Vietnamese nationals are now the largest national group of illegal immigrants in the UK.

According to official data, 505 Vietnamese nationals were stopped in 2022 while attempting to enter the country illegally. In 2023, the number more than doubled to 1,323, and in 2024, it is estimated to have more than doubled once more.

While migrants from many other nations cite war, political instability, and poverty as the main reasons they target a new life in the UK, the BBC said Vietnamese people it spoke to said they were trying to escape failing businesses and crippling debts.

The broadcaster said most Vietnamese illegal immigrants start their journeys by fraudulently obtaining work visas from Hungary and some other Eastern European nations, which give them a toehold in the European Union.

It said people smugglers provide forged documents and advice to help migrants obtain the visas, and that migrants then make their way to the French coast and travel to the UK in small boats.

"I had a lot of clients," the broadcaster quoted one people-smuggler as saying. "Depending on which embassy it was, we would provide forged bank statements or other documents.

"First, we would submit these online. If certain embassies needed to check with banks, then we'd put real cash into a bank account. We had arrangements with staff at certain banks. The clients couldn't access the money themselves, but the bank staff would show the (falsified) details to embassy staff ..."

The man, who the BBC called Thanh, said criminal gangs are involved in the whole process. The broadcaster said migrants pay between $15,000 and $20,000 for the service.

Thanh claimed to have smuggled more than 1,000 Vietnamese people into the UK and said the undertaking was "lucrative".

Many of the new arrivals pretend to be children and tell the authorities they were forcibly trafficked by violent criminals, which improves their chance of being granted asylum, Thanh said.

While people from Vietnam now make up the largest single national group illegally crossing the English Channel, people from many African nations and throughout the Middle East are also entering the UK in growing numbers.

The UK's Home Office said more people have entered the country so far this year than did during 2023, with 2024's current total of 29,578 eclipsing the 29, 437 of last year.

In addition, so far this year, around 50 migrants have died trying to make the crossing.

But a Home Office spokesperson told ITV News the UK is planning to clamp down on people smugglers.

"Our new Border Security Command will strengthen our global partnerships and enhance our efforts to investigate, arrest, and prosecute these evil criminals," the spokesperson said.