UK migration drops by two-thirds after tougher policies

Long-term net migration to Britain fell to 204,000 in the year to June; This is nearly two-thirds lower than a year ago, continuing a downward trend driven by tougher government policies.

Immigration, both legal and illegal, has dominated political discourse in Britain for over a decade; Successive governments have sought to deter immigration through stricter visa rules and higher salary thresholds.

The Labor government is tightening policies further to counter Nigel Farage’s populist UK Reform Party, which campaigned on an anti-immigration platform and has a double-digit lead in the opinion polls.

Revised data from the Office for National Statistics last week showed net migration peaked earlier and at a higher level than previously thought, with 944,000 people in the 12 months to March 2023.

Last week’s revised figures showed numbers falling to 345,000 in 2024.

Despite the decline, the public still viewed immigration as the country’s main problem; The think tank British Future stated that public concerns stem primarily from those arriving on small boats seeking asylum from France.

“Those who most want the migration rate to decrease are those least aware of the falling figures and those who mistakenly believe that net migration has increased,” the report said.

In November, the government announced sweeping reforms, including making refugee status temporary, accelerating the deportation of those arriving illegally, and doubling to ten years the time it takes for some foreign workers to obtain settled status.

A policy to eliminate the care worker route, which has been the biggest driver of job migration in recent years, came into effect in July, and numbers are expected to decline further in the coming years.