Official data has revealed that the United Kingdom (UK) net migration dropped to an estimated 171,000 for the year ending December 2025, representing a massive 48% decline from the previous year.
According to newly released data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the total is nearly half of the revised 331,000 figure recorded in 2024.
This also marks the lowest level of net immigration the country has experienced since early 2021, when Covid-era travel restrictions were still heavily impacting international borders.
The significant decline represents a dramatic shift from the historic peak of 944,000 recorded in the year ending March 2023.
The data also revealed that 93,525 people claimed asylum in the UK in the year to March 2026, down 12% from the previous year, but still more than double the number seen just before the pandemic.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood reacting after the UK net migration dropped, said the statistics showed the government was “restoring order and control to our borders”, while her counterpart Chris Philp argued that Labour needed to “go further”.
Sarah Crofts, the ONS’s deputy director also said: “The recent decrease is driven by fewer people arriving from outside the EU, particularly for work.”
Following the release, the Home Office wrote on X: “We are ending Britain’s reliance on overseas labour, ensuring migrants contribute more than they take and are increasing the removal of illegal migrants and foreign criminals.”
Similarly, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that the data showed that his government was “delivering”, adding: “I know there’s more to do, we’re introducing a skills-based migration system that rewards contribution and ends our reliance on cheap overseas workers.”
Policy changes from early 2024 under the former Conservative government are likely to have made an impact on the net migration figures. The Labour government has retained the measures and in some cases expanded on them.
The primary catalyst for this downturn was a sharp drop in arrivals from outside the European Union. Non-EU arrivals coming specifically for work-related reasons plummeted by 47% over the course of the year.
A series of strict immigration policies introduced under the previous administration and maintained by the current Labour government have driven this shift:
The Care Worker Visa Route: Restricting overseas care workers from bringing family dependants practically closed a route that previously drove record highs.
Salary Thresholds: Substantially raising the minimum income requirement for skilled worker visas priced out various entry-level international positions. The UK increased the general salary threshold for those arriving on skilled visas from £26,200 to £38,700, and increased the minimum income requirement to sponsor someone for a family visa by more than £10,000.
Student Dependants: Banning the partners and children of most international students from moving to the UK caused family visas linked to education routes to fall by 87% compared to 2023.
The current government has recently announced further plans to reduce net migration even further, including migrants being required to speak English to an A-level standard.
It has also announced another increase in the income threshold for a skilled worker visa to £41,700.
Last year, asylum hotels became a key political talking point, sparking protests around the country in areas such as Norwich, Epping, and Mold.
In October, the prime minister pledged to close all asylum hotels, saying he was “frustrated and angry” to have been left with a “mess” by the Conservative government.
The Home Office’s new figures show that the number of asylum seekers living in hotels while waiting for their claims to be processed fell to 20,885 as of March 2026.
This is down from 30,657 people in December 2025 – and the highest monthly figure of 56,000, recorded in September 2023 under the previous Conservative government.
The home secretary said the statistics showed that “real progress has been made” but that there was “still work to do”.
Mahmood added: “That is why I am introducing a skills-based migration system that rewards contribution and ends Britain’s reliance on cheap overseas workers.”
Home Office figures reveal that 93,525 people claimed asylum in the UK in the 12 months to March 2026, down by 12% on the year before.
But this is still more than double the number just before the pandemic.
In the year ending March 2026, there were 43,806 detected arrivals via illegal routes, with small boat crossings accounting for 90% of these arrivals.
