Channel migrant crossings hit five-year low in stormy January - as new arrivals spotted in Kent

A group of people, thought to be migrants, disembarked a Border Force vessel in Ramsgate, Kent, today.

Monday 2 February 2026 14:41, UK

The English Channel had its quietest January for migrant crossings in five years as Storm Chandra and other bad weather lashed the country.

Fewer than 1,000 migrants arrived in the UK last month, with January 31 continuing a run of several days with no crossings at all.

In total, just 933 people came last month, the lowest January tally since 2021, when 224 migrants made the journey.

That is 15% fewer than last January, when 1,098 came, and 30% fewer than in January 2024, when there were 1,335 arrivals.

It is thought that Storm Chandra may have been a factor in putting people off attempting the crossing, along with other bad weather.

Nonetheless, photographs taken on Monday showed what appeared to be a group of migrants disembarking from a Border Force vessel in Ramsgate, Kent.

The port is being temporarily used to process migrant arrivals while the Home Office's usual facility in Dover is closed for maintenance.

It comes as the Home Office launches a crackdown on social media adverts touting illegal routes into the UK, with offenders facing a five-year sentence.

The measure is designed to disrupt middlemen who link up migrants with people facilitating small boat crossings.

The National Crime Agency will trawl through thousands of social media accounts as part of the crackdown.

Border security minister Alex Norris said his message to people smugglers was: "We are coming after you."

Channel migrant crossings hit five-year low in stormy January - as new arrivals spotted in Kent

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