Guidance

Migrant journey: user guide

Updated 21 May 2026

1. Introduction

This user guide to the Home Office’s ‘Migrant journey’ reports (formerly known as ‘Statistics on changes in migrants’ visa and leave status’) is designed to be a useful reference guide with explanatory notes on the issues and classifications which are key to the production and presentation of this release. The release explores changes in migrants’ visa and leave status as they journey through the UK’s immigration system.

Purpose

The ‘Migrant journey’ data uses administrative data from UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) to analyse how migrants interact with and progress through the UK immigration system over time. The purpose of the report and accompanying data is:

• improve understanding of migrant behaviour, examining patterns such as route switching, extensions of stay, progression to settlement and citizenship, and expiry of leave
• to improve Home Office understanding of migrant behaviour inform users (including government, Parliament, the media and the wider public)
• to improve understanding of migrant behaviour, support the development and monitoring of immigration policy, and inform government, Parliament, researchers, the media and the wider public about longer-term migration outcomes

As the figures are based on operational data, they can be influenced by changes in immigration policy, global events, economic conditions, and Home Office operational processes and resourcing.

The UK’s immigration system is founded on the Immigration Act 1971, which came into force on 1 January 1973, and has subsequently evolved through later legislation and policy reforms. Further information on the work of the Home Office can be found in its annual report and in publications referred to in the Other sources of information on immigration and migration section of this user guide.

2. Statistics covered

Routes included in the report

The findings presented in this release are based on administrative data for migrants granted leave to enter, or remain in, the UK in the following routes:

• Family
• Work (including dependants)
• Study (including dependants)
• Dependants joining or accompanying
• Asylum
• Safe and Legal

Both main applicants and dependants are included within the report. References to High Value Worker, Skilled Worker, Temporary Worker, and Sponsored Study visas include Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 5, and Tier 4 routes respectively, as well as their pre-points-based system (PBS) equivalents.

It is not possible to tell from the data whether individuals are currently in the UK.

Definition of a migrant journey

The report focuses on migrant journeys, where a journey is defined as a series of grants of leave or extensions of stay with no more than 12 months between the end of one leave period and the start of the next. This definition is consistent with the UN definition of migration.

Where an individual is granted new leave more than 12 months after their previous leave expired, a new journey begins.

Cohort definitions

Cohort based on initial leave grants

Where the report refers to cohorts of migrants initially issued leave, only journeys where the first recorded grant of leave was an out-of-country visa or a grant of asylum are included. In all cases, the ‘initial leave category’ relates to the first recorded instance of leave.

This definition applies to summary tables MJ_01 to MJ_04, MJ_08, and detailed dataset MJ_D01.

Cohorts based on settlement grants

Where the report refers to cohorts of people granted settlement, all journeys are included regardless of whether the initial grant was made in-country or out-of-country.

This definition applies to tables MJ_05 and MJ_06, and dataset MJ_D02.

Comparability with Immigration system statistics

The methodology and administrative data sources used to derive figures presented in the Migrant journey report differ from those used in the quarterly Immigration system statistics release. As a result, figures are not expected to match exactly.

Further details on methodology are provided in Section 4.

Changes to the reporting timeframe

Historically, the Migrant journey report has covered a 20-year timeframe. In this year’s report, the timeframe has been reduced to 18 years to allow for greater granularity within the Work and Family datasets. This represents the maximum dataset size the reporting platform can accommodate.

The accompanying narrative typically focuses on trends over the most recent 10 to 15 years. Therefore, no analytical insights included within the narrative have been excluded because of this change.

2.1 Where are the latest published statistics?

The Migrant journey report is published annually by the Home Office. Under the current release schedule, the report is published in May each year. Each Migrant journey publication and accompanying Migrant journey datasets can be found on the Migrant journey landing page.

The dates of future editions of Migrant journey are pre-announced and can be found on the statistics release calendar.

