Back in 2010, the Conservative government had promised to reduce net immigration below 100,000 with its election victory. In 2015, just before the Brexit vote, the number was 329,000. In the 2019 manifesto, the goal changed. Boris Johnson’s government then pledged to reduce net immigration below 200,000. Today, 2023 and the United Kingdom does not seem to be on the trajectory it or its government wanted.

The latest official figures came from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) just this morning and they confirm the above. The number of net migration, meaning people who came to the country – through legal channels – minus those who decided to leave the UK, reached 672,000. Specifically, 1.2 million people came, 508,000 people left.

“While it is too early to say that there is a downward trend, we are seeing a slowdown in immigration combined with an increase in those choosing to leave the country,” the ONS office said.

Those choosing to leave Britain did increase. 42% of the rate concerns European nationals, 39% non-EU, while 18% represents British nationals.

Home Secretary James Cleverley, shortly after the official announcements, reiterated the government’s commitment to curb immigration but wanted to focus on the positives behind these numbers.

“Students and health workers demonstrate both our leading university sector and our ability to tap our immigration system for the skills we need,” he said among other things.

Who chooses to come to the UK?

So the data showed that 1.2 million people came to the country over a period of twelve months. The number concerns student visas, work visas mainly related to health and social care professions and a smaller and declining percentage compared to the previous year, of those who came through humanitarian routes.

It is important to mention that 80%, i.e. the 968,000 immigrants, are from countries outside the EU. The current figures, however, are not considered a record number for the country. Characteristically, the net number of immigration for the corresponding period ’21 – ’22 reached 745,000, after a revision made by the service.

These figures hardly turn in favor of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. He and his staff are reportedly already considering the immediate changes they need to make to reduce legal and illegal immigration.

To reduce net immigration, however, they are considering limiting the number of relatives that those coming to work in the health and social care sectors are allowed to bring to just one. At the same time, the government is thinking of increasing the minimum wage required for the granting of a work visa, but also of abolishing even the exemption that exists for sectors in which there is a recognized lack of labor force. The last two are already facing resistance from employers.

Just yesterday, however, the Office of the Budget (OBR) warned Rishi Sunak that his practices will not have the effect he wants before 2027. In fact, immigration is expected to increase the country’s population by 1.5 million by 2028-2029.