WIREDGOV

Migration Statistics Quarterly Report, May 2014

• Net long-term migration to the UK was estimated to be 212,000 in the year ending December 2013, not a statistically significant (see glossary) increase from 177,000 the previous year and unchanged from the net migration figure previously reported for the year ending September 2013.
• Recent patterns of net migration over the last two years show an increase since the lowest estimate of 154,000 (year ending September 2012). However, net migration has continued to be lower than the general level of net migration since 2004.
• 526,000 people immigrated to the UK in the year ending December 2013, not a statistically significant difference from 498,000 the previous year. 43,000 more EU citizens and 11,000 fewer non-EU citizens immigrated to the UK than in the previous year.
• 314,000 people emigrated from the UK in the year ending December 2013. This is not a statistically significant difference from the 321,000 in the previous year.
• 214,000 immigrated for work in the year ending December 2013, a statistically significant increase from 180,000 the previous year. Work remains as the most common reason for immigrating to the UK. Immigration for study (177,000) has remained steady.
• 201,000 EU citizens immigrated in the year ending December 2013, a statistically significant increase from 158,000 the previous year.
• 125,000 EU citizens immigrated for work in the year ending December 2013, a statistically significant increase from 95,000 the previous year. 62,000 were citizens from EU15 (pre-2004) countries, a statistically significant increase from 49,000 the previous year.
• 23,000 EU2 (Romanian and Bulgarian) citizens immigrated in the year ending December 2013, a statistically significant increase from 9,000 the previous year. An estimated 122,000 EU2 citizens were employed in the UK in Jan to Mar 2014, compared with 103,000 in the same period in 2013.
• National Insurance number (NINo) registrations to adult overseas nationals increased by 7% to 603,000 in the year ending March 2014 from the previous year. The highest number of registrations continues to be for Polish citizens (102,000).
• The largest increases in NINo registrations in the year ending March 2014 were for citizens of Romania (up 29,000 to 47,000), Poland (up 11,000 to 102,000), Italy (up 9,000 to 42,000) and Bulgaria (up 7,000 to 18,000) from the previous year.
• In the year ending March 2014, work visas issued increased 10% (with skilled work visas up 18%) as well as increases for study (+6%) and student visitor (+14%) visas, partly offset by a fall in family visas (-4%).
• There was a 5% increase in asylum applications in the year ending March 2014 (23,731) compared with the previous 12 months (22,630), although well below the 2002 peak (84,132). The 5% was particularly driven by rises from Eritrea, Syria and Albania.