Net migration to UK hits record of more than half a million
Net migration to the UK has climbed to a record half a million, driven by a series of “unprecedented world events” including the war in Ukraine and the end of lockdown restrictions, new figures suggest.
Around 504,000 more people are estimated to have moved to the UK than left in the 12 months to June 2022, up sharply from 173,000 in the year to June 2021.
Other factors contributing to the jump include the resettlement of Afghan refugees, the new visa route for British nationals from Hong Kong, and students arriving from outside the European Union.
The estimates have been compiled by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which described the period covered by the latest figures as “unique”.
Downing Street insisted Rishi Sunak was “fully committed”
to bringing overall immigration levels down. Because there are a number of reasons behind the rise, many of them unconnected, it is too early to say whether the trend will continue.
A total of 1.1 million people are likely to have migrated to the UK in the year to June, the majority – 704,000 – from outside the EU. By contrast, 560,000 people are estimated to have left the UK in the same period, almost half of them going back to the EU.
The imbalance means that, while far more non-eu nationals are likely to have arrived in the UK than left during these 12 months, the reverse is true for EU nationals, with more leaving than arriving.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “There are some unprecedented and unique circumstances which are having a significant impact on these statistics.
“The Prime Minister has said he wants net migration to reduce, he has not put a specific time frame on that.”
Jay Lindop, ONS deputy director of the centre for international migration, said: “A series of world events have impacted international migration patterns in the 12 months to June 2022. Taken together these were unprecedented.”
Madeleine Sumption, director of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, said the latest figures should not be seen as a “new normal” and it would be “rash to take major policy decisions based only on these numbers”.