UK Net Migration Falls to 171,000 in Year to December 2025

The Office for National Statistics released new estimates showing UK net migration at 171,000 for the 12 months to December 2025. The total is down 48 percent from the same period a year earlier and marks the first time the annual figure has fallen below 200,000 since the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The ONS breakdown shows 350,000 more non-EU citizens arrived than departed. In the same period, 136,000 more British citizens left than returned, and 42,000 more EU citizens departed than arrived. The main drivers were fewer non-EU arrivals for work, study, and family reasons, plus higher departures by non-EU students who completed their courses.

Visa rules changed in January 2024 to restrict most overseas students from bringing family members. Care workers faced similar restrictions from March 2024, and salary thresholds for skilled worker and family visas rose in April 2024. The Labour government added further limits in July 2025 by ending overseas recruitment for care workers and raising salary thresholds again.

Home Office data show visa applications have continued to fall through 2026.

The number of asylum seekers housed in UK hotels stood at 20,885 at the end of March 2026, down 35 percent from a year earlier. The ONS noted that net migration peaked at 944,000 in the year to March 2023 before declining steadily to 204,000 in the year to June 2025.