UK net migration drops from 860,000 to 431,000

The Office for National Statistics (ONS), on Thursday, May 22, 2025, disclosed that the net migration to the United Kingdom (UK) dropped by half in 2024.

The ONS estimated the figure for 2024 stood at 431,000, a huge drop from the 860,000 recorded in the year to December 2023.

It was the biggest fall in net migration since the Covid-19 pandemic.

The ONS said: “Long-term net migration is down by almost 50 percent.

“We are seeing reductions in people arriving on work- and study-related visas.”

It also recorded “an increase in emigration over the 12 months to December 2024”, especially by those on work and study visas.

The previous Conservative government had toughed the rules for people applying for such visas, setting higher caps on salaries and refusing permission for people to bring their families with them.

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Migration has become a hot-button issue in UK politics and Prime Minister Keir Starmer unveiled tough new policies on May 12 vowing to “finally take back control” of Britain’s borders.

The measures included cutting overseas care workers, doubling the length of time before migrants can qualify for settlement, and new powers to deport foreign criminals.

Starmer, a former human rights lawyer who voted for the UK to remain part of the European Union, is under renewed pressure to tackle immigration following surprise gains by the anti-immigration Reform UK party in May local elections.

He said in his speech that Britain risked becoming “an island of strangers”, triggering sharp criticism from within his own Labour party for his toughened rhetoric.

The Star