Net migration to stay over 200,000, despite Sunak’s pledge to cut numbers

Post-Brexit visa rules far more generous than expected, Treasury watchdog says – posing problem for prime minister

Net migration into the UK will be above 200,000 from next year, the Treasury watchdog has said, despite Rishi Sunak’s pledge to cut the numbers entering the country.

The impact of post-Brexit visa rules has been reassessed by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) – which concludes they are far more generous than predicted just 8 months ago.

In March, the OBR forecast 136,000 more people would arrive than leave the UK in 2023, a figure expected to decline only slightly to 129,000 in 2026.