UK net migration falls sharply with fall in arrivals for work and study

Net migration to the UK fell by two-thirds in the year ending June 2025 compared to the previous 12 months, provisional figures indicate.

The difference between the number of people arriving in the country and those leaving was 204,000, compared to 649,000, and the fall was mainly due to fewer arrivals for work and study purposes, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

It comes as Home Office figures show the number of people seeking asylum in the year to September 2025 hit a record 110,051.

The figures also show that the number of asylum seekers in hotels until September increased by 2% compared to the same period last year.

The statistics are part of two separate statements published on Thursday: the ONS statement on net migration to the year ending June 2025, and the Home Office figures on the immigration system for the year ending September 2025.

Home Office figures show that initial decisions on asylum applications have increased to 133,502 people receiving an initial decision over the year, of which almost half (45%) were granted.

“Decision-making has reached a historically high level and the number of cases awaiting an initial decision fell by 36% between September 2024 and September 2025, despite a record number of asylum applications in this period,” the statement said.

The backlog of those awaiting a first decision has been steadily decreasing throughout the year, but there has been a growing backlog of appeals.

The government has committed to ending the use of asylum hotels before the end of this parliament.

More than 36,000 people were temporarily housed in hotels in September, Thursday’s figures showed.

This is a 13% increase over the last three months, but due to fluctuation over the past year it represents a smaller increase (2%) from September 2024.

This is lower than the peak of 56,018 people in hotels at the end of September 2023.

It follows legal battles over hotel use with Epping Forest District Council saying earlier this week they would appeal against a High Court decision which rejected their case to close Epping’s Bell Hotel to asylum seekers.

Responding to Thursday’s statistics, a Home Office spokesperson said there were fewer than 200 hotels in use and they vowed to “close every single one of them.”

“We are furious at the levels of illegal immigrants and asylum hotels.

“Work is underway to move illegal immigrants to military bases to relieve pressure on communities across the country.”

Small boat arrivals saw a 53% increase compared to the previous year, with 45,659 arrivals via this route in the 12 months to September 2025. The Home Office statement states that this figure is close to the 2022 peak, which was 45,774.

“The increase in arrivals in 2025 has coincided with an increase in the average number of people arriving by small boat,” he added.

Some 5,151 children (under 18 years of age) crossed the English Channel in small boats and claimed asylum in this period; 2,700 of whom were accompanied.

Separately, 153 migrants have been expelled from the UK to France under the one-on-one pilot scheme.

A return flight today included the individual who was expelled on 16 October and returned to the UK in a small boat on 8 November (not double counted).

A total of 134 people have arrived in the United Kingdom thanks to this scheme.

Figures published by the ONS on net migration take into account those who claim asylum in the UK after entering via both regular and irregular routes, as well as other forms of immigration. They refer to people who have changed their place of residence for a period equal to or greater than 12 months.

The overall figure has seen a dramatic drop through June 2025, and is accompanied by an approximately 70% drop in arrivals of non-EU+ nationals on dependent work and study visas. (EU+ refers to people from EU countries plus Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland).

Responding to the net migration figures, Home Minister Shabana Mahmood said the government would “go further” and referred to the pressure of migration on local communities.

“Net migration is at its lowest level in half a decade and has fallen by more than two-thirds under this government,” he said in a statement.

“Last week I announced reforms to our immigration system to ensure that those who come here contribute and put in more than they take out.”

Earlier this month, Mahmood presented proposals to reform the legal migration system, including changes to the time it could take for some migrants to achieve settled status.

A range of measures followed to tackle illegal migration, such as changing the way the right to family life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is applied in migration court cases.

Migration experts have indicated that the net migration figures, which cover the year ending June 2025, could reflect measures introduced by the Conservatives, such as the increase in the salary threshold that was introduced in June 2024.

Peter Walsh, senior researcher at Oxford University’s Migration Observatory, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “To get a fuller and more accurate picture, it takes at least a year for policy changes to appear in the statistics.

“That is the definition of a long-term international migrant (someone who changes their country of habitual residence for at least one year).”

Additional reporting by Robert Cuffe, Chief Statistician