UK migration drops to 171,000 - almost half 2024's figure

Migration added 171,000 people to the UK's population last year, almost half the number seen in 2024, according to new Home Office data.

The figure is at its lowest level since 2012, excluding the Covid pandemic - but Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said there was still "more to do".

The data also reveals that 93,525 people claimed asylum in the UK in the year to March 2026 - down 12% on the year prior, but still more than double that seen just before the pandemic.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the statistics showed the government was "restoring order and control to our borders", while her counterpart Chris Philp argued that Labour needed to "go further".

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said net migration continued to fall to levels last seen in early 2021 - when a new immigration system was introduced and Covid travel restrictions were in place.

Sarah Crofts, the body's deputy director, said: "The recent decrease is driven by fewer people arriving from outside the EU, particularly for work."

Following the release, the Home Office wrote on X: "We are ending Britain's reliance on overseas labour, ensuring migrants contribute more than they take and are increasing the removal of illegal migrants and foreign criminals."

Sir Keir said the data showed that his government was "delivering", adding: "I know there's more to do, we're introducing a skills-based migration system that rewards contribution and ends our reliance on cheap overseas workers."

Policy changes from early 2024 under the former Conservative government are likely to have made an impact on the net migration figures. The Labour government has retained the measures and in some cases expanded on them.

They include most overseas students being restricted from bringing family members to the UK and care workers being restricted from bringing dependents with them.

Ministers also increased the general salary threshold for those arriving on skilled visas from £26,200 to £38,700, and increased the minimum income requirement to sponsor someone for a family visa by more than £10,000.

After Brexit, there was a large increase in immigration. Conservative ministers relaxed salary thresholds and some other routes for health and social care workers to plug shortages in the workforce.

Critics of the previous government dubbed it the "Boriswave", with some insiders telling the BBC that the 2024 measures helped bring down those numbers.

The current government has recently announced further plans to reduce net migration even further, including migrants being required to speak English to A-level standard.

It has also announced another increase in the income threshold for a skilled worker visa to £41,700.

Last summer, asylum hotels became a key political talking point, sparking protests around the country in areas such as Norwich, Epping and Mold.