UK net migration drops below 200,000 for first time since Covid-19 pandemic

UK net migration is estimated at 171,000 for the 12 months to December, down 48% from 331,000 the previous year. The estimate is the difference between arrivals and departures and is below 200,000 for the first time since the start of the Covid-19 outbreak. Arrivals are estimated at 813,000 in 2025, while departures are estimated at 642,000. Excluding pandemic-affected years, net migration in 2025 is the lowest for any 12-month period since the year to September 2012. The fall is driven by fewer people arriving from outside the EU for work. The figures are prompting renewed calls to soften immigration policy, including proposals to double the time to qualify for indefinite leave to remain from five to 10 years.

"UK net migration dropped to an estimated 171,000 last year, the lowest level since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. The figures for the 12 months to December are down 48% compared with the previous year (331,000), according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). It is the first time the estimate — which is the difference between the number of people arriving and leaving the country — has fallen below 200,000 since the start of the Covid-19 outbreak."

"The continued fall in net migration is being driven by fewer people from outside the EU arriving in the UK for work, the ONS said. Some 813,000 people are estimated to have arrived in the UK in 2025, while 642,000 are likely to have left. Excluding the pandemic-affected years of 2020 and 2021, net migration in 2025 was the lowest for any 12-month period since the year to September 2012, when it stood at 157,000."

"The figures could lead to renewed calls for Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood's immigration policies to be watered down. Former deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner is among those to have voiced concerns about proposals to double the time it will take to qualify for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) from five to 10 years. Marley Morris, from think tank the Institute for Public Policy Research, said the Government's progress should prompt a more measured debate."

"An excessively tough approach now runs the risk of making policy for the pressures of three years ago, rather than the reality of today, he said. The priority should be to build a fair, well-managed immigration system that supports the economy and public services, not a race to push numbers ever lower. Shadow home secretary Chris Philp urged Labour to reform ILR before their hard-left flank forces them to abandon it altogether."

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