How many immigrants come to the UK each year?

The pandemic affected international travel, locking down many countries and restricting movement across borders.

The UK received 11.1 million inbound visits in the first year of the global health crisis in 2020, a 73% decline from the visit levels seen in 2019; a staggering 40.86 million.

In 2021, even lower numbers were recorded at 7.1 million visitors. In 2022 the numbers showed a slow bounce back to 26.7 million.

With estimations from the international passenger survey set to soar post pandemic, the number of migrants entering the country will rise too.

Typically, the term ‘migrant’ refers to people changing their usual country of residence. Migration is usually to find a better life elsewhere, for example a better job, better life conditions and more freedoms and rights for themselves and their family.

An individual will physically migrate to another country, for example the UK, in order to seek a better life, better opportunity, or to escape conflict.

There are many benefits to accepting a large population of migrants, such as improving quality of life for young people and families, exposing a country to a more diverse culture, aid in the reduction of labour shortages, sharing resources globally, and providing opportunities for people to advance their education.

However, there may pose some disadvantages such as overcrowding, lack of housing, increased cost of services, as well as potential discrimination and religious or political turmoil.

Net migration is used to measure of the overall scale of migration, taking into account not just people moving to the UK, but also those leaving.

This presentation explains the global impact of net migration in Britain between the early 1990s and after the British Brexit system.

The UK has experienced similar levels of migration compared to other high-income countries on average over the past few decades.

Long term international migration statistics suggest net migration to England and Wales averaged 200,000 annually between the 2011 and 2021 Censuses, including British citizens.

The net migration rate for the UK in 2022 was 2.572 per 1000 population, which was 11.4% decline compared to 2021.

The office for national statistics estimates that since the UK government has decided to end freedom of movement across borders, migration to the UK will perhaps decline compared with European Union countries.

The official statistics show measuring migration from pre pandemic to now that there has been a sharp incline of migration since last year.

The Home Secretary’s flagship permission to travel scheme will mean that it is easier for people to come to and contribute to the UK, but harder for those who the UK government deems ‘not useful’ to British society.

Electronic Travel Authorisations will enable Border Force to tackle problems ahead of time.

These schemes alongside those tacking illegal migration, such as the Migration and Economic Development Partnership with Rwanda represent further proof that the UK government takes their immigration control as high importance.

The international passenger survey estimates that on an annual basis, roughly 200,000 people migrate to the UK.

The most common reason to migrate was for study purposes (36%), with work purposes coming in as the second most commonly cited reason (32%).

British citizens enjoy a wealth of freedoms and privileges such as top tier education, free healthcare, many jobs and rights. It is no wonder that so many people wish to migrate to the UK.

However, in recent years the UK Home Office has cracked down on the number of migrants the UK accepts, due to its housing crisis, the cost of employment, and the cost of maintaining free public services such as the NHS and benefits.

In March 2022, the government announced two routes that would allow Ukrainian refugees to enter the United Kingdom.

The Ukrainian Family Scheme was launched on the 4th of April, 2022, allowing applicants to stay in the UK, safe from the conflict.

This scheme allowed Ukrainians to come to the UK if they have a registered sponsor in Ukraine. By March 31, 2023, there were 668,882 application requests from both programs, with a total of 27,979 visa requests.

The UK government introduced the new visa route into the UK in 2021. The visa allows BNO status holders and families to live in the UK and study overseas.

BNO stands for British National Overseas, and the visa allows these individuals to come to the UK to work, study, or live.

An applicants permanent home must be in:

• Hong Kong if the applicant applies from overseas;
• The UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man or Hong Kong if the applicant applies in the UK.

There will always be less immigrants living overseas in Britain than they are in other nations.

In 2021, there were 6.6 million immigrants in the UK and 96.3 million immigrants from outside the UK.

British migrants are typically concentrated in London. About 35% of British citizens born abroad have a residence in Ireland.

With immigration to the UK steadily increasing and an increasingly tricky immigration system and immigration rules to navigate, migrating to the UK could not be more difficult to navigate.

Our knowledgeable immigration lawyers have first hand information regarding migrating in and out of the UK.

We are here to help you through any immigration issues you may encounter, and advise you and your family on the next best steps you can take for a successful application.

For further information or more up to date immigration figures, get in contact with one of our friendly team today.

Simply get in touch on 0333 414 9576.