The UK recorded the entry of 504,000 people between June 2021 and June 2022 – 39% of immigrants were on student visas and 21% on work visas.
The UK has seen a record influx of migrants – an estimated 500,000 – mostly from outside the European Union, in a post-Covid era and war in Ukraine.
According to estimates by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the United Kingdom recorded the arrival of 504,000 people between June 2021 and June 2022. The number is up by 331,000 people compared to the previous year.
“A series of world events have affected migration patterns,” said Jay Lindop, director of the international migration center at the ONS.
Factors such as the fact that it is the first full time period measured after leaving the European Union, the war in Ukraine, the reception of Afghans or passport holders leaving Hong Kong, “all contributed to the record number of migrants we are seeing” , he added.
The increase in arrivals from countries outside the European Union, mainly students after the lifting of travel restrictions after the Covid pandemic or even the arrival of Ukrainian refugees are “factors independent of each other” to the point that it is not possible to assess whether this trend will be maintained, Jay Lindop said, at a time when immigration control was one of the key Brexit promises.
Specifically, 39% of immigrants arrived in the UK during this period on a student visa and 21% on a work visa.
In addition to the legal immigration figures, the UK agency estimates that 35,000 people crossed the Channel illegally in the same period.
Pressed on the highly sensitive issue for the UK, home secretary Suella Braverman, who belongs to the right wing of the Tories, admitted yesterday that the British government had “failed to control the border”.
RES-EMP
Read the News today and get the latest news.
Follow Skai.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news.
With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
