Net migration hit record level of 745,000 in 2022, revised estimate shows

The previous estimate for the year to December 2022 had been 606,000, but the ONS has since revised this upwards.

(Peter Powell/PA) (PA Archive)

Net migration to the UK in the year to December 2022 was higher than previously thought, hitting a new record of 745,000, according to revised estimates from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

However, the figure for the year to June 2023 is estimated to be lower, at 672,000.

The ONS said it is too early to tell if this is the start of a new downward trend but that the most recent estimates indicate a slowing of immigration coupled with increasing emigration.

Home Secretary James Cleverly said the latest figure “is largely in line with our own immigration statistics” and insisted the Government “remains completely committed to reducing levels of legal migration”.

The previous estimate for the year to December 2022 had been 606,000, but the ONS has since revised this upwards in light of “unexpected patterns” in the behaviour of migrants.

Emma Rourke, ONS deputy national statistician, said: “Our most recent migration statistics are always provisional and supported by assumptions around whether we think people will stay 12 months or more.

“We are responding to changes in a highly volatile world and our revisions reflect the unexpected patterns arising from that unpredictability. This will continue to influence our measures of uncertainty.”

The latest figures show that a total of 1.18 million people are estimated to have arrived in the UK in the year to June 2023 while 508,000 are likely to have left – leaving the net migration figure at 672,000.

Mr Cleverly said: “This figure is not showing a significant increase from last year’s figures and is largely in line with our own immigration statistics.

“The Government remains completely committed to reducing levels of legal migration while at the same time focusing relentlessly on our priority of stopping the boats.”

He said the UK needs to “reduce our overall numbers by eliminating the abuse and exploitation of our visa system by both companies and individuals”.

The Home Secretary also said the Government had already taken “tough action to reduce migration, by tackling the substantial rise in the number of students bringing dependants to the UK – a change that will have a tangible impact on net migration”.

He said there are further measures being worked on “to prevent exploitation and manipulation of our visa system, including clamping down on those that take advantage of the flexibility of the immigration system”.

Most people arriving to the UK in the year ending June 2023 were non-EU nationals (968,000), followed by EU (129,000) and British (84,000), the ONS said.

Study remained the biggest contributor to non-EU immigration in that period, accounting for 39%, largely unchanged compared with the previous period.

The next biggest contributor to non-EU immigration was migrants coming for work – having risen to 33%, from 23% in the year ending June 2022, and largely attributed to people on health and care visas.

It is too early to say if this is the start of a new downward trend

Jay Lindop, ONS

Arrivals of people via humanitarian routes have fallen from 19% to 9% over the same period, the ONS said, with most of these made up of Ukrainians and British Nationals (Overseas) arrivals from Hong Kong.

Jay Lindop, from the ONS, said: “Net migration to the UK has been running at record levels, driven by a rise in people coming for work, increasing numbers of students and a series of world events.

“Before the pandemic, migration was relatively stable but patterns and behaviours have been shifting considerably since then.

“More recently, we’re not only seeing more students arrive, but we can also see they’re staying for longer. More dependants of people with work and study visas have arrived too, and immigration is now being driven by non-EU arrivals.

“The latest numbers are higher than 12 months ago but are down slightly on our updated figures for year ending December 2022. It is too early to say if this is the start of a new downward trend.”