UK Net Migration Drops to 171,000 as Visa Curbs Cut Non-EU Work Arrivals
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · May 21
UK Net Migration Drops to 171,000 as Visa Curbs Cut Non-EU Work Arrivals
9 articles · Updated · BBC.com · May 21
171,000 people were added to the UK population through net migration last year, almost half the 2024 level and the lowest since 2012 outside the pandemic period.
Fewer non-EU arrivals for work drove the fall, the ONS said, after 2024 rule changes raised skilled-visa salary thresholds to £38,700 and curbed dependants for students and care workers.
93,525 people claimed asylum in the year to March 2026, down 12% from a year earlier but still more than double pre-pandemic levels; 43,806 illegal-route arrivals were detected, 90% by small boats.
20,885 asylum seekers were in hotels in March 2026, down from 30,657 in December 2025 and a peak of 56,000 in September 2023, as Labour said it was restoring border control but promised further cuts.
The UK is curbing immigration, but is it walking into a long-term demographic and economic crisis?
With legal migration halved, why are illegal crossings and the asylum appeals backlog now hitting record highs?