A full list of previous reports in the series can be found in the Migrant journey collection.

Feedback and Enquires

We welcome feedback on the ‘Migrant journey’, which can be provided by email or in writing:

Email: MigrationStatsEnquiries@homeoffice.gov.uk

For press enquiries please call: 0300 123 3535

3. Conventions

3.1 Rounding

Data is provided unrounded. This is to promote transparency and allow users to exploit the data further.

However, caution should be taken when comparing small differences between time periods. While care is taken in collecting and collating all the information obtained, the figures are subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large recording system and are not necessarily accurate to the last digit. There are a range of different types of errors possible, such as those resulting from recording errors or misclassifications.

Percentages are rounded to the nearest per cent using the round-half-away-from-zero method.

The round-half-away-from-zero method has been used so that in the borderline case where the fraction of the percentage is exactly 0.5, the rounded figure is equal to y + 0.5 if y is positive, and y - 0.5 if y is negative. For example, 23.5% is rounded to 24%, and -23.5% is rounded to -24%.

Where percentages are rounded, they may not total 100% because they have been rounded independently.

Use of symbols

The following symbols have been used in the tables:

z - Not applicable

: - Not available

0 – Nil

3.2 Revisions to data

The data contained in the report is revised every year. It is not possible to evaluate whether any future revisions will be upward or downward, however the reasons for revisions are likely to include:

• late reporting of cases – a small proportion of cases are not included when the statistics are produced
• the results of data-cleansing exercises, such as data identified that cannot be included when the statistics are calculated because of missing or invalid values, or the identification of duplicates in the data
• new data added to the Initial Status Analysis (ISA) database (for example from new grants of leave) can provide new information which allows linking of records which were previously unlinked. For more information on ISA, see ‘section 4 - Methodology’

3.3 Recent policy changes affecting the statistics

Policy changes are one of a range of factors that can influence visa application trends and wider migration patterns observed within the Migrant journey report.

For a comprehensive list of policy and legislative changes affecting migration to the UK please refer to the Policy timeline published alongside the Immigration system statistics quarterly release and details on policy changes effecting entry clearance visas is provided within the monthly entry clearance visa applications publication.

The changes outlined below provide a snapshot of some of the recent policy developments that may have affected the latest data presented within the Migrant journey report.

Work

On 12 May 2025, the Home Office announced further changes to immigration rules in the Restoring control over the immigration system: white paper. The policy changes affecting Work visas came into effect on 22 July 2025. Though not an exhaustive list, this includes changes to:

• Skilled Worker: to qualify for a Skilled Worker visa, the job must now be at RQF level 6 or above, with exceptions for jobs which are on the Immigration Salary List or Temporary Shortage List; workers on the Temporary Shortage List are not permitted to sponsor dependants; and an increase in the salary threshold to £41,700
• Health and Care Worker: no new international applicants will be allowed to apply for care jobs in the UK under the current visa route; however, some people in care worker and senior care worker roles can continue to apply to switch visas in-country until July 2028

Family

• the UK government implemented a suspension of new applications to Appendix Family Reunion under the Statement of changes to the Immigration Rules: HC 1298, 4 September 2025, effective from 4 September 2025; existing applications and outstanding appeal cases submitted before the suspension continue to progress; that decision is part of a broader review of family migration policy to ensure fairness and manageability; families can continue to apply but through other routes, such as the Appendix FM, Appendix Child Relative, and Adult Dependent Relative routes
• the Minimum Income Requirement (MIR) for partner visas increased to £29,000 from April 2024; the MIR is the minimum level of income a UK-based sponsor, or jointly the sponsor and applicant in eligible circumstances, must meet for a partner visa application under Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules; the requirement is intended to demonstrate that applicants can be financially supported without recourse to public funds

Study

• restrictions were introduced from January 2024, which limited the ability of students to bring dependants to those studying research‑based postgraduate courses only

Asylum

• a temporary pause on decisions on Syrian asylum claims was introduced from December 11, 2024, to July 14 2025 and closure of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme on 1 July 2025

3.4 Strengths, limitations and data quality

Below are some general strengths and limitations of the ‘Migrant journey’.

