Report: New Evidence on Post-Brexit UK Migration Trends – F. Filauri, M. Pazzona, M. Rosina,

The report co-authored by Dr Federico Filauri, Dr Matteo Pazzona andDr Matilde Rosina provides new evidence on post-Brexit UK migration trends up to December 2023. The report analyses recent migration patterns, highlighting the complex interplay between policy changes, economic factors, and global events in shaping UK migration trends.

Key findings:

• Net migration decreased by 10% from December 2022 to December 2023, reaching 685,000. However, this is still 47% higher than December 2021 level.
• Non-EU immigration remains the main driver of migration, with work (423,000) and study (379,000) being the primary reasons. Work-related non-EU immigration increased by 53% from December 2022 to December 2023.
• EU immigration remains significantly lower than pre-Brexit levels, staying below 100,000
• There was a sharp decrease (48%) in people moving to the UK for humanitarian and asylum reasons from December 2022 to December 2023.
• The number of dependants coming to the UK has increased significantly, accounting for 25% of non-EU student immigration and 48% of non-EU work immigration in June 2023.
• Visa grants increased by 1% from 2022 to 2023, reaching 1,440,611. However, humanitarian route visas decreased significantly, particularly for the Ukrainian Humanitarian Visa Scheme (80% decrease).
• International student enrollment in UK higher education institutions grew by 61% from 2017 to 2023. However, there was a 3.1% decrease in new entrants from 2022 to 2023.
• The report also discusses changes in immigration policy, including new restrictions implemented in 2023 and planned for 2024, which may impact future migration trends.

Read the full report here: New-Evidence-on-Post-Brexit-UK-Migration-Trends.pdf (brunel.ac.uk)