Net migration drops by two thirds in a 12 months in enhance to Keir Starmer

Net migration has dropped by two thirds in a year.

Figures published today by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimate long-term net migration plummeted to 204,000 in the year to June. This is down from 649,000 the previous year, and will be seen as a boost for Keir Starmer.

Statisticians estimate that 898,000 people came to the UK in that time – down 401,000 from the 12 months before. And 693,000 people left the country over the same period.

Labour has pledged to bring net migration down. Last week Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood unveiled a shake-up on settlement rules that will see people with refugee status face reviews every 30 months.

Of the long-term migrants to the UK, around 75% – an estimated 670,000 people – were nationals of non-EU countries. Around 143,000 were British nationals, while 85,000 were from the EU.

Ms Mahmood claimed illegal immigration is “tearing our country apart” as she vowed to ramp up removals – including families with children. She also set out a string of measures to make people “earn” the right to permanent settlement.

It comes after experts warned relentless “crisis messaging” about migration means most voters think it is rising, even as it plummets.

A survey by Ipsos/British Future Immigration Attitudes Tracker found 56% of the public believes net migration rose last year. In reality 2024’s figures more than halved – from 848,000 to 345,000, having peaked at 944,000 in 2023.

Sunder Katwala, director of immigration thinktank British Future, said:“This is another significant drop in net migration, but research shows this has not cut through to the public, who still think immigration is going up.

“Falling immigration has been the best-kept secret in British politics for too long. Net migration has now dropped by two-thirds in the last year, and by three-quarters since its post-Covid peak. It is time that our immigration debate caught up with reality.

“Some voices will never be satisfied until immigration is net zero – but they can’t claim to speak for most of the public.”

A seperate set of data released by the Home Office showed there were 2.2million visitor visas issued in the year to September, and 839,000 work, study, family and humanitarian visas.

And 111,000 people claimed asylum in the year ending September 2025 – 13% more than the previous year and higher than the previous recorded peak of 103,000 in 2002.

People also believe asylum makes up a larger proportion than it actually does, the study found. Most think it accounts for a third of all immigration, while in fact it was around 14% in the year to June.

Although most people hold balanced views, researchers found, 16% claimed immigration offers no benefits, up from 7% in 2021. A third of people want numbers to stay the same, while 41% want it to go down “a lot” – and 15% favour an increase.

Most people struggled to say what migration for work they would cut – with only a minority saying the number of doctors, care workers, lorry drivers or seasonal farm workers should go down.

Mr Katwala said: “We need a more honest, transparent debate about how much immigration we need and want to keep, how to manage the pressures it brings and how we maximise the benefits to Britain.”

And Gideon Skinner, senior director of UK Politics at Ipsos, said: “It’s clear that immigration is rising up the public’s agenda, a process that started in 2023 but has accelerated further this year. It is seen as a major source of tension in the UK, and attitudes are now more negative than they have been for some time (although still not quite to the extent they were before the 2016 referendum).

“Much of this is driven by persistent dissatisfaction with how successive governments are dealing with it, particularly over the issue of small boats crossing the Channel, and asylum numbers take up an overlarge proportion of the public’s mind when thinking about immigration.

“But attitudes towards immigration beyond this show more nuance. Overall, Britons still on balance prioritise a system that delivers control over simply reducing numbers to as low as possible, and across a range of different occupations only a minority want to reduce migration for work.”

The report calls for ministers to scale up the UK–France asylum deal to manage Channel crossings, ending the use of asylum hotels by next year, speed up decisions and create “credible” routes to settlement.

It says the debate around immigration should recognise legitmitate concerns, but distinguish these from prejudice.