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Less than half of adults agree that asylum seekers should be allowed to stay in Northern Ireland, a new survey has suggested.

The results of the research from Stormont’s Executive Office suggest a hardening of attitudes towards asylum seekers and refugees in the region.

The report analyses data from the Northern Ireland Life and Times (NILT) survey, examining public attitudes to refugees and asylum seekers.

It found that in 2025, 49% of respondents agreed that asylum seekers should be allowed to stay in Northern Ireland.

This is lower than the corresponding figure for each year from 2018 to 2024 and is the first time the total has dropped below 50% since the survey began.

The research also found that just over one quarter (27%) of respondents in 2025 agreed Northern Ireland is a society that welcomes refugees escaping persecution in their home country, again a decrease from previous years.

In 2025, 57% of respondents agreed that it is “our duty to provide protection to refugees who are escaping persecution in their home country”.

It also found that just over two fifths (41%) of respondents in 2025 agreed that “refugees contribute to our society”.

The same question received support of 53% in 2023 and 50% in 2024.

In 2025, 37% of respondents agreed that they would like more opportunities to get to know asylum seekers or refugees. The total was 44% in 2023 and 47% in 2024.

There was no change in the proportion who agreed that people’s perceptions of refugees and asylum seekers were negatively affected by the media between 2024 and 2025 – 69% in both years.

Data for the 2025 NILT survey was collected between September 26 and December 14 2025 from 1,000 adults, weighted to reflect Northern Ireland’s population.

Racially motivated riots have broken out in Northern Ireland on three occasions in recent years.

In the most recent unrest there was violence in Belfast and some other areas in June after a refugee was charged with the attempted murder of a man in the city.

The survey also reveals variations in attitudes to asylum seekers based on geographical location and religious background.

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