Net migration to the UK: Key numbers and trends

The steep fall in the latest figures is part of a downwards trend that has been under way since 2023.

Net migration to the UK has fallen to its lowest level in four years and is now more than three-quarters below its peak in 2023.

Here the Press Association looks at the key numbers and trends in the data, which has been published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

– What is the latest estimate of net migration?

Net migration to the UK stood at an estimated 204,000 in the year to June 2025.

This is down more than two-thirds (69%) from 649,000 in the year to June 2024 and is the lowest figure for any 12-month period since 2021.

It is also down more than three-quarters (78%) from the record high of 944,000 in the year to March 2023.

Net migration is the difference between the number of people moving long-term to the UK and the number of people leaving the country.

An estimated 898,000 people immigrated to the UK in the year to June 2025 while 693,000 emigrated, producing a net migration figure – after rounding – of 204,000.

– Why has net migration dropped so sharply?

The steep fall in the latest figures is part of a downwards trend that has been under way since 2023.

A number of factors are behind the drop.

Firstly, fewer people are arriving in the UK through the Government’s humanitarian resettlement schemes for British nationals in Hong Kong and individuals fleeing the war in Ukraine.

These schemes were launched in 2021 and 2022 respectively and saw a spike in applications followed by a steady decrease in numbers.

Secondly, fewer people from outside the European Union are arriving in the UK to study or work.

The largest driver of the surge in net migration between 2021 and 2023 was the arrival of non-EU nationals for education or employment, often with family members.

But since spring 2023 there has been a steady decrease in long-term immigration in both these categories, the ONS said.

Some 288,000 non-EU nationals moved long-term to the UK in the year to June 2025 for study-related reasons, down 25% on the previous year and down 39% from two years ago.

There has been an even larger drop in the number of non-EU nationals arriving for work reasons, with 171,000 immigrating in the year to June, down 61% on the previous 12 months and 56% lower than the figure two years ago.

Thirdly, there has been an increase in people moving out of the UK.

Emigration has been on an upwards path in the past three years, with 693,000 people leaving the UK long-term in the year to June, up from 650,000 in the previous 12 months, 543,000 in the year to June 2023 and 486,000 in the year to June 2022.

While emigration of EU nationals (plus Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland) has remained steady over this period  at around 150,000 a year, there has been a jump in the number of non-EU nationals leaving the country, with 286,000 in the year to June, up from 238,000 in the previous 12 months, 137,000 in the year to June 2023 and 88,000 in the year to June 2022.

This trend is being driven primarily by people who originally came as students, especially Indian and Chinese nationals, the ONS said.

Emigration of British nationals has been running at around 250,000 a year since 2021, though a comparison with figures before 2021 is not possible because of a change in the way the ONS estimates this category.

– Why has there been a drop in people coming to study and work?

The fall is likely to reflect the impact of policy changes that have been introduced by the previous Conservative government and continued by the current Labour administration.

These changes began in January 2024 when most overseas students were no longer able to bring family members to the UK.

From March 2024 care workers could no longer bring family members with them to the country and from April 2024 the salary threshold was increased for people wishing to come to the UK on a skilled worker visa, along with the income threshold for a family visa.

The impact of these changes can be seen in the sharp fall in the number of family members – or dependants – arriving from non-EU countries.

The number of study dependants immigrating to the UK dropped by 85% between the year to June 2024 and the year to June 2025, while the number of work dependants fell by 65%.

– How do the latest migration figures compare with historical trends?

The latest net migration estimate of 204,000 for the year to June is the lowest for any 12-month period since the year ending March 2021, when it stood at 132,000.

At that point in 2021, migration was beginning to rise after a very steep fall to just 35,000 in the year to September 2020, which reflected the impact of restrictions on movement and travel because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the years immediately before the pandemic, net migration to the UK had been running at around 200,000 to 300,000 a year, with no clear long-term trend either upwards or downwards.

– Is migration likely to fall further in the future?

The Labour Government introduced additional changes to migration rules in July 2025, including ending overseas recruitment for care workers and raising the salary threshold again for skilled worker visas.

This is likely to lead to a further drop in immigration for work reasons from non-EU countries, which is already evident in Home Office data showing a decrease in applications for work visas since the summer.

This should mean the overall level of net migration will fall again when the ONS publishes its next estimate in May 2026, which will cover the year to December 2025.

Whether the decline will continue for another few years is not clear, however.

Dr Madeleine Sumption, director of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, said: “Net migration has fallen substantially, but this will not necessarily be sustained long term.

“In particular, negative net migration of EU citizens who arrived before Brexit is currently still subtracting quite a lot from the figures, and this won’t go on forever.”