UK net migration falls to 171,000, lowest since 2012

Office for National Statistics data released Thursday showed Britain's net migration fell to 171,000 in 2025, marking the lowest level since 2012 when excluding the pandemic period, as the figure continued a sharp decline from a peak of 944,000 recorded in the year to March 2023. The provisional data indicated that 800,000 people immigrated to the UK last year while more than 640,000 left, representing a 20% decrease in arrivals and a 6% drop in departures compared to the previous year.

Work arrivals plummet

A 47% decrease in non-EU citizens arriving for work-related reasons served as the primary driver behind the reduction, the ONS noted in its statistical release. The Home Office simultaneously published figures indicating that asylum claims fell by 12% during the year to March, while the number of asylum seekers accommodated in hotels declined by one-third over the same period.

Channel crossings continue

Despite the overall reduction in legal migration, irregular crossings of the English Channel continued to climb, with small boat arrivals rising 3% in the year to March to reach 39,271 people, according to separate Home Office data. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said on X that the government was "restoring order and control to our borders," citing the 82% reduction in net migration from the Conservative-era peak. Earlier this month, the Home Office confirmed that more than 200,000 migrants have crossed the English Channel in small boats since records began in 2018.