Net migration to UK fell 10% last year, ONS figures show

net-migration-to-uk-fell-10%-last-year,-ons-figures-show
Net migration to UK fell 10% last year, ONS figures show

Official figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveal that net migration to the UK fell by 10% in 2023 after reaching a record high in 2022. The difference between the number of people arriving in and leaving the UK was 685,000 last year, down from 764,000 in 2022. The drop comes as the number of people entering the UK for humanitarian reasons, such as from Ukraine and Hong Kong, fell by over 100,000 during the period.

The ONS reports that around 1.22 million people came to the UK in 2023, with some 532,000 expected to have left. The largest driver of migration last year was work, with an increase in the number of people coming to the UK from outside of the European Union on work visas, according to the figures. The data reveals that non-EU immigration for work reasons increased from 277,000 in the year to December 2022 to 423,000 in the year to December 2023.

India and Nigeria were the two most common countries for people moving to the UK for work-related reasons, with the health and social care sectors seeing the most new arrivals. However, figures published by the Home Office showed a significant decrease in work visas issued to health and care workers in early 2024, though this is not included in the ONS estimates. The number of non-EU nationals arriving as dependents of those on long-term work visas rose slightly last year to 219,000 from 204,000 the previous year.

The ONS warns that it’s “too early to say if this is the start of a new downward trend” in terms of net migration to the UK. Additionally, the Home Office has said that the latest net migration figures “do not take into account the major package of measures announced in December which have already started to have an effect”. Nevertheless, it appears that the COVID-19 pandemic, along with the introduction of tougher visa policies, have played a part in reducing the number of people coming to the UK in 2023

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