16,000 migrants settled in city as 9,000 departed

MORE than 16,000 overseas migrants moved to Birmingham last year. New figures from the Office for National Statistics revealed a total of 16,128 immigrants arrived in 2018 – but during the same period almost 9,000 left, suggesting just over 7,000 more migrants were living in Birmingham at the end of the year.

It means the city had a net gain of one migrant for every 159 people in 2018.

The figures cover long-term international migration when a person moves to a country for at least a year so that it effectively becomes their home.

Nationally, 274,993 more migrants moved to the UK than left in 2018.

That was slightly higher than the net gain of 229,643 migrants between in 2017.

Net migration was highest between mid-2015 and mid-2016, when 335,651 more migrants arrived than left the country.

Meanwhile, more than a quarter of the people taking the British citizenship test in Birmingham failed last year.

Figures obtained under Freedom of Information laws show a total of 5,105 tests were taken in

Birmingham in the financial year 2018-19.

People failed on 1,377 occasions, or 27 per cent of the time.

However, the rate of people failing the test has actually gone down compared to 2017-18, when 41 per cent of all tries in Birmingham didn’t pass.

Passing the citizenship test, also known as the ‘Life in the UK’ test, is one of the criteria for becoming a British citizen or settling in the UK.

Immigrants must also have spent a certain period of time in the country, pass an English language test and not have any criminal convictions.

The test includes questions on a range of aspects of British culture and history. It has 24 questions that must be completed within 45 minutes and the applicant needs to get at least 75 per cent of questions right to pass.

People who fail can take the test as many times as they wish but each attempt costs £50.

In October last year, the government announced stricter immigration and citizenship rules to come into effect after Brexit.

The Home Office said the proposals would ensure that the test will be more relevant to daily life in the UK.

The reforms include tougher English language requirements for people applying for British citizenship.

It also wants to reform the ‘Life in the UK’ test to give greater prominence to the British values and principles expected of those wishing to call the UK their permanent home.

A public consultation will brought forward on the test.

Across the UK, 170,986 tests were taken in 2018-19, with 18 per cent of people failing, or 31,559 in total.

The test was taken more times in the last financial year than it was in 2017-18, when it was taken 135,552 times.

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