UK topped ‘Europe’s immigration capital’ | UK | News | EUROtoday

Britain attracted extra immigrants than some other European nation in 2023, in keeping with official figures highlighting the size of arrivals into the UK.

An estimated 1.27 million overseas nationals moved to Britain through the yr, a determine roughly equal to the inhabitants of Birmingham .

Germany obtained round 1.22 million migrants, adopted by Spain with 1.1 million. Italy recorded 378,000 arrivals, whereas France noticed 295,000.

The figures have been set out by the House of Commons Library in a latest report inspecting migration tendencies, drawing on knowledge from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the EU’s Eurostat company.

Recent fall however comparisons restricted

UK immigration ranges have since declined, with fewer than 900,000 individuals arriving within the yr to June 2025, experiences the Daily Mail.

However, direct comparisons with EU nations are now not attainable, as Eurostat knowledge for different nations has not been up to date past 2023.

Despite the latest fall, Britain’s elevated migration ranges lately have prompted concern amongst analysts, who observe that almost all arrivals entered the nation legally, in keeping with the report.

Concerns over authorized migration

Alp Mehmet of Migration Watch UK advised the Daily Mail about what he described as Britain’s “soft-touch” system, saying: “Over five million long-term migrants have arrived in the past five years; around twenty-five times the number who have crossed the Channel illegally in small boats.

“They have come as a result of we made it attainable, as a result of they are going to be higher off, and since they know that when right here they’re more likely to to be allowed to remain.

“Add to that the state support available, and the question becomes: why wouldn’t they come?”

Net migration additionally highest

Net migration figures, which measure the distinction between arrivals and departures, additionally place the UK on the prime of the European desk.

In 2023, Britain recorded web migration of 897,000, in contrast with Germany’s 793,000, Spain’s 616,000, Italy’s 334,000 and France’s 218,000.

The UK’s rise to turn out to be Europe’s main vacation spot adopted its overtaking of Germany, which had beforehand held that place for a few years.

Germany’s web migration stood at round 100,000 in 2009 earlier than rising sharply to a peak of 1.27 million in 2015.

That yr noticed then-chancellor Angela Merkel open Germany’s borders to giant numbers of asylum seekers, declaring: “Wir schaffen das”, roughly translated as “we’ll manage”.

Brexit and coverage modifications

The following yr, the UK voted to depart the EU, a transfer extensively interpreted as a rejection of mass migration.

However, by 2021, the UK had overtaken Germany as Europe’s predominant immigrant vacation spot, regardless of public opposition.

Part of the shift was attributed to Germany tightening its border controls, whereas UK immigration rose sharply.

Much of the rise was pushed by what has turn out to be referred to as the “Boris wave”, marked by a surge in non-EU immigration between 2021 and 2023.

This adopted the introduction of a brand new immigration system in early 2021, promoted as an “Australian-style, points-based” mannequin.

In follow, the system functioned as an employer-led work visa scheme, decreasing expertise and wage thresholds.

The minimal wage requirement fell from £30,000 to £25,600, permitting extra middle-skilled roles to qualify.

Record visa numbers

Previously, most non-EU staff wanted a graduate-level job paying no less than £30,000 to qualify for a sponsored visa, with restricted exceptions.

Although Covid journey restrictions initially obscured the influence of the modifications, the impact turned clear as soon as restrictions eased.

A report 1.2 million residency visas have been issued within the yr to June 2022, the very best determine since information started.

The enhance got here amid rising public dissatisfaction with immigration ranges.

Polling suggests the proportion of people that imagine immigration has been too excessive over the previous decade has risen by round 20% within the final two years.

Population modifications

An ONS estimate from June 2023 put the variety of non-UK-born residents in England and Wales at 11.4 million.

This included 3.4 million EU-born residents and eight.0 million from outdoors the EU, collectively accounting for round 19% of the inhabitants.

By comparability, round 1.3 million UK nationals have been residing in EU nations, excluding Ireland, as of 2024.

India, Poland, Pakistan, Romania and Ireland have been the most typical nations of start amongst migrants in 2021/22, making up 32% of these born overseas.

Family causes have been cited most frequently for transferring to the UK in 2022 at 37%, adopted by work at 29% and examine at 14%.

London had the very best share of migrants, with greater than 40% of residents born outdoors the UK.

Long-term tendencies and unlawful migration

High immigration ranges are a comparatively latest growth in Britain.

Between 1964 and 1983, the UK typically skilled web emigration, with web immigration recorded solely in 1979.

Since 1994, web migration has remained constructive, exceeding 100,000 yearly from 1998 onwards, other than 2020.

Migration ranges fell through the Covid pandemic, when web migration dropped to an estimated 93,000.

Despite this, analysis suggests Britain can also have the biggest variety of undocumented migrants in Europe.

Oxford University consultants estimated the UK’s unlawful migrant inhabitants at 745,000, increased than France’s 300,000 and above Germany’s higher estimate of 700,000.

Researchers instructed this could possibly be linked to the relative measurement of Britain’s black economic system.

They additionally famous that variations in how nations report migration imply comparisons ought to be handled with warning, because the figures are estimates slightly than exact counts.