UK net migration has dropped to an estimated 171,000 last year, the lowest level since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The figures for the 12 months to December 2025 are down 48% compared to the previous year's 331,000.
This marks the first time the estimate has fallen below 200,000 since the onset of COVID-19. In the year to March 2021, net migration stood at 132,000, when travel restrictions were still in place and the post-Brexit immigration system had just been introduced.
Drivers of the decline
The ONS attributed the continued fall to fewer people from outside the European Union arriving in the UK for work. An estimated 813,000 people arrived in the UK in 2025, while 642,000 left. The data shows that more British nationals left the country (246,000) than returned (110,000). Similarly, for nationals from EU-plus countries (EU members plus Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland), more left (118,000) than arrived (76,000). However, more non-EU nationals moved to the UK (627,000) than left (278,000).
Asylum hotel numbers at record low
Separate Home Office figures published on Thursday show that the number of asylum seekers living in hotels fell to a record low of 20,885 by the end of March, down 35% year-on-year. The government has committed to closing all asylum hotels as quickly as possible, aiming to complete this by the end of the current Parliament term before July 2029. Officials argue the latest figures indicate the plan is on track.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the figures demonstrate that his government is “delivering” on his promise to “restore control to our borders.” Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood acknowledged “real progress” but added that “there is still work to do,” citing the introduction of a skills-based migration system that “rewards contribution and ends Britain’s reliance on cheap overseas workers.”
Public perception and expert reactions
Despite the rapid decline, polling suggests that 49% of the public believe net migration increased in the past year. A survey by Number Cruncher Politics and think tank British Future of 3,003 adults found that only 16% correctly thought migration fell, while 51% expect it to rise again next year.
Marley Morris of the Institute for Public Policy Research said the government had made notable progress but stressed that “the focus now should be on the parts of the system that still need fixing: tackling small boat crossings, closing remaining asylum hotels, and speeding up appeals.” He added that the priority should be “a fair, well-managed immigration system that supports the economy and public services, not a race to push numbers ever lower.”
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp urged the government to go further, claiming that “Brits are leaving on a massive scale and non-EU immigration remains far too high.” He argued that “mass immigration undermines our society and low wage immigration is bad for the economy,” and called for Labour to “reform indefinite leave to remain.” Philp advocated for “a small number of highly skilled migrants and no low-skilled migration at all.”
Jon Featonby of the Refugee Council welcomed progress on ending asylum hotels but noted that families fleeing war and persecution have “almost no safe and legal way to reach the UK.” He warned that “closing resettlement schemes and safe routes... alongside harsh policies in the new immigration Bill, will not fix what is broken. Instead, they risk forcing more people into the hands of smugglers, tearing families apart, and making it harder for refugees to integrate.” Featonby urged the government to address the need for safe routes to end deadly Channel crossings.
