Indians see highest rise in sexual offence convictions among UK foreign nationals

UPDATED: Aug 27, 2025 06:02 IST

Indian nationals in the UK saw the largest percentage increase in sexual offence convictions among foreign nationals between 2021 and 2024, according to the data shared by the UK Ministry of Justice. Convictions of Indians for sexual offences rose by 257 per cent over this period, climbing from 28 cases in 2021 to 100 in 2024. This increase was the highest among foreign national groups, followed by Nigerian nationals (166 per cent) and Iraqi nationals (160 per cent).

The UK Ministry of Justice (MoJ) clarified that these figures relate to sentencing occasions rather than individual offenders. The data was drawn from the Police Computer and analysed by the Centre for Migration Control via Freedom of Information request.

In terms of serious offences more broadly, Indian nationals recorded the third-highest increase among foreign nationals, with a 115 per cent rise — from 273 convictions in 2021 to 588 in 2024. Only Egyptians and Algerians saw higher increases in serious offence convictions.

Despite these increases, Indians remain a relatively small proportion of overall illegal arrivals. In 2024, 293 Indian nationals arrived in the UK illegally via small boats, with 206 arriving between January and June 2025. Indians accounted for 15 per cent of illegal arrivals at UK ports in the year ending June 2025.

Regarding asylum and visas, 5,474 asylum applications were made by Indian nationals in the same period. Approximately 4,000 were from those who initially arrived on legal visas, mostly for study, and around 400 via small boats. Of these, 2,691 asylum claims were refused, 20 were granted, and the remainder are pending. Indians also received the highest number of UK work and tourist visas and were the largest group to gain citizenship. They were the second-largest recipients of study visas, with 98,014 granted to main applicants.

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