UK net migration has decreased to its lowest level since 2012, excluding the Covid pandemic. The article explores key migration metrics including asylum applications and small boat arrivals.
Key points
UK net migration is at its lowest level since 2012, excluding Covid
Key migration measures include asylum applications and small boat arrivals
The article provides answers to various migration-related questions
UK net migration has dropped to the lowest level, outside of the Covid pandemic, since 2012.
How does that sit alongside other key migration measures, including asylum applications, small boat arrivals and visas granted?
Scroll down to find out more about the latest key figures, and get answers to key questions on a range of topics.
Produced by: Rob England, Libby Rogers, Jess Carr, Aidan McNamee, John Walton, Becky Dale, Allison Shultes, Chris Kay, Steven Connor and Scott Jarvis.
Graphics by: Jez Frazer, Zoe Bartholomew and Joy Roxas
Figures from government and other official sources can be revised between publications. This page shows data as presented in the latest available release.
Immigration, emigration and net migration
*The net migration figure for the UK will not exactly equal immigration minus emigration because the Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes it as a rounded number.
Net migration figures use the internationally recognised definition of a long-term migrant: "A person who moves to a country other than that of their usual residence for at least a year."
Visas for legal migration
The total number of visa entries only includes visas that have been granted. It does not include visitor visas or transit visas, where the UK is not the final destination.
Visa figures record when permission was granted, not when or whether someone arrived in the UK.
If a person was granted more than one visa within the year shown, each visa is counted separately.
Work visas refer to new individuals granted permission, or extensions of existing permission. This includes categories such as seasonal work, health and care, domestic worker and youth mobility visas.
Study visas include all individuals sponsored by approved UK education providers, as well as those on short-term study visas.
Family visas allow someone to come to or remain in the UK to live with close family members already here. This includes joining a spouse, partner, child or parent, or coming to care for a relative.
The "Other" category includes visas outside work, study and family routes. This covers humanitarian schemes such as the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme and the British National (Overseas) route. It also includes family permits for people from European Union or European Economic Area countries.
Asylum applications and accommodation
Q&A
What is the current net migration figure for the UK?
The UK's net migration has dropped to its lowest level since 2012, outside of the Covid pandemic.
How many asylum applications were submitted in the UK recently?
The article provides insights into the latest asylum application figures, but specific numbers are not detailed in the excerpt.
What are the trends in small boat arrivals to the UK?
The article discusses the trends in small boat arrivals as part of the broader migration metrics, but specific trends are not mentioned in the excerpt.
How many visas were granted in the UK recently?
The article includes information on visas granted, but specific figures are not provided in the excerpt.
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Home Office figures for asylum seekers in hotels are published under the category "contingency accommodation - hotel".
The number of people in all other forms of accommodation includes non-hotel contingency accommodation, as well as initial, dispersal and "other" accommodation.
To show how evenly accommodation is distributed, a scale compares each local authority's share of people in that type of accommodation with the UK-wide average for areas using the same accommodation type:
Less than half – more than 50% below the average share
Lower than – between 25% and 50% below the average share
About the same as – within 25% of the average share
Higher than – between 25% and 100% above the average share
More than double – more than 100% above the average share
Backlog figures for people waiting for an initial asylum decision include both main applicants and dependants.
Open appeals against refused asylum applications refer to individuals. Figures on appeals are published every three months by the Ministry of Justice, at a different time from other government asylum statistics. It also includes a small number of appeals against revocation of protection.
Entering the UK without permission is an offence under immigration law, but asylum seekers are generally not prosecuted if they claim asylum on arrival. In some cases, people have been prosecuted alongside other offences, such as people smuggling or re-entering after deportation.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) collects figures on people who have died or gone missing while crossing from mainland Europe to the UK. These reports are based on information from French and UK officials (such as police or coastguard) and media sources. The IOM considers them an undercount because there are no official statistics.
The figures may include people who died in the Channel itself, as well as those who died while travelling to a crossing point.
Data on modern slavery includes final decisions only. Modern slavery covers human trafficking, slavery, servitude and forced labour.
Figures for other entries without permission combine all recorded irregular arrivals that were not by small boat. This includes inadequately documented air arrivals, recorded detections at UK ports, and other recorded detections within the UK.
Returns and deportations
People who are denied entry at the border and then leave the UK are not included in the returns figures on this page.
Returns involving the government are grouped into three categories. Enforced returns (which include deportations) are cases where the Home Office requires someone to leave and arranges their removal, usually because they have no legal right to remain or following a criminal conviction.
Assisted voluntary returns are when someone agrees to leave the UK and receives government support, such as help with travel documents, flights or reintegration assistance.
Controlled voluntary returns are when someone leaves the UK voluntarily without being forcibly removed, but their departure is formally recorded by the Home Office.
Independent returns are referred to by the government as "other verified returns," and refer to individuals who have left the UK without
People returned after a criminal conviction include non-British citizens convicted in the UK of any criminal offence, or convicted abroad of a serious criminal offence.
UK migration compared with other countries
Sea arrival figures are taken from the UNHCR European sea arrivals dashboard and combined with UK Home Office small boat data.
Asylum application, immigration and emigration figures for European countries are the latest available data from Eurostat for: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Romania, Norway, Switzerland and Croatia.
UK population figures are from ONS, National Records of Scotland and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency 2024 mid-year estimates. European population figures are from Eurostat as of 1 January 2024.
To ensure comparability with the UK, European countries with populations under one million are excluded from per-capita comparisons of net migration and asylum applications.
For net migration comparisons, only countries that include asylum seekers or refugees in their immigration figures are included.
These are: Austria, Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia, Spain and Switzerland.
Portugal was also excluded as it did not have net migration data available for 2024, it will be re-included in future updates.
