BREXIT SEES MIGRATION DROP 100K
EU nationals now snubbing UK
NET migration fell by more than 100,000 in the 12 months following the Brexit vote as EU nationals turned their back on the UK.
So-called “Brexodus” is well under way with Europeans making up three-quarters of those snubbing Britain.
In the period under review, net migration was 230,000, compared to 336,000 in the year before.
The figure is the difference between the number arriving and leaving the country.
Immigration Minister Brandon Lewis said the figures indicated there was no appetite for “uncontrolled immigration”.
He said: “We want to attract and retain people who come to our country to work and bring significant benefits to the UK.” Sir Gerald Howarth, of EU campaign group Leave Means Leave, said the Brexit vote had played “an extremely important role” in reducing migration.
He added that it was “a step in the right direction” but the numbers were “still far too high”.
Lord Green of Deddington, chair of Migration Watch UK, said: “It points to what could be achieved once the UK regains full control over migration.”
EU net migration fell by 82,000 to 107,000 – described as “statistically significant”. The figures mean net migration has returned to 2014 levels after a peak in the middle of last year.
Many EU nationals are still coming to live in Britain but the figure fell by 19% in the year before the Brexit ballot.
The biggest drop in EU migration since the Brexit vote is said to be from France, Germany, Spain and Poland. However, there has been a 108% spike in the number of EU nationals applying for British citizenship.
Professor Jonathan Portes, of research group The UK In A Changing Europe, said the rise was expected “given the postBrexit uncertainty about their future rights”.
There were 32,856 applications in the year ending September, up from 15,766 in the previous 12 months.