This week, the UK Home Office released a report on migration statistics from October 2023 to September 2024.
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), net migration decreased in the 12 months leading up to June 2024. However, public attention remains focused on the previous year’s record increase of 900,000 migrants.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer criticized the previous Conservative government for allowing unchecked migration. The Home Office data provide a more detailed picture of migration during this period.
Approximately 59 million non-British individuals entered the UK, mostly as short-term visitors. Around 450,000 work visas and 440,000 study visas were issued, though health and care-worker visas dropped by 65%. Family visas accounted for 87,000 arrivals, including those joining refugees, while 89,000 people entered through humanitarian routes, primarily from Ukraine, Hong Kong, and Afghanistan.
Irregular arrivals, the smallest category, included 37,000 people, over 80% of whom crossed the Channel by boat—a 20% decline compared to the previous year. Most were from Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Vietnam, and Eritrea. Nearly all boat arrivals sought asylum, though they represented less than a third of total asylum applications, as others entered through different irregular routes.