Strengths of the data provided:

• the report is based on detailed administrative data sources, enabling robust analysis of migrant behaviour and counts by detailed nationality and immigration route
• the longitudinal nature of the data makes it possible to analyse how individuals move through the UK immigration system over time, including route switching, extensions, settlement, and citizenship outcomes
• the data can help demonstrate how policy and operational changes to the UK immigration system affect migrant outcomes and behaviours

Limitations of the data provided:

• the data does not measure overall levels of immigration, emigration, or net migration
• the report generally relates to individuals subject to immigration control and therefore does not provide a complete picture of all migration to the UK
• the data does not directly capture whether individuals have left the UK (emigration)
• it is not possible to determine from the data whether an individual is currently residing in the UK

3.5 Official Statistics and National Statistics

Official Statistics are data which is collected for the purpose of supporting government business and is drawn from the Home Office’s administrative systems. It has not necessarily been subject to the same detailed verification processes as that which is badged as National Statistics (NS). The data contained in the report is Official Statistics.

4. Methodology

The report includes 2 types of analyses, from the 2 detailed data tables and corresponding summary tables:

• migrants granted initial leave and examining their leave status at the end of the most recent year (table MJ_D01), by age and sex in the last 5 and 10 years (tables MJ_01 to MJ_04)
• migrants granted settlement and which leave they initially came to the UK with (table MJ_D02), by age and sex in the most recent year (tables MJ_05 and MJ_06)

In releases prior to the 2019 report, these were known as the ‘forward’ and ‘backward’ analyses. This release does not use this terminology, but the analysis remains the same.

In addition to the above tables MJ_07 includes people with valid leave to remain at the end of the year, by age and sex, and MJ_08, the proportion of journey with a confirmed arrival by year and initial leave.

Examining the leave status of migrants granted initial leave at the end of the most recent year

This analysis examines cohorts of migrants granted initial leave and their immigration status at the end of the most recent year. It identifies whether individuals held valid permission to remain in the UK and whether they had changed their category of leave over the course of their journey through the immigration system.

It should be noted that holding valid leave does not confirm that a migrant was still present in the UK at that point, as individuals may have departed prior to their leave expiring.

Where a migrant’s leave had expired, there are 4 possible outcomes:

• the migrant has left the UK
• the migrant remains in the UK (as an overstayer)
• the migrant has applied for further leave to remain (LTR) that had not yet been decided at the point of analysis, although the number of such cases is expected to be small for the period covered
• the migrant never travelled to the UK and the visa was not used

Migrants granted settlement in the most recent year, and which leave categories they initially came to the UK on

This analysis examines cohorts of migrants granted settlement in the most recent year, tracing records back through the immigration system to identify individuals’ initial entry clearance route and year of entry to the UK.

The data provides information on migrant journeys from the point individuals were first granted permission to enter the UK through to either settlement or their exit from the immigration system.

The published data tables also include information on migrants granted settlement in each year from 2010 to 2025.

The underlying data used to calculate the number of migrants granted settlement is derived from a different administrative source to the settlement figures published within the quarterly Immigration system statistics release. As a result, figures are not identical. This difference is thought to relate primarily to a small number of immediate settlement cases being derived from visa data rather than admissions data, with admissions-based figures generally being lower.

4.1 Data source

The statistics were extracted from the ISA system, which was developed by the Exit Checks programme. The ISA system is a database that combines data from multiple Home Office systems and links these datasets to produce individuals’ travel histories together with their immigration status.

For the Migrant journey report, an extract is taken from the ISA comprising data from the following systems:

Case Information Database (CID) - data on extensions of stay within the UK.

