Ministers claim progress on immigration despite net flows of 685,000 people last year – roughly equivalent to the population of Sheffield

Ministers today claimed progress after net immigration fell by 10% last year – although it was still 685,000.

The latest figures for the key electoral battleground suggest long-term net receipts were slightly higher than Sheffield’s population in 2023.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) also revised the previous year to 764,000 – increasing the already staggering record.

The Interior Ministry pointed out that the estimates “do not take into account the major package of measures announced in December which have already started to take effect”.

They reviewed family, study and work visas, including cracking down on people bringing dependents.

The ONS said it was too early to say whether a downward trend had started, but the number of people coming to the UK was slowing, while emigration was rising.

Work was the biggest driver of migration in 2023, surpassing the study, and there has been a substantial increase in the number of people arriving from outside the EU on work visas, the figures suggest.

The measure – which represents the difference between the number of people arriving and leaving the country – has been revised upwards by 19,000 for 2022, from a previous estimate of 745,000, now that more complete data is available for the year.

Around 1.22 million people are estimated to have arrived in the UK in 2023 (immigration), while 532,000 are likely to have left (emigration). That’s compared to 1.26 million and 493,000 in 2022, respectively.

The increase in long-term emigration from the UK was largely driven by increased emigration from non-EU nationals, particularly among those who initially arrived on a study visa, the ONS said.

The figures come ahead of a series of restrictions introduced by the government from the start of 2024 amid pressure to reduce record numbers of people arriving legally in the UK.

Home Secretary James Cleverly said: “The latest migration statistics show a 10% fall in net migration last year, with visa applications down 25% so far in 2024.

“This shows that the plan under Rishi Sunak and the Conservatives is working, but there is more to do. That’s why we have to stick to the plan, not go back to square one.

Migration Observatory director Madeleine Sumption said the period of high net migration “has persisted for some time now” due to “a number of different causes” but “early data suggests we may see a larger decline later in 2024, as a result of recent policy changes”.

Estimates show that immigration from outside the EU for work-related reasons rose from 277,000 in the year to December 2022 to 423,000 in the year to December 2023, replacing study as the main reason for long-term migration.

More than four in 10 people who moved to the UK for work-related reasons last year came from India or Nigeria, most commonly in the health and social care sector.

The number of non-EU nationals arriving as dependents of those on long-term work visas was higher than the number of main applicants last year, at 219,000 and 204,000 respectively.

Levels of net migration to the UK have varied considerably in recent years.

The figure was on a downward trend immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, falling from around 276,000 in 2018 to 184,000 in 2019.

It fell to around 93,000 in 2020, when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.

The total then rose to 466,000 in 2021, before jumping further to a record 764,000 in 2022.

The latest estimate of 685,000 for 2023 suggests levels are starting to fall again, although “it is too early to say whether this is the start of a new downward trend”, the ONS said.

Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “These figures show the utter chaos and Tory failure on immigration as net migration has more than tripled since Rishi Sunak and his party promised to quit at the last election .

“14 years of Tory failure on both the economy and immigration has led to around a 50% increase in labor migration in the last year alone as they have failed miserably to tackle the skills gap. The Tories can’t even clean up their own mess.

“Labour will deliver appropriate plans to link the points-based immigration system with improving skills here at home.