New data has revealed that the amount of time it is taking the UK’s Home Office to process asylum applications has increased in the last five years.

The BBC reported on the findings from the Migration Observatory, which pointed out that in 2014, 80 per cent of asylum applicants were given an initial decision on their case within six months.

This has decreased to just 25 per cent of applications receiving an initial decision within six months.

According to the Migration Observatory, as of 30 June this year there were just under 32,000 people waiting for a decision on their asylum claim. Of those, 17,000 had been waiting for longer than six months for a decision on their case.

Researcher at the organisation, which is based at the University of Oxford, Dr Peter Walsh told the news provider that there isn’t just one reason for these delays.

“Factors that could have played a role include changes to policy and management, the complexity of the cases the Home Office receives and, of course, budget constraints,” he stated.

Earlier this month, Brunel University warned that there is a lot of uncertainty for asylum seekers in the UK who don’t know how their status might be affected by Brexit. At present, there is cooperation on asylum between EU member states, but where the UK is concerned that is expected to change when the country leaves the EU.

If you need assistance with an asylum visa in the UK, get in touch with us today.