CID was introduced in 2000 as the Asylum Case Information Database (ACID). It was then expanded in 2002 to cover non-asylum extensions of stay, settlement and British citizenship casework. Finally, systems dealing with port and enforcement casework were added in 2003. No records of migrants issued an extension of stay in the UK before 2000 were transferred to the CID. This means that the database did not contain complete case histories until 2004. As of April 2025, CID has been decommissioned and has been replaced by Atlas.

Central Reference System (CRS) – data on grants of entry clearance (visas issued). CRS was introduced in 2002 and is used to collect details of entry clearance applications in diplomatic missions abroad.

Atlas – data on grants of entry clearance (visas issued) and extensions of stay within in the UK. Atlas was introduced in 2018 to replace existing caseworking systems for both overseas and in-country applications, fully replacing CID from April 2025. Data from Atlas has been included in the Migrant journey report from the 2021 edition, following its ingestion into ISA system.

4.2 Data matching

For the purposes of the report, each migrant’s journey through the immigration system was tracked from the original leave category granted to them, through all the grants of entry clearance visas or extensions of stay and settlement records on the Home Office databases. The data collected for each migrant consisted of the type of leave granted (‘route’), the issue date and the expiry date. These details were put in chronological order using the issue date, with the type of leave granted (usually a visa) denoting the initial route of entry. This chronological ordering showed when and how each individual entered the immigration system, and the date of expiry of their last recorded extension or change of leave.

There are several visas which act as a ‘catch-all’ for dependants – these are included within ‘Dependants joining/accompanying’ visa endorsements. In previous reports these endorsements were mapped according to the immigration route of the next leave granted in the journey. Where there was no grant of further leave in the journey, a default mapping of ‘Family’ was applied. To improve the alignment of the analysis with other immigration publications, this was changed for the ‘Fifth Migrant journey’ report, so that endorsements are now shown as a separate category ‘Dependant joining or accompanying’ rather than mapped according to the immigration route of the next grant of leave in the journey. If the elapsed time between consecutive visas is longer than 12 months, the journey is separated into 2 separate journeys.

Dependants joining or accompanying are dependants who have been issued a visa based on their relationship with another migrant, who is not a settled person or British citizen and may have been issued a visa for any reason (for example, work, study, family). Dependants are allocated an entry clearance category according to the circumstances of their application. Within the PBS, a child or partner will be recorded as a dependant under the tier of the main applicant, unless he/she has applied for and been granted a PBS visa, when they will be included as a main applicant. Outside of the PBS, many visas for dependants are specific to the visa for the main applicant. However, there are a number of visas which act as a catch-all for dependants who have been issued a visa on the basis of their relationship with another migrant, who is not a settled person or British citizen – these are included within ‘Dependants joining/accompanying’ and may have been issued a visa for any reason (for example, work, study, family).

Incorporating information from the Immigration system statistics quarterly release

For some grants of leave, the data held within the ISA system do not provide sufficient detail on the leave type granted to allow accurate categorisation of an individual’s route within their migrant journey. This particularly affects the following groups:

• Dependants joining or accompanying – this group historically contained only those on a dedicated visa of the same name, however with the introduction of Atlas case management system, some dependant visas recorded in the ISA source data did not hold the leave type for main applicant and as such these could not be distinguished and were also all grouped into the same category
• ‘Skilled Workers’ and ‘Health and Care Workers’ – in some instances, ISA data for these routes are not distinguishable from each other and as such could not be disaggregated

To improve route classification for these cases, additional leave type information derived through processing for the quarterly Immigration system statistics release has been incorporated into the Migrant journey analysis.

As part of the 2025 Migrant journey report, some grants of leave previously categorised as ‘Dependants joining or accompanying’ have now been reassigned to more specific routes of leave. Most of these cases have been reclassified to Work or Study routes. However, for some dependant cases it still not possible to identify the route held by the main applicant and these continue to be included within the ‘Dependants joining or accompanying’ category.

