Long-term net migration to the UK has cratered over the last year and is down by almost 50%, data published by the Office for National Statistics on Thursday 22 May shows.
The number of people immigrating minus the number of people emigrating is provisionally estimated to be 431,000 in the year ending December 2024, compared with 860,000 a year earlier.
This change is driven by a decrease in immigration from non-EU+ nationals, the stats body said. “We are seeing reductions in people arriving on work- and study-related visas, and an increase in emigration over the 12 months to December 2024, especially people leaving who originally came on study visas once pandemic travel restrictions to the UK were eased.”
For non-EU+ nationals, there was around a 49% decrease in immigration for work (main applicants) compared with the revised estimate for the previous year-ending period. This was the largest numerical decrease (108,000) of all groups.
The decrease in immigration for study (main applicants) was smaller at around 17%, for the same period.
There was an 86% (105,000) reduction in the number of study dependents, the largest percentage decrease, and a 35% (81,000) decrease in the number of work dependents.
Stricter measures to be introduced
Despite the record drop in migration levels, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has indicated that his government will impose further rules to make it harder for people to move to the UK.
Immigrants to the United Kingdom will have to live in the country for 10 years before qualifying for settled status under new rules announced by the Home Office on Tuesday, 13 May 2025.
These revisions to the United Kingdom’s immigration policy are outlined in the government’s Immigration White Paper, which encompasses sweeping reforms aimed at significantly reducing immigration to the country.
Among the many changes to immigration rules announced in the white paper, the government plans to double the standard qualifying period for settlement to 10 years. Currently, immigrants to the United Kingdom qualifying for settled status, or the “right to remain”, after five years of living in the country.
The new rules planned by the government will increase this requirement to 10 years and also expand the points-based migration system to apply to settlement and citizenship rules. New English language requirements will also be implemented for main applicants and their dependants, and applicants’ improvements in their English ability will also be assessed over time.
Further details on how the point-based system will apply to settlement and citizenship qualification will be outlined to Parliament by the end of the year, the government said.
Other major reforms laid out in the Immigration White Paper include the raising of the Skilled Worker threshold to RQF 6 (Graduate level) and the abolition of the immigration salary list.
The government also plans to end the overseas recruitment of social care workers, closing all social care visas to new applications as a workforce strategy is developed and rolled out during a transition period.
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