UK Net Migration Falls To 171,000, Lowest Since 2012 Excluding Covid Period

Britain’s net migration fell to 171,000 in 2025, the lowest level since 2012 excluding the Covid-19 pandemic period, according to official figures released Thursday.

“UK reports lowest net migration since 2012, excluding COVID period: Data Drop in non-EU citizens arriving for 'work-related reasons,' down 47%, main driver behind last year's decline, says Office for National Statistics Burak Bir 21 May 2026•Update: 21 May 2026 LONDON Britain’s net migration fell to 171,000 in 2025, the lowest level since 2012 excluding the COVID-19 pandemic period, according to official figures released Thursday”

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The Office for National Statistics said net migration continued to decline as the figure dropped to 171,000 last year, after reaching a peak of 944,000 in the year to March 2023.

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The ONS said a fall in non-EU citizens arriving for "work-related reasons," down 47%, was the main reason behind last year’s decline, while the number of people leaving the UK was recorded at more than 640,000.

Home Office data also showed the number of asylum seekers housed in hotels declined by one-third, and the number of people claiming asylum fell 12% in the year to March 2026.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the statistics showed the government was "restoring order and control to our borders" as she wrote that "Net migration is now at 171,000".

The BBC reported that her counterpart Chris Philp argued Labour needed to "go further," while the Home Office wrote on X that it was ending Britain’s reliance on overseas labour.

BBC

The Guardian said the fall in net migration to 171,000 would be seen as a boost for Keir Starmer’s government, with the ONS showing the difference between people moving to the UK and people leaving at its lowest level since 2021.

The Guardian also quoted Ben Brindle, a researcher at the University of Oxford’s Migration Observatory, saying: "Migration is down now, but the economic impacts depend more on who is – or is no longer – migrating than how many."

The BBC said the data revealed that 93,525 people claimed asylum in the UK in the year to March 2026, down 12% on the year prior, but still more than double that seen just before the pandemic.

“Net migration to the UK fell by nearly 50% to 171,000 last year, according to official figures released on Thursday, in what will be seen as a boost for Keir Starmer’s government”

The Guardian

It also reported that the number of asylum seekers living in hotels while waiting for their claims to be processed fell to 20,885 as of March 2026, down from 30,657 in December 2025.

The Guardian said ministers promised to drive down the number of people moving to the UK and end the use of the hotels by the end of this parliament, while noting asylum-related migration remained high.

The BBC further reported that the Home Office said it was introducing a skills-based migration system that rewards contribution and ends Britain’s reliance on cheap overseas workers, and it described planned changes including requiring migrants to speak English to A-level standard and raising the income threshold for a skilled worker visa to £41,700.