UK Projects Net Migration to Halve in 2024
(MENAFN) Net migration to the UK is projected to fall by almost half in 2024, largely due to a significant reduction in arrivals from outside the EU and a growing number of international students leaving the country after COVID-19 travel measures eased, the British Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported Thursday.
Preliminary data from the ONS shows that net migration over the year ending December 2024 reached 431,000—down from 860,000 the year before.
The ONS attributes the decline primarily to fewer people arriving on work and student-related visas from non-EU+ countries—which include nations outside the European Union, European Economic Area, and Switzerland—as well as a rise in departures, particularly among those who had initially come to the UK on student visas.
The estimated number of long-term immigrants to Britain dropped to 948,000, a fall of nearly one-third compared to 1.33 million in 2023. This marks the first time the figure dipped below one million since March 2022. Concurrently, long-term emigration increased by approximately 11 percent to 517,000, reaching its highest point since mid-2017.
Among non-EU+ nationals, work-related immigration saw the sharpest numeric drop, with the number of primary applicants on work visas decreasing by 108,000—a 49 percent reduction from the prior year. Additionally, the number of student dependents declined sharply by 86 percent (a drop of 105,000), while work dependents decreased by 35 percent (down 81,000). There was also a smaller reduction of around 17 percent in the number of main applicants for student visas.
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