In previous editions of the report, Skilled Worker and Health and Care Worker grants were both included within the broader ‘Skilled Work’ leave category. As a result, no visible discontinuity in the published series is expected from this change.

4.3 Change in methodology (including in previous editions)

This report carries over the methodological changes that were introduced as part of the ‘Statistics on changes in migrants’ visa and leave status: 2015’ report.

The methodology was enhanced in the ‘Statistics on changes in migrants’ visa and leave status: 2015’ report. These reflected changes in the matching procedures adopted in linking together immigration histories. However, the numbers and messages in the data were broadly consistent with previous Migrant journey analyses (up to and including the sixth report), with family and skilled work visas most likely to lead to settlement after 5 years, and study and temporary work routes less likely.

Previously matching was based on the internal links generated within the in-country casework system that is used to process application for leave from migrants already in the UK. Visa applications were matched to the in-country casework system. The linkage system was enhanced to also link together visas for a migrant, whether they have made an application for further leave while resident. Additionally, biometric information collected from 2008 onwards is used to link visas and in-country leave, which further enhances the accuracy of the data matching.

An effect of the enhanced linking is that whenever a migrant applies for a visit visa and subsequently applies for a non-visit visa (for example, to study) a link is made. Following the old methodology, this would mark a ‘journey’ as commencing with a visit visa (which could be a short holiday or preparatory visit) and not with the non-visit visa that granted residence. Given that visit visas do not confer residency rights (and their period of validity do not generally reflect periods of stay in the UK), visit visas were removed from the analysis, to provide a better indication of the original purpose for entering the UK that might subsequently lead to residence.

The effect of the change in methodology is also to link more periods of leave into ‘journeys’, particularly including linking periods of leave where a migrant has repeatedly applied for visas out of country rather than having requested any extensions of visas in country. This had a particular effect of boosting the percentages with valid leave after 5 years for those who originally arrived on work visas, which is not too surprising as one might expect a pattern of some visas being issued out of country for a specific spell of employment without subsequent extensions of leave in country being granted.

The new methodology generally indicates the same patterns but provides a better indication of the migrant status over time as it is based on better systems of data matching.

Although the new process was changed to exclude visitor arrivals, results from earlier sweeps of this study indicate that the percentage of those arriving on visit visas that were found to have valid leave 5 years later was very low.

In line with the change in method that excluded visit visas, the intention was to also exclude unsponsored Short-term study visas, this being a category that cannot be extended in-country and has similar characteristics to a visit visa (they normally have validity up to 6 months, though in some cases 11 months). In generating figures for the ‘Statistics on changes in migrants’ visa and leave status: 2016’ report it was discovered that inadvertently, in some years, a small number of grants Short-term study visas had been included in the published analysis. This did not have any significant impact on results, and these have since been excluded from later reports.

Change in methodology for categorising work leave

Reports in this series, prior to the ‘Statistics on changes in migrants’ visa and leave status: 2016’ report, have classified work categories as ‘Skilled work (with a potential path to settlement)’ or ‘Work (not leading to settlement)’.

Until April 2010, most High value and Skilled workers were eligible for settlement after 5 years in the UK. Persons entering under the UK Ancestry or Domestic Workers routes were also able to apply for settlement after 5 years working in the UK.

Changes to the Immigration Rules starting from April 2010 have removed the settlement rights for some Tier 2 migrants, domestic workers, and private servants in diplomatic households who come under the Tier 5 Temporary worker – international agreement category. Similarly, prior to the introduction of the PBS with shorter visas, many high-skilled workers obtained 5-year visas and therefore had a direct route to settlement without the need to obtain in-country extensions.

In light of these changes, which significantly altered the nature of migrants ‘with a potential path to settlement’, and for greater consistency with quarterly Immigration system statistics, the classifications used in this report (and the previous one, ‘Statistics on changes in migrants’ visa and leave status: 2015’) for those granted Work visas now provide a closer alignment to the more clearly defined Work categories used in the published Immigration system statistics series.

