Summary
Published 27 August 2015
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-april-to-june-2015/summary
Valid: 27 August 2015 to 25 November 2015
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This release presents the latest immigration statistics from Home Office administrative sources, covering the period up to year ending June 2015.
Data include dependants unless stated otherwise. All data below relate to the year ending June 2015 and all comparisons are with the year ending June 2014, unless indicated otherwise.
Estimates of the numbers of non-EU nationals migrating long-term to the UK, by reason for migration, are published by the Office for National Statistics, and available on their website, International Migration.
Key facts
Admissions
The total number of journeys increased by 6% to a record 120.2 million in the year ending June 2015 (+6.6 million).
The 6.6 million increase in the number of journeys in the year ending June 2015 was accounted for by 6.1 million more journeys by British, other EEA and Swiss nationals (up 6%) and 0.6 million more journeys by non-EEA nationals (up 4%), compared with the year ending June 2014.
Work
Including dependants and short term visas, there were 168,544 work-related visas granted in the year ending June 2015, up 6% (+9,313) compared with the previous year. There were increases in Tier 2 skilled work (+7,977) and Tier 5 Youth mobility (+2,679 main applicants) as well as a reduction in the number of dependants in routes now closed to new applicants (Tier 1 General -1,779; Tier 1 Post Study -1,141).
In the year ending March 2015, the ONS estimate that there were 64,000 non-EU long-term immigrants for work, a statistically significant increase of a third (+33%; +16,000) compared with the previous 12 months. Over the same period long-term (1 year or more) work-related visas granted to main applicants also rose, by 21% (+12,572) to 72,144. There are a range of potential reasons why long-term immigration estimates, which include considerable sampling variation, and visas data, may show different trends. Over the longer term, the ONS estimate the number of non-EU nationals migrating to the UK for work fell from a previous peak of 113,000 in the calendar year 2004 to 42,000 in the year ending June 2013.
Study
Study-related visas (excluding student visitors) granted fell slightly to 216,769 in the year ending June 2015 (-1%; -1,470). Over the same period, the number of university-sponsored study visa applications (main applicants) rose slightly (167,426; +0.2%) and there were falls for other sectors, notably a 13% fall for the further education sector (-2,634) to 17,172.
In the year ending March 2015, the ONS estimates that there were 137,000 non-EU long-term immigrants coming to study and who had an intention to remain a year or more, an 11% (+14,000) increase, though not statistically significant. Over the same period, the number of long-term (1 year or more) study-related visas granted (main applicants) was unchanged at 140,222. By contrast, also in the year ending March 2015, ONS estimates that the number of non-EU former students who were long-term emigrants from the UK was much lower at 41,000.
Over the longer term, the ONS estimates of the number of non-EU nationals migrating to the UK to study fell from a previous peak of 196,000 in the year ending September 2011 to 121,000 in the year ending June 2014.
Family
In the year ending June 2015, 35,245 family-related visas were granted. This is a slight decrease of 1% compared with the year ending June 2014 (35,664). There was a 2% decrease in the number of visas granted to all other dependants (excluding visitor visas) joining or accompanying migrants in the UK (75,651) compared with the previous 12 months (77,436).
In the year ending March 2015 (the latest provisional data available), the International Passenger Survey (IPS) estimated that 46,000 non-EU nationals immigrated long-term to the UK to accompany or join others, that is with the intention of staying for a year or more. This is a decrease in comparison to 51,000 in the year ending March 2014. Over the longer term, the ONS estimates of the numbers of non-EU nationals migrating to the UK to accompany or join others fell from a peak of 74,000 in the year ending December 2006 to 35,000 in the year ending June 2013. However, those arriving to accompany or join are not directly comparable with visa categories.
Asylum
There were 25,771 asylum applications from main applicants in the year ending June 2015, an increase of 10% compared with the previous year (23,515). The number of applications remains low relative to the peak number of applications in 2002 (84,132).
In the year ending June 2015, the largest number of applications for asylum came from nationals of Eritrea (3,568), followed by Pakistan (2,302) and Syria (2,204). Grant rates for asylum, humanitarian protection, discretionary leave or other grants of stay vary between nationalities. For example, 87% of the total decisions made for nationals of Syria were grants, compared with 73% for Eritrean nationals and 22% for Pakistani nationals.
Estimated figures show the UK had the seventh highest number (33,000) of asylum applications within the EU in the year ending June 2015, including dependants. Germany (259,000), Hungary (93,000) and Sweden (78,000) were the top 3 receiving countries. The mix of nationalities claiming asylum, and the resultant numbers granted protection, varies considerably between EU member states.
In addition to those asylum seekers who apply in the UK, resettlement schemes are offered. In the year ending June 2015, a total of 809 were resettled in the UK. Of these, 166 (216 since the scheme began) were granted humanitarian protection under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme.
Visitors
There were 19,584 (+1%) more visitor visas granted at around 1.88 million, after excluding Omani, Qatari and United Arab Emirates (UAE) nationals (who were able to visit the UK without a visa from 1 January 2014, following the introduction of the Electronic Visa Waiver scheme). Including these nationals, the number of visitor visas granted was broadly flat.
There were notable increases in visitor visa grants for Chinese (+58,908 to 367,569, excluding Hong Kong), and Indian (+46,312 to 356,580) nationals. By contrast there were large falls in visitor visa grants for Russian (-61,483 to 129,903) nationals.
There were 9.2 million non-EEA visitor admissions in 2014, a 5% increase (+0.5 million) compared with 2013.
Other points to note
Student visitors
There were 279,000 student visitor admissions in the calendar year 2014, an increase of 6% (+16,300) compared with 2013, and much higher than the numbers of student visitor visas granted (73,607 over the same period). This is due to many of the top 10 nationalities for student visitor admissions being non-visa nationalities (including the United States and Brazil). Such nationals do not need to obtain a visa if they wish to come to the UK as a student visitor for up to 6 months and so are included in the admissions data but not the visas data.
The number of student visitor visas granted fell by 18% (-13,894) to 64,181 in the year ending June 2015, after previously having doubled from 37,703 in 2009 to 77,601 in 2013.
Extensions
Grants of extensions fell by 27,365 (-11%), with 26,183 fewer study-related grants and 8,020 fewer work-related grants. The fall in work-related grants was largely accounted for by a 5,013 fall for Tier 1 General, this category having been closed to new entrants, and a 2,980 fall for Tier 1 Entrepreneurs where eligibility has been tightened. By contrast family-related grants increased by 3,419 with a 3,402 increase in grants for partners.
Removals
Enforced removals from the UK increased by 1% to 12,609 in the year ending June 2015 compared with the previous year (12,539).
The number of passengers refused entry at port and who subsequently departed has increased by 12% in the year ending June 2015, to 16,519 from 14,772 for the previous year. While the figure is lower than that in 2004 (36,167), the number refused entry at port and subsequently departing has been increasing slowly since 2012.