Net migration halves as fewer people come to UK for work and study

The difference between the number of people moving to the UK and leaving the country is estimated to have halved, in the biggest fall in net migration since the pandemic.

The figure stood at an estimated 431,000 in the year ending December 2024, down 49.9% from 860,000 a year earlier, the Office for National Statistics said.

This is the biggest calendar-year drop since the early stages of the pandemic when net migration fell from 184,000 in the year ending December 2019 to 93,000 in the year ending December 2020.

The latest decrease is the largest numerical drop for any 12-month period and the ONS said the decline has been driven by falling numbers of people coming to work and study in the UK.

Long-term immigration fell below one million for the first time in around three years.

That was estimated to be 948,000 in the year ending December 2024, down by almost a third from 1,326,000 in the previous 12 months and below a million for the first time since the 12 months to March 2022.

Emigration rose by around 11% to an estimated 517,000 for the year to December, up from 466,000 in the previous year.

People leaving the UK has returned to a similar level to the year ending June 2017.

Restrictions

The new estimates follow the introduction in early 2024 by the previous Conservative government of restrictions on people eligible to travel to the UK on work or study visas.

Director of population statistics at the ONS Mary Gregory said: “Our provisional estimates show net migration has almost halved compared with the previous year, driven by falling numbers of people coming to work and study, particularly student dependants. This follows policy changes brought in restricting visa applications.

“There has also been 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.”

The latest figures come less than a fortnight after Sir Keir Starmer said high net migration had caused “incalculable” damage to British society, as he set out a series of measures aimed at reducing further the number of people moving long term to the UK.

“Island of strangers”

The Prime Minister, who said the country risks becoming an “island of strangers” without better integration, said he wanted net migration to have fallen “significantly” by the next general election – but refused to set a target number.

Sir Keir’s plan includes reforming work and study visas and requiring a higher level of English across all immigration routes, and is expected to reduce the number of people coming to the UK by up to 100,000 per year.

Sir Keir’s reference to strangers faced criticism – including from Labour backbenchers – as it was said by some to have echoes of Enoch Powell’s infamous “rivers of blood” speech.

But Home Secretary Yvette Cooper defended the Prime Minister, insisting the tone of his plan was “completely different” from the 1968 anti-immigration speech.

The Prime Minister’s spokesman later confirmed Sir Keir stood by the words he used and rejected “absolutely” the Powell comparisons.

For many years, the level of immigration – people coming to the UK – has been higher than the level of emigration – people leaving – meaning more people are coming to settle in the UK than are leaving to settle in another country.

The Government’s promise to “take back control of our borders” comes as Labour battles a surge in support for Reform UK, which won a by-election and council seats across England earlier this month, with policies including a “freeze” on immigration.