However, it should also be recognised that Tiers did change over time. For example, various Tier 1 routes were closed and replaced by non-PBS work categories.

5. Glossary of terms

This glossary sets out terms used in the ‘Migrant journey’ release. It is intended to give an overview of the terms, rather than a full technical description.

If there are terms in the release that you would like to be explained in this glossary, please contact: MigrationStatsEnquiries@homeoffice.gov.uk.

Acronyms

CID - Case Information Database

LTR - leave to remain

CRS - Central Reference System

NS - National Statistics

HSMP - Highly Skilled Migrant Programme

ONS - Office for National Statistics

ILR - indefinite leave to remain

PBS - points-based system

ISA - Initial Status Analysis

UKVI - UK Visas and Immigration

Terms

Within an explanation of a term, words in bold are explained elsewhere in the glossary.

An asylum claimant is a person who either: (a) makes a request to be recognised as a refugee under the Geneva Convention on the basis that it would be contrary to the UK’s obligations under the Geneva Convention for him to be removed from or required to leave the UK; or (b) otherwise makes a request for international protection.

European Economic Area (EEA) family permit: A family permit is issued overseas to direct and extended family members of an EEA national who is in, or intends to come to, the UK to exercise free movement rights. Under the Immigration (EEA) Regulations 2006, Swiss nationals are included in the definition of EEA nationals. Family members of Swiss nationals have the same free movement rights as family members of EEA nationals.

Entry clearance may take the form of a visa (for visa nationals), an entry certificate (for non-visa nationals), or a family permit issued to family members of EEA nationals. These documents provide evidence of an individual’s eligibility to travel to the UK and are recognised as ‘entry clearances’ within the meaning of the Immigration Act 1971. Within the Immigration system statistics publication, the term ‘visa’ may sometimes be used generically to refer to entry clearance documents, although it does not include entry certificates unless otherwise stated.

An entry clearance visa is a document permitting the bearer to travel to the UK and leave to enter from the date of issue. It is activated upon passing through UK immigration control. There are 3 categories of visas: temporary, leading to settlement and settlement. Visas are required by nationals or citizens of the countries and territorial entities listed in Appendix 1 of the Immigration Rules known as ‘visa nationals’. Nationals of countries not on this list are known as ‘non-visa nationals’. A non-visa national does not need a visa to come to the UK for less than 6 months, unless it is a requirement of the immigration category under which they are entering. A non-visa national coming to the UK for more than 6 months will need a visa.

The EEA consists of the 27 countries of the European Union, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. Nationals of the EEA and Switzerland have rights of free movement within the UK until the end of the Transition period on 31 December 2020.

The European Union (EU) consists of 27 countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden. Croatia joined the EU on 1 July 2013.

Extension of stay, see leave to remain below. This is distinct from visa, which relates to entry clearance obtained prior to travel.

Family route is for individuals seeking to enter or remain in the UK on the basis of their family life with a person who is a British citizen, settled in the UK, or present in the UK with limited leave as a refugee or person granted humanitarian protection, where the applicant is not eligible to apply as their family member under Part 11 of the Immigration Rules.

Family life (10-year) route: Partners and parents who apply in the UK and are granted leave to remain on a 10-year route to settlement based on their family life where the relevant provisions in Appendix FM to the Immigration Rules (including EX.1) apply.

Indefinite leave to remain is a grant of settlement (after entry) to a non-EEA national.

Leave to remain is permission to stay in the UK either temporarily (limited leave to remain) or permanently (indefinite leave to remain). In this release, an extension of leave to remain is known as ‘extension of stay’ and indefinite leave to remain is known as ‘settlement’.

