UK net immigration hits record high of 606,000

Net migration to the UK is set to hit an all-time high of 606,000 in 2022, mounting pressure on Rishi Sunak’s government, but the country’s statistical agency said inflows were now slowing.

Thursday’s record figures fell short of some previous predictions that net immigration last year had reached 700,000. However, he contradicted the Conservatives’ 2019 manifesto pledge – confirmed by Sunak – that “the overall number will come down”.

“The numbers are too high, it’s as simple as that,” the prime minister told ITV after the 606,000 figure was released. “And I want to bring them down.”

The Office for National Statistics said the total – which compared with a net immigration figure of 488,000 for 2021 – was driven by people coming to the UK from outside the EU, including Ukraine and Hong Kong. But it said net migration to the UK was now stabilising, with immigration slowing and emigration rising.

The statistics agency also noted that the mix of migrants had changed over the years, with proportionately fewer new arrivals coming as students and through more humanitarian routes.

The ONS forecast gross immigration from outside the EU at around 925,000, up to 287,000 by 2021. Students and their dependents made up more than a third of the total, with 235,000 arriving on work visas and nearly 250,000 as asylum seekers or through humanitarian routes.

Non-EU emigration also increased, mainly due to students returning home, with net immigration from outside the EU at 660,000.

Immigration from the European Union, which as recently as 2018 accounted for more than half of arrivals, is expected to total 151,000 in 2022. Net EU immigration is now negative, with 202,000 EU citizens leaving the UK during the year.

Jay Lindop, director of the ONS Center for International Migration, said “unprecedented world events” and the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions have led to record levels of immigration.

But she said the evidence suggested immigration had slowed, “potentially demonstrating the temporary nature of these events”.

Immigration remains highly politically charged, with the government on the right wing and Labor arguing that it has lost control of the issue.

Sunak said the measures announced this week to prevent foreign students from bringing family members with them would reduce levels over time, and urged the public to be “confident” that they have a grasp on the issue .

But the current inflow far exceeds the government’s 2010 pledge, which promised to reduce total immigration to “tens of thousands”.

The ONS also revised its figure for net immigration for the year ending June 2022 to 606,000 after asylum seekers are included – up from a previous estimate of 504,000.

Tory MPs issued a warning to the government to double down on its efforts to reduce the numbers.

“Where on earth are you going to put these people? We build about 180,000 new homes a year,” Conservative former minister Sir John Hayes, who chairs the so-called Common Sense group of right-wing MPs, told the BBC before the figures were released.

Labor criticized the government over “extraordinary figures”, highlighting that the number of work visas issued has doubled since the pandemic.

Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, said the government had “no grip on immigration” and was “completely inadequate in tackling skills shortages, particularly in health and social care, or getting people back to work after Covid”. kind of failed.”

But Professor Jonathan Ports, of King’s College, London, said the figures suggest net migration is likely to decline in 2023.

“The narrative is that immigration is always on the upswing or out of control,” he said. He said the figures show the continuing impact of Brexit, “a complete reorientation of UK migration away from the EU and towards the rest of the world.”

Marley Morris, associate director of migration at think-tank IPPR, said ministers should avoid a “knee-jerk reaction” to the figures.

He said there were clear signs that net migration was stabilising, and that there was “strong public support for the main drivers of net migration, including recruitment to the NHS, international students and humanitarian routes”.

Net migration to the UK is set to hit an all-time high of 606,000 in 2022, mounting pressure on Rishi Sunak’s government, but the country’s statistical agency said inflows were now slowing.

Thursday’s record figures fell short of some previous predictions that net immigration last year had reached 700,000. However, he contradicted the Conservatives’ 2019 manifesto pledge – confirmed by Sunak – that “the overall number will come down”.

“The numbers are too high, it’s as simple as that,” the prime minister told ITV after the 606,000 figure was released. “And I want to bring them down.”

The Office for National Statistics said the total – which compared with a net immigration figure of 488,000 for 2021 – was driven by people coming to the UK from outside the EU, including Ukraine and Hong Kong. But it said net migration to the UK was now stabilising, with immigration slowing and emigration rising.

The statistics agency also noted that the mix of migrants had changed over the years, with proportionately fewer new arrivals coming as students and through more humanitarian routes.

The ONS forecast gross immigration from outside the EU at around 925,000, up to 287,000 by 2021. Students and their dependents made up more than a third of the total, with 235,000 arriving on work visas and nearly 250,000 as asylum seekers or through humanitarian routes.

Non-EU emigration also increased, mainly due to students returning home, with net immigration from outside the EU at 660,000.

Immigration from the European Union, which as recently as 2018 accounted for more than half of arrivals, is expected to total 151,000 in 2022. Net EU immigration is now negative, with 202,000 EU citizens leaving the UK during the year.

Jay Lindop, director of the ONS Center for International Migration, said “unprecedented world events” and the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions have led to record levels of immigration.

But she said the evidence suggested immigration had slowed, “potentially demonstrating the temporary nature of these events”.

Immigration remains highly politically charged, with the government on the right wing and Labor arguing that it has lost control of the issue.

Sunak said the measures announced this week to prevent foreign students from bringing family members with them would reduce levels over time, and urged the public to be “confident” that they have a grasp on the issue .

But the current inflow far exceeds the government’s 2010 pledge, which promised to reduce total immigration to “tens of thousands”.

The ONS also revised its figure for net immigration for the year ending June 2022 to 606,000 after asylum seekers are included – up from a previous estimate of 504,000.

Tory MPs issued a warning to the government to double down on its efforts to reduce the numbers.

“Where on earth are you going to put these people? We build about 180,000 new homes a year,” Conservative former minister Sir John Hayes, who chairs the so-called Common Sense group of right-wing MPs, told the BBC before the figures were released.

Labor criticized the government over “extraordinary figures”, highlighting that the number of work visas issued has doubled since the pandemic.

Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, said the government had “no grip on immigration” and was “completely inadequate in tackling skills shortages, particularly in health and social care, or getting people back to work after Covid”. kind of failed.”

But Professor Jonathan Ports, of King’s College, London, said the figures suggest net migration is likely to decline in 2023.

“The narrative is that immigration is always on the upswing or out of control,” he said. He said the figures show the continuing impact of Brexit, “a complete reorientation of UK migration away from the EU and towards the rest of the world.”

Marley Morris, associate director of migration at think-tank IPPR, said ministers should avoid a “knee-jerk reaction” to the figures.

He said there were clear signs that net migration was stabilising, and that there was “strong public support for the main drivers of net migration, including recruitment to the NHS, international students and humanitarian routes”.