The wind of course can pick up very quickly and waves can get up to 3.5m (11ft) in height in the Channel.

"This increases the risk of the boat being swamped by sea water, with the obvious danger to human life by drowning or exposure."

Between 1 January and 27 September 2026, 19,135 people crossed the English Channel by small boat from France. That was 42% lower than in the same period the previous year.

Since 2020, these crossings have become the most common way people are detected entering the UK illegally.

Almost everyone who arrives by small boat claims asylum. Under international law, that means they are permitted to remain in the country while their asylum claim is processed.

Small boat arrivals accounted for 40% of asylum applications between July 2025 and June 2026.

Boats that arrived in the UK from 28 September 2025 to 27 September 2026 carried an average of 67 people. That figure has more than doubled since 2021.

Experts say overcrowding makes crossings more dangerous. At least 84 people died while trying to cross the Channel in 2024, according to the United Nations (UN).

In terms of the scale of small boat crossings, these arrivals amount to about 5% of total immigration into the UK from January 2025 to December 2025.

The government has promised to “smash the gangs” behind these crossings to cut the numbers.

People from Eritrea made up 18% of all arrivals from July 2025 to June 2026.

In the latest figures covering January 2025 to December 2025, at least 2,335 people who arrived by small boat were identified by the Home Office as potential victims of human trafficking or other forms of modern slavery.

Another 4,712 people were found entering the UK without permission by other means, including hiding in vehicles, travelling on ferries or passing through airports, from July 2025 to June 2026. That was 17% lower than in the same period the previous year.

There are also people who enter legally, such as on work or study visas, and then remain after their permission expires.

The total number of people living in the UK illegally after arriving legally is not known.

So far in 2026, 19,135 people have made the Channel crossing, compared with 32,188 over the same period in 2025.

However, the Home Secretary ordered a review last week after two migrant boats reached the Kent coast without being intercepted.

A total of 781 migrants arrived in 10 small boats on Wednesday, the highest single-day figure this year, according to Home Office figures.

Tony Smith, the former director general of Border Force, said smugglers would keep adapting.

"We've seen the Normandy crossings and the undetected crossings," he said.

"They're not going to give up as long as the business model continues to exist and there's a market to bring migrants over from France.

"Every successful landing is a message to the next migrant waiting on a French beach that it's worth a try."

A Home Office spokesperson said joint efforts had prevented more than 48,000 crossing attempts and seized 1,100 boats and engines since the election.

"Our efforts are having an impact, with the number of small boat crossings down significantly this year and the lowest number recorded for the month of July since 2020," they added.

"But we must go further, which is why we have signed a payment-by-results deal with the French to put 40% more boots on the ground on French beaches, along with a surge unit of 45 additional officers to bolster action in Western coastal areas."