Modern immigration to the United Kingdom

This article is about immigration to the United Kingdom since the independence of Ireland in 1922. For immigration before Irish Independence, see Historical immigration to Great Britain. For information and statistics on the resident foreign-born population of the UK, see Foreign-born population of the United Kingdom.
"Welsh immigration" redirects here. Not to be confused with Welsh emigration.

Since 1945, immigration to the United Kingdom, controlled by British immigration law and to an extent by British nationality law, has been significant, in particular from the former territories of the British Empire and the European Union.[1]

Since the accession of the UK to the European Communities in the 1970s and the creation of the EU in the early 1990s, immigrants relocated from member states of the European Union, exercising one of the European Union's Four Freedoms. Immigration to and from Central and Eastern Europe has increased since 2004 with the accession to the European Union of eight Central and Eastern European states, since there is free movement of labour within the EU.[2] In 2021, since Brexit came into effect,[a] previous EU citizenship's right to newly move to and reside in the UK on a permanent basis does not apply anymore.

A smaller number have come as asylum seekers (not included in the definition of immigration) seeking protection as refugees under the United Nations 1951 Refugee Convention, though many of these people also come from former territories of the British Empire.

About 70% of the population increase between the 2001 and 2011 censuses was due to foreign-born immigration. As of 2013, 7.5 million people (11.9% of the population at the time) were born overseas, although the census gives no indication of their immigration status or intended length of stay.[4]

The UK currently uses a points-based immigration system. The UK Government can also grant settlement to foreign nationals, which confers on them indefinite leave to remain in the UK, without granting them British citizenship. Grants of settlement are made on the basis of various factors, including employment, family formation and reunification, and asylum (including to deal with backlogs of asylum cases).[5]

Net migration into the UK during 2022 is reported to have reached a record high of 764,000,[6] with immigration at 1.26 million and emigration at 493,000.[7] Net migration was 685,000 in 2023. Of the 1,218,000 migrants in 2023, only 10% were citizens of EU member states. Around 250,000 people came from India, 141,000 from Nigeria, 90,000 from China and 83,000 from Pakistan. Around 50,000 people, including those from Ukraine and Hong Kong, came for humanitarian reasons in 2023, down from 162,000 in 2022.[6]

  1. ^ Randall Hansen (2000). Citizenship and Immigration in Postwar Britain. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780191583018.
  2. ^ See Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
  3. ^ "EU-UK trade and cooperation agreement: Council adopts decision on conclusion". www.consilium.europa.eu. 29 April 2021.
  4. ^ "Immigration Patterns of Non-UK Born Populations in England and Wales in 2011" (PDF). Office for National Statistics. 17 December 2013. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  5. ^ Blinder, Scott (11 June 2014). "Settlement in the UK". The Migration Observatory, University of Oxford. Archived from the original on 24 May 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  6. ^ a b "Migration: How many people come to the UK and how are the salary rules changing?". BBC News. 23 May 2024.
  7. ^ "Net migration drops to 685,000 after hitting record levels, as even more arrived in UK last year than previously thought". LBC. 23 May 2024.


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