Net Migration to UK drops by 20%

Net migration to the UK has fallen by 20% in the year to June 2024, down from a record 906,000 the year before.

According to provisional figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), estimated net migration to the UK stood at 728,000.

ONS said that while net migration remains high by historical standards, it is now beginning to fall.

ONS director Mary Gregory said the decrease was a result of a fall in the number of dependants on study visas coming from outside the EU, a decrease in people arriving for work-related reasons and emigration increases.

A the end of 2023, the previous Tory government announced an increase to the minimum earning threshold for overseas workers by nearly 50% from its current position of £26,200 to £38,700, as well as ending the 20% going-rate salary discount for shortage occupations.

Changes to the student visa route also restricted the ability of most international students to bring family members.

According to the estimates, non-EU immigration of people arriving as dependants on study visa applications stood at 80,000 in the year to June 2024, down from 115,000 in the previous year.

The 2023 figures were revised because the ONS now has more complete data for this period and has also improved how it estimates the migration behaviour of people arriving in the UK from outside the EU.

A similar revision was made for net migration in the year to December 2023, which was initially estimated to be 685,000 and is now estimated to be 866,000.

Ms Gregory said long-term migration to the UK has been at unprecedented levels since 2021, driven by “a variety of factors, including the war in Ukraine and the effects of the post-Brexit immigration system”.

She added: “Pent-up demand for study-related immigration because of travel restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic also had an impact.”

Commenting on the new figures, Ms Gregory said:

“While remaining high by historic standards, net migration is now beginning to fall and is provisionally down 20 per cent in the 12 months to June 2024.

“Over that period we have seen a fall in immigration, driven by declining numbers of dependants on study visas coming from outside the EU.

“Over the first six months of 2024, we are also seeing decreases in the number of people arriving for work-related reasons.

“This is partly related to policy changes earlier this year and is consistent with visa data published by Home Office.

“We are also starting to see increases in emigration, most notably for those who came to the UK on study-related visas.”

“This is likely to be a consequence of the higher numbers of students coming to the UK post-pandemic who are now reaching the end of their courses.”

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said: “No doubt the new government will try to take credit for that reduction.

“But that change is due to the reforms that the Conservatives made during our final months in power.”

She pledged to introduce a strict cap on the number of arrivals in the UK, and a “zero tolerance policy” for illegal migration.

Ms Badenoch added: “Millions want to come here, but we as politicians have to do right by the citizens of this country before anyone else.”