Ninety people crossed the Channel in two small boats on Christmas Day, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has confirmed. That takes the provisional total for people making the perilous journey from France during 2022 to 45,756, the highest total since the data was first collected in 2018. According to official figures, last year’s total was 28,526. The MoD said those who arrived on Sunday were taken to the Western Jet Foil processing centre in Dover, Kent. Four people died when a small boat capsized in the Channel on 14 December. An inquest into their deaths last week heard that the men, whose identities are yet to be confirmed, were believed to be of Afghan and Sengalese heritage. The last small boat crossings before Sunday’s were recorded on 21 December. Earlier this month, the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, announced a range of measures intended to tackle the issue. Plans include 700 staff for a unit to monitor small boats crossing the Channel, and laws to ensure people who enter the UK illegally do not have the right to stay. Amid condemnation from Labour MPs last week, the high court also ruled that the government’s intention to deport people seeking asylum in the UK to Rwanda was lawful. But ministers are also reportedly attempting to curb the number of people arriving in the country lawfully. Under plans drawn up by the home secretary, Suella Braverman, the number of international students who can apply for graduate visas after their studies end would be restricted. The move could also make it more difficult for overseas students to bring dependants with them. The immigration minister, Robert Jenrick, has previously hinted that rules around student dependants were “ripe for reform”. He claimed some people were attending university in the UK as a “backdoor way of bringing their families to the UK”. Draft proposals also show the government is exploring the possibility of increasing the minimum income threshold for British citizens applying for a family visa, according to the Times. Currently, a couple must earn at least £18,600 and show evidence they could cover the costs of children they seek to bring to the UK. A government spokesperson said: “Nobody should put their lives at risk by taking dangerous and illegal journeys. “We will go further to tackle the gangs driving this, using every tool at our disposal to deter illegal migration and disrupt the business model of people smugglers.”