Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Net immigration to the UK almost halved in 2024 as tougher visa rules took effect, in figures that could reduce pressure on the Labour government over the politically charged issue.
The Office for National Statistics said net immigration was 431,000 over the calendar year, down from 860,000 the previous year, with fewer people arriving on work and study visas and higher emigration from people who had come to study in the UK immediately after the pandemic.
Long-term immigration to the UK in the year to December 2024 was 948,000, the ONS said, down by almost a third from a revised estimate of 1,326,000 for 2023 and the first time it has dropped below 1mn since March 2022.
Long-term emigration was estimated at 517,000, up 11 per cent from the previous year to levels last seen in 2017.
The drop in arrivals reflects tougher rules brought in at the end of 2023, including a ban on care workers and international students bringing family to the UK and higher salary requirements for skilled workers.
Last week, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s government set out sweeping reforms intended to cut numbers further, including the closure of the care worker visa route, a phasing out of lower skilled work visas, tougher language requirements and a longer route to win settlement rights in the UK.
This is a developing story
