London

Richmond upon Thames

Updated 30 Jun 2026 · Home Office · Corrections log
Ms Abena Oppong-Asare
Ms Abena Oppong-AsareLabour · Erith and Thamesmead

3 MPs cover constituencies in or overlapping Richmond upon Thames.

15 people on asylum support in Richmond upon Thames

Rank 293 of 361 councils nationally. The rate of 0.76 per 10,000 puts Richmond upon Thames in the 16th percentile. That means fewer than 84% of areas. White British projected to be a minority by approximately 2037. 4 of them receive subsistence only and are not in Home Office accommodation. Accommodation and support for 15 people at £107 per person per day is about £0.6M a year.

What asylum costs Richmond upon Thames

£339Kestimated hotel costs/year
£38Ksubsistence payments/year
£18KLA dispersal grant/year

Estimates based on 15 people on asylum support in Richmond upon Thames(0.02% of 93,293 nationally at 30 Jun 2026). Hotel costs pro-rated from £5.77M/day national spend in 2024/25 (House of Commons Library, CDP-2025-0184). Subsistence: £49.18/week per person.

How many asylum seekers are in Richmond upon Thames?

15 people were receiving Home Office asylum support in Richmond upon Thames at 30 June 2026, the most recent quarter published. That ranks 293rd of 361 UK local authorities. It counts people on support at that date, which is not the number who claimed asylum there and not the number waiting for a decision.

How many asylum seekers per 10,000 people are in Richmond upon Thames?

0.76 per 10,000 residents, which places Richmond upon Thames in the 16th percentile of UK local authorities. It carries fewer per head than 84% of the country. Rate is the fair comparison between areas, because a large city carries more people than a small district at the same pressure per head.

Are there asylum hotels in Richmond upon Thames?

Not on the published figures. Richmond upon Thames recorded nobody in contingency accommodation at 30 June 2026, which is the category that includes hotels. The 15 people on asylum support there are recorded in dispersal housing or on subsistence-only support.

Who houses asylum seekers in Richmond upon Thames?

Clearsprings Ready Homes holds the Home Office asylum accommodation contract for the region Richmond upon Thames sits in, under the Asylum Accommodation and Support Contracts. The contract covers a whole region rather than a single council, and the Home Office does not publish a council-by-council split of which properties sit under it.

Are all of them in Home Office accommodation in Richmond upon Thames?

No. 4 of the 15 on support in Richmond upon Thames, about 27%, receive subsistence only: a cash payment with no accommodation, usually because they are living with friends or family. The rest are in Home Office accommodation, which covers dispersal housing and hotels.

Richmond upon Thames: asylum numbers still rising

Quarter-end stock series to Jun 2026. A rise or fall is a net change in the number of people on support at period end, not the number of new claims or distinct people moving through the caseload. Support stock also overlaps with, but is not identical to, the awaiting-decision backlog.

15
3322110Mar 2014Jun 2026Peak Jun 2022Rwanda schemeAlbania dealBibby StockholmRwanda scrapped
Exact values
PeriodValue
Mar 20149
Jun 20148
Sept 20148
Dec 201412
Mar 201512
Jun 201514
Sept 201515
Dec 201520
Mar 201621
Jun 201619
Sept 201622
Dec 201624
Mar 201722
Jun 201723
Sept 201726
Dec 201721
Mar 201819
Jun 201815
Sept 20189
Dec 20187
Mar 201911
Jun 201912
Sept 201915
Dec 201914
Mar 202018
Jun 202020
Sept 202024
Dec 202024
Mar 202122
Jun 202123
Sept 202123
Dec 202120
Mar 202225
Jun 202233
Sept 202231
Dec 202232
Mar 202327
Jun 202328
Sept 202322
Dec 202315
Mar 202416
Jun 202410
Sept 202410
Dec 202413
Mar 202515
Jun 202514
Sept 202518
Dec 202514
Mar 202614
Jun 202615

Trend

+1Latest quarter change
+6Change across series
50Official data points

Local numbers

Accommodation split

Dispersal accommodation11
Initial accommodation0
Subsistence only4
Contingency accommodation0

Pathway breakdown

Supported asylum
15
Homes for Ukraine
1,200
Afghan programme
26
Resettlement cumulative
32

Other routes

Homes for Ukraine1,200
Afghan programme26
Resettlement cumulative32

Population context

All pathways total1,241
Share of local population0.63%

Ethnic composition projection

Richmond upon Thames: White British 63.0% (2021) to 37.5% (2051). White British minority by ~2037. 80% CI: 36.5, 40.8%.

Ethnic composition: Richmond upon Thames

019385776% of populationCensus 2021IllustrativeWhite British 29% in 2061White Other 18% in 2061Asian 14% in 2061Mixed 22% in 2061Other 14% in 206120112021203120412051
White BritishWhite OtherAsianMixedOther 80% CI

Each line shows one ethnic group's share of the local population. The shaded band is the 80% confidence range. Values after 2051 are illustrative only.

Ethnic composition: Richmond upon Thames

Census 2011, Census 2021, then Hamilton-Perry projections to 2051. Percentages.

2011
71%
15%
2021
63%
17%
9%
2031proj
55%
19%
10%
2041proj
47%
20%
12%
12%
2051proj
38%
19%
13%
16%
11%
2061proj
29%
18%
14%
22%
14%
White BritishWhite OtherAsianBlackMixedOther
Model: Hamilton-Perry single-year CCRs, 1,000 Monte Carlo simulations, SNPP-constrained

Census 2011 to 2021 cohort change ratios. Shaded band = 80% confidence interval from stochastic perturbation. Not a forecast.

Scenario explorer

Under different assumptions, White British share in Richmond upon Thames ranges from40.3% to 49.3%by 2051. That is a 9pp spread.

Fertility
Low~108k/yr
Principal~315k/yr
High~476k/yr
ConstantRates stay at current levels
Half convergenceMove halfway to national avg
Full convergenceConverge to national avg
Migration
Central scenario: WBI 43.9% by 2051

Religion projection

Muslim 4.7% (2021) → 7.5% (2051). Christian 48.8% → 18.6%.

Religion: Richmond upon Thames

018365472%Census 2021Christian 19% in 2051No religion 67% in 2051Muslim 8% in 2051Hindu 4% in 20512021203120412051
ChristianNo religionMuslimHindu

Religious affiliation projected from Census 2021 self-identification. Trends reflect demographic change in the existing population, not religious conversion.

Nativity

28.8% foreign-born (2021). Diversity: diverse (entropy 0.65). 88.7% main language English.

UK-born vs foreign-born: Richmond upon Thames

2437506376%Census 2021UK-born 35% in 2051Foreign-born 65% in 20512021203120412051
UK-bornForeign-born

Share of the local population born outside the UK. Movement reflects both new arrivals and the UK-born children of existing residents reaching adulthood.

established diversity: High foreign-born share means ethnic change is migration-driven. Future projections are sensitive to immigration policy.

Census 2021 mobility: 10.1% moved within UK, 1.7% arrived from abroad
white other13.9% internal, 3.8% international
other11% internal, 3.8% international
asian10.2% internal, 3.8% international
mixed11.4% internal, 1.9% international
black11.1% internal, 1.7% international
white british8.8% internal, 0.7% international

Why Richmond upon Thames is changing

-8.4pp
National trend
-6.2pp
Age structure
+0.6pp
Local migration
-2.9pp

White British change 2011-2021. Cyan = decline. Amber = growth.

Dominant driver: national trend. Shift-share methodology following Franklin (2014).