Net migration to the UK falls by 20% – as previous year figures are revised to almost 1 million | political news

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), net migration to the UK is down 20% from the previous year's record of 906,000.

The latest net migration figures (the difference between people moving in and out to live in the UK) stand at around 728,000 per year to June 2024.

A total of 1.2 million people are estimated to have arrived in the UK and 414,000 people have left the country by June 2024.

The total for the previous year through June 2023 was revised upward from 166,000 to 906,000, making 2022 the new top year.

ONS director-general Mary Gregory said the latest decline was “due to a decline in the number of dependents on study visas from outside the EU”.

She said the significant increase in salary thresholds in the first six months of 2024 had led to a decline in the number of people arriving on work visas.

Student visas up to September 2024, when the university academic year begins, have decreased by 19% compared to the previous year.

In that time, work visas fell by 33%.

The previous Conservative government changed the rules so that from January most students, except PhD students, could not bring dependents.

Last March, the Conservative government introduced further changes banning carers and aged care workers from sponsoring dependents on medical and carer visas.

Rishi Sunak's Tory administration also increased the minimum salary requirement for skilled worker visas from £26,200 to £38,700 last April, making them more difficult to obtain.

Highest asylum spending ever

Government spending on asylum in the UK reached £5.38 billion a year in the year to April 2024, Home Office figures published today show. This is a 36% increase on the previous year's £3.95 billion and the highest level of spending on record.

As of the end of September 2024, there were 97,170 asylum cases (involving 133,409 people) awaiting an initial decision, a 22% decrease compared to the same period last year, but an increase of 13% compared to the end of the previous quarter.

The latest net migration figures for July 2023 to June 2024 cover the final year of the Conservatives' term, with Labor winning the election in early July.

New Tory leader Kemi Badenoch admitted on Wednesday that his party had failed to move forward.

“We got this wrong. I understand and share the public outrage over this issue,” she said.

Image: Asylum costs hit record high. Photo:PA

Conservatives say the decline is due to their policies

Former Conservative Home Secretary James Cleverly said: “Today’s immigration figures are the first to show the impact of the changes I brought in as Home Secretary.

“The numbers are still too high, but we see a significant downward trend for the first time in several years – a change that Labor opposes and has not fully implemented.”

Suella Braverman, who was Tory cabinet secretary before Cleverly, also claimed credit for the decline in net migration, saying it was “a result of the changes I fought for and introduced in May 2023”.

“That’s when we started to turn the tide,” she said.

“But 1.2 million visitors a year is still too many. This is unsustainable and that is why radical change is needed.”

Labor said the latest immigration figures showed the government had begun a 'robust graft' to tackle the problem and was 'cleaning up the Tory mess'.

A party spokesman said: “In their own words, the Conservatives have broken our immigration system.”

“What they observed was that net migration had quadrupled in four years to an all-time high of almost 1 million, despite saying it would be lowered to 100,000.

“They are the open borders party who have lied to the public time and time again. This is the mess that Labor inherited and all the Tory cries must be seen in that light.”

Image: Former home secretary James Cleverley said the figures showed Tory policies were working. Photo: AP

41% reduction in study or work visas

Net migration figures for 2022 were also revised from 607,000 to 754,000, and for 2021 from 221,000 to 254,000.

These revisions come as the ONS continues to review net migration figures as more complete data becomes available and improves how it estimates the migration behavior of people arriving in the UK from outside the EU.

Recent figures show a slight increase in immigration, but this decline appears to be largely due to a decline in emigration.

The number of people entering the UK on work or study visas each fell by 41%.

Primary applicants for work visas decreased by 7%, while primary applicants for study visas decreased by 9%.

The ONS said the decline in net migration was also influenced by an increase in long-term immigration leaving the UK, particularly those entering the country on study visas.

The ONS said: “This is likely to be the result of many students who have come to the UK since the pandemic now completing their courses.”

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