Looking back: UK
immigration
2015
22 July 2016
We take a look back at the long-term migration* of people to and from the UK over the course of 2015, and highlight the main reasons behind these movements.
All data shown here is taken from information provided by the Office for National Statistics and relates to the year ending December 2015 (unless otherwise stated).
Net migration
A net total of 333,000 people are estimated to have immigrated to the UK in the year ending December 2015. This is 20,000 more long-term arrivals than during the previous year.
Work
308,000 people migrated to the UK for work-related reasons (30,000 more than in 2014). Of these arrivals, 61% were EU citizens, 24% were non-EU citizens and 15% were British, with just over half of all individuals entering the UK with a definite job to go to.
Study
167,000 individuals came to the UK to study during this reporting year. This is a drop of 13% on the previous year and is the lowest number of migrant students since 2007. Furthermore, the number of study visas issued fell by 5%, with the most notable decrease in migrant student numbers to be found in the number of EU nationals coming to the UK to study.
EU migration
Around 270,000 EU nationals immigrated to the UK, and around 61% of this number came for work purposes. This only builds upon last year’s significant rise in EU migration to the UK by 2%.
EU2 migration
58,000 EU2 citizens immigrated to the UK in 2015 from Bulgaria and Romania. This is another significant increase on the previous year, and 84% of these individuals came to the UK for work-related reasons.
Family
11% more (38,274) family visas were granted to non-EEA nationals in the year ending March 2016. Family visas enable non-EEA nationals to join their relations who are either settled in the UK or are British citizens.
Settlement
89,923 settlement applications were granted in the year ending December 2015. This is 14% fewer that the previous year and is low compared to a notable peak in 2010.
UK Emigration
297,000 people emigrated from the UK. According to the latest estimates, 41% of these were British nationals, 29% were EU nationals, and 30% non-EU nationals. Although emigration figures have remained relatively stable over the past few years, they do show a slow but continuous decrease in the number of UK nationals leaving the country on a yearly basis.
Employers
31,787 employers were registered to sponsor migrant employees as of May 2016. This is 619 more than at this point last year, but could soon decrease due to the imminent introduction of more stringent immigration costs.
*Long-term migration is considered to be any stay longer than 12 months
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