UK net migration 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 figure for the 12 months to December represents a 48% decline compared with the previous year's 331,000.
It is the first time the estimate has fallen below 200,000 since the Covid-19 outbreak. 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 been introduced.
The continued fall is being driven by fewer arrivals from outside the EU for work, the ONS said. Some 813,000 people are estimated to have arrived in the UK in 2025, while 642,000 left. Excluding pandemic-affected years, net migration was the lowest for any 12-month period since the year to September 2012.
The figures could lead to renewed calls for Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s immigration policies to be watered down. Former deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner has voiced concerns about proposals to double the time to qualify for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) from five to 10 years.
Marley Morris from the Institute for Public Policy Research said the Government’s progress “should prompt a more measured debate”. Shadow home secretary Chris Philp urged Labour to reform ILR “before their hard-left flank forces them to abandon it altogether”.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the figures show his Government is “delivering” on his promise to “restore control to our borders”. However, polling suggests 49% of the public think net migration increased in the past year, despite the drop.
