Migration down by a record 106,000 since the Brexit vote

THE rate at which immigration is swelling the population dropped by almost a third in the year after the Brexit referendum, official figures revealed yesterday.

The key measure of net migration – the difference between numbers of migrants arriving and number of people leaving to live abroad – fell to 230,000 by the end of June this year, down by 106,000 on the previous year’s record total of 336,000.

A slowing of immigration from the EU is the main cause of the fall, which has pushed net migration to its lowest level since 2013, the Office for National Statistics said.

Despite this, 107,000 more EU citizens came to Britain than left, the ONS report said.

The new figures, the first to cover the full year after the June 2016 referendum, suggest that three quarters of the fall in net migration has been a result of the slowdown in EU immigration.

However, the bulk of the fall in EU net migration was among people travelling to Britain to look for work. The ONS said the numbers moving into the country to take up a definite pre-arranged job remained stable.

Nicola White, head of migration statistics at the ONS, said: ‘ Migration is adding to the UK population and therefore to the UK workforce. There were still 107,000 more EU citizens coming to the UK than leaving.’

Of the fall in net migration, Miss White said: ‘The decline follows historically high levels of immigration and it is too early to say whether this represents a long-term trend.

‘These changes suggest that Brexit is likely to be a factor in people’s decision to move to or from the UK – but decisions to migrate are complex and other factors are also going to be influencing the figures.’

Ministers hailed the figures as a step towards Theresa May’s longstanding target of reducing net immigration to 1990s levels of below 100,000 a year. ‘We have been clear we want to attract and retain people who come to our country to work and bring significant benefits to the UK,’ immigration minister Brandon Lewis said.

‘With more Europeans continuing to arrive than leave, these figures show that claims of a Brexodus are misguided.

‘At the same time, there is no consent for uncontrolled immigration. We welcome the ongoing decrease in net migration levels and remain committed to bringing them down to sustainable levels, the tens of thousands.’

Alongside the EU migration slowdown, net migration from countries outside Europe fell from 196,000 to 173,000 over the 12 months to the end of June.

There were 141,000 people who came from abroad to study in Britain, a number down by 23,000 over the year.

The ONS said the drop was ‘not statistically significant’. Numbers of study visas issued, however, rose by 5 per cent to 143,735.

The ONS figures showed that more British citizens left the country in the 12 months to the end of June – 128,000 – then the 123,000 EU citizens who quit Britain.

Applications for National Insurance numbers, which are required by immigrants who want to work legally or claim benefits, fell in the year to the end of September by 10 per cent to 741,000.

Some 15,618 people were also granted asylum or other forms of protection in the UK. They included 9,394 under the scheme to help 20,000 people fleeing the war in Syria. Lord Green of Deddington, head of the MigrationWatch UK think-tank, said: ‘This is a significant and very welcome reduction in net migration – especially by EU citizens who do not have a job to come to. ‘It points to what could be achieved once the UK regains full control over migration.

‘Meanwhile, employers who raise cries of alarm should be reminded that we still have a net inflow of over 100,000 from the EU, plus 170,000 from outside the EU and this month’s figures saw a new record of 2.4 million for the number of EU workers in the UK.’

Marley Morris, of the Labourleaning IPPR think-tank, said: ‘We have new evidence that there has been a Brexit effect on EU migration.

‘While there is no mass Brexodus of EU citizens, it is nevertheless true that net migration has slowed since the referendum, and this is driven in part by EU citizens leaving the UK.

‘Our analysis suggests that EU citizens who have been in the UK for less than five years are particularly likely to be leaving.’

The British Takeaway Campaign, a restaurant trade group led by the Just Eat company, said its members were finding it hard to get skilled workers.

Chairman Ibrahim Dogus said: ‘With a third of takeaway restaurants experiencing skills shortages, particularly for chefs, and more than a third saying Brexit will make it more difficult to recruit staff, it’s vital that the immigration system enables the sector to access the skills it needs from inside and outside the EU.’

‘Brexodus claims are misguided’ ‘Significant reduction’