The points-based system (PBS) was the main route for non-EEA nationals until late 2020 working and studying in the UK. It consisted of 5 ‘tiers’. See the definitions for the individual tiers, Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3, Tier 4 and Tier 5 for further information.

Private life: grant of leave to remain in the UK because the person has established a private life in the UK. In order to be eligible to apply for leave to remain based on private life in the UK, the applicant must have resided continuously in the UK for at least 20 years or be able to demonstrate that there are very significant obstacles to their integration in the country to which they would return. For young people aged between 18 and 24 the applicant must have resided continuously in the UK for at least half of their life, and for children aged under 18, the applicant must have resided continuously in the UK for at least 7 years and show that it would not be reasonable to expect them to leave the UK. Applicants can only apply for this route from within the UK.

Refugee is defined, by the 1951 United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and 1967 Protocol (the ‘Refugee Convention’), as being a person who, owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of their nationality or habitual residence, where stateless and who is unable or, owing to such a fear, is unwilling to avail themselves of the protection of that country. Recognition of refugee status by the UK is a pre-requisite to a grant of asylum in the country.

Refugee Permission (previously known as ‘asylum’) is granted to asylum claimants, under paragraph 334, Part 11 of the Immigration Rules, to recognise that they have a well-founded fear of persecution in their country of origin or country of former habitual residence for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group. In addition to refugee status, refugee permission to stay is granted where the asylum claimant meets the requirements of Section 12(2) and (3) of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 (‘2022 Act’).

Humanitarian Protection Granted to a person who does not require protection for reasons covered by the Refugee Convention but who would, if removed, face a real risk to life or person in the country of origin or country of former habitual residence. These risks include a threat to life (for example from the death penalty, unlawful killing), torture, inhuman or degrading treatment, or serious threat by reason of indiscriminate violence in situations of international or internal armed conflict. 

Settlement is a grant of indefinite leave to enter (on arrival) or indefinite leave to remain (after entry) to a non-EEA national.

Students are non-EEA nationals travelling to the UK primarily or solely for the purpose of study.

The short-term study category replaced the student visitor category on 24 April 2015 and provides for those people who wish to come to the UK in order to undertake a short course of study, or short period of research as part of a degree course, which will be completed within the period of their leave (maximum 6 months unless applying under the concession for English language courses – 11 months). Short-term students cannot work, including undertaking a paid or unpaid work placement as part of their course. They are distinct from students arriving on Sponsored study visas, though some such visas may be a short duration.

Tier 1 of the PBS: For high-value individuals who will contribute to growth and productivity. This tier is now captured in the ‘High value’ work category.

Tier 2 of the PBS: For skilled workers from outside the EEA with a skilled job offer to fill gaps in the UK labour force. This tier is now captured in the ‘Skilled worker’ category.

Tier 3 of the PBS: For limited numbers of low-skilled workers needed to fill specific temporary labour shortages (this was never implemented).

Tier 4 of the PBS: Students. This tier is now captured in the ‘Sponsored study’ category.

Tier 5 of the PBS: Youth mobility and temporary workers: people allowed to work in the UK for a limited period of time to satisfy primarily non-economic objectives. This tier is now captured in the ‘Temporary worker’ category.

Visa: see Entry clearance.

A visa national; a national of a country listed as requiring a visa for any type of entry to the UK; a stateless person; a holder of a non-national travel document unless issued by the UK; or a holder of a passport issued by an authority that is not recognised in the UK. Visa nationals must obtain entry clearance before travelling to the UK, except in certain circumstances, unless they are returning residents or those with permission to stay who are returning after a temporary absence.

6. Other sources of information on immigration and migration

Research reports on immigration control are published by Home Office Science as reports and occasional papers.

Immigration system statistics quarterly releases, including data tables and commentary.

Future publication dates for migration statistics are pre-announced on the GOV.UK release calendar.

Information on how the Home Office complies with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

7. List of tables

This section provides a list of the tables published in the ‘Migrant journey’.

Detailed data tