Visa Application: UK sees 20% decline in net migration

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Thursday released its latest migration figures, revealing a 20% decline in net migration to the UK.

The numbers show that 728,000 people migrated to the UK in the year ending June 2024, down from 906,000 the previous year.

The reduction is largely attributed to changes in visa policies implemented by the UK government earlier in the year.

The new rules restricted international students from bringing dependents, which has now resulted in a decrease in study visa applications.

The number of study visa applications dropped by 94,000 compared to the previous year.

The ONS report read, “Our latest estimates indicate a fall in long-term net migration (the difference between people coming to live in the UK and those leaving to live elsewhere).

“Our provisional estimates show a 20% reduction between our updated estimate for year ending (YE) June 2023 (906,000) and our latest estimate for YE June 2024 (728,000).

“This fall is driven by a decline in long-term immigration, mainly because of declining numbers of dependents arriving on study visas. Our most recent data points also show decreases in the number of people arriving for work-related reasons.

“This is consistent with visa data published by the Home Office, and in part reflects policy changes from earlier this year. It is also driven by a rise in long-term emigration, most notably for those who came to the UK on study-related visas. This is likely a consequence of the large number of students who came to the UK post-pandemic now reaching the end of their courses.”

“The majority (60%) of the non-EU+ nationals who left the UK in YE June 2024 had originally arrived for study-related reasons.

“This is related to the large number of non-EU+ nationals who came to study from 2021 onwards who are now completing their courses and leaving. However, our international student research update also shows that this group are remaining in the UK longer before emigrating compared with those who arrived five years ago. This will, in part, be related to the introduction of the Graduate visa in 2021, which grants permission to stay in the UK for at least two years after successfully completing a course.”