Net migration halves in UK, new data shows

Net migration has fallen sharply successful the UK, the latest authoritative figures show.

The data, published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), estimates that nett migration has halved from 860,000 successful the twelvemonth ending December 2023 to 431,000 successful the twelvemonth ending December 2024.

The driblet is the largest ever recorded for a 12-month period, and marks the astir important calendar-year autumn successful nett migration since the aboriginal stages of the pandemic.

Politics latest: Net migration to the UK estimated to person halved

Meanwhile, semipermanent migration fell beneath 1 cardinal for the archetypal clip successful astir 3 years.

That was estimated to beryllium 948,000 successful the twelvemonth ending December 2024, down by astir a 3rd from 1,326,000 successful the erstwhile 12 months and beneath a cardinal for the archetypal clip since the 12 months to March 2022.

Emigration roseate by astir 11% to an estimated 517,000 for the twelvemonth to December, up from 466,000 successful the erstwhile year.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper hailed a 300,000 driblet successful nett migration since the commencement of the Labour authorities past July arsenic "important and welcome".

She said: "These figures amusement a large summation successful returns of failed asylum seekers and overseas nationalist offenders, grounds levels of amerciable moving penalties, and the asylum backlog and edifice usage coming down."

Net migration deed a grounds precocious of 906,000 successful June 2023, and stood astatine 728,000 successful the twelvemonth to June 2024, soon earlier Labour took implicit from the erstwhile Conservative government.

But erstwhile location caput James Cleverly said portion Labour "will effort to assertion credit" for the falling numbers, the changes are a effect of policies enacted portion helium was successful government.

What caused this autumn successful nett migration?

The crisp autumn reported connected Thursday is thought to beryllium driven by a alteration successful migration from non-European Union nationals.

The ONS besides noted plummeting numbers of radical coming to enactment and survey successful the UK.

Additionally, these estimates travel restrictions introduced nether the Conservatives successful aboriginal 2024 connected radical eligible to question to the UK connected enactment oregon survey visas.

Mary Gregory, the manager of colonisation statistic astatine the ONS, said the autumn is "driven by falling numbers of radical coming to enactment and study, peculiarly pupil dependants".

She said: "There has besides been an summation successful emigration implicit the 12 months to December 2024, particularly radical leaving who primitively came connected survey visas erstwhile pandemic question restrictions to the UK were eased."

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The caller estimates travel little than a fortnight aft Sir Keir Starmer acceptable retired a bid of measures aimed astatine reducing further the fig of radical moving agelong word to the UK.

The premier minister, who said the state risks becoming an "island of strangers" without amended integration, said helium wanted nett migration to person fallen "significantly" by the adjacent wide predetermination - but refused to acceptable a people number.

Sir Keir's program includes reforming enactment and survey visas and requiring a higher level of English crossed each migration routes, and is expected to trim the fig of radical coming to the UK by up to 100,000 per year.

However, the Conservatives person claimed recognition for the fall.

Former location caput James Cleverly said portion Labour "will effort to assertion credit", the changes are a effect of policies enacted portion helium was successful government.

He said: "This driblet is due to the fact that of the visa regularisation changes that I enactment successful place. Labour volition effort to assertion recognition for these figures but they criticised maine astatine the time, and person failed to afloat instrumentality the changes."