The Home Office updated its ‘Migrants detected crossing the English Channel in small boats – last seven days’ data set on 3 March 2026. Although headline numbers fluctuate with weather conditions, officials highlighted that hotel use for asylum seekers has fallen to its lowest level in 18 months, crediting the full roll-out of Electronic Travel Authorisation and faster returns under the UK–France ‘one-in, one-out’ agreement. The published spreadsheet shows 512 detections for the week ending 2 March, down from 734 the previous week and 1,020 the same week in 2025. Border Force sources told trade press that upstream ETA refusals and increased French patrolling, part-funded by UK visa-fee surpluses, are contributing to the reduction. Business travel has not been directly affected, but corporates with short-notice assignee moves report longer secondary checks at Dover and Eurotunnel as officers re-allocate resources. Immigration advisers remind employers that any staff entering on an ETA who then take up work will be in breach of conditions and risk refusal of future permissions under the ‘one-strike’ policy that took effect in January. The figures will feed into the political debate ahead of the Spring Immigration Bill, with ministers claiming the digital border is beginning to “shift the calculus of irregular entry”.
