UK net migration falls sharply with drop in arrivals for work and study

Provisional figures show net migration to the UK has fallen by two-thirds in the year ending June 2025 compared to the previous 12 months.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the difference between the number of people arriving and leaving the country fell from 649,000 to 204,000, a drop mainly due to fewer people coming for work and education purposes.

Home Office figures show the number of people seeking asylum by September 2025 has reached a record high of 110,051.

The figures also show that as of September, the number of refugees in hotels increased by 2% compared to the same period last year.

The statistics form part of two separate publications published on Thursday: the ONS statement on net migration for the year ending June 2025 and Home Office figures on the immigration system for the year ending September 2025.

Home Office figures show initial decisions on asylum claims rose to 133,502 people during the year; of these, almost half (45%) were accepted.

“Decision making has reached a historically high level and the number of cases awaiting a first decision has fallen by 36% between September 2024 and September 2025, despite a record number of asylum claims during this period,” it said. The statement was included.

The backlog of people awaiting a first decision has decreased steadily throughout the year, but there is a growing backlog of appeals.

The government has pledged to end the use of asylum hotels by the end of this parliament.

Thursday’s figures show more than 36,000 people were temporarily housed in hotels in September.

This is up 13% in the last three months, but represents a smaller increase of 2% from September 2024 due to last year’s volatility.

This is down from the peak of 56,018 people staying in hotels at the end of September 2023.

Follows legal battles over hotel use Epping Forest District Council announced earlier this week that they would appeal against the High Court’s decision rejecting the case to close Epping’s Bell Hotel to asylum seekers..

Responding to the statistics on Thursday, a Home Office spokesman said fewer than 200 hotels were in use as they vowed to “close every single one of them”.

“We are outraged at the level of illegal immigrants and asylum hotels.

“Efforts are well underway to move illegal immigrants to military bases to relieve pressure on communities across the country.”

Small craft arrivals are up 53% on the previous year, with 45,659 arriving via this route in the 12 months to September 2025. In the statement of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, it is stated that this figure is close to 45,774, which is the peak in 2022.

“The increase in the number of arrivals in 2025 coincided with an increase in the average number of people arriving per small boat,” he added.

During this time, approximately 5,151 children (under 18) sought asylum by crossing the Channel in small boats; 2,700 of them were accompanied by companions.

Separately, 153 migrants were taken from the UK to France under a pilot one-to-one programme.

Today’s return flight involved the individual being taken on 16 October and returning to the UK on a small boat on 8 November (not counted twice).

A total of 134 people were brought to the UK through this programme.

The figures released by the ONS on net migration take into account those seeking asylum after entering the UK both regularly and irregularly, as well as other forms of migration. It concerns people who change their place of residence for a period of 12 months or more.

The overall figure saw a dramatic drop compared to June 2025, with arrivals of non-EU+ nationals on work- and study-related visas falling by around 70%. (EU+ refers to people from EU countries as well as Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.)

Responding to the net migration figures, Home Affairs Minister Shabana Mahmood said the government would “go further”, citing the pressure of migration on local communities.

“Net migration is at its lowest level in fifty years and has fallen by more than two-thirds under this government,” he said in a statement.

“Last week, I announced reforms to our immigration system to ensure that those who come here contribute and give more than they take.”

Earlier this month Mahmood made the following suggestions: Reform of the legal immigration system including changes to how long it takes for some immigrants to achieve settled status.

followed by a Various measures to combat illegal immigration Such as changing the way the right to family life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is implemented in immigration cases.

Migration experts have noted that net migration figures covering the year ending June 2025 may reflect: Measures introduced by the conservatives Like the salary threshold increase introduced in June 2024.

Peter Walsh, senior researcher at the University of Oxford’s Migration Observatory, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “To get the most complete and accurate picture, it takes at least a year for policy changes to show up in the statistics.

“This is the definition of a long-term international migrant (someone who changes their country of habitual residence for at least one year).”

Additional reporting by head of statistics Robert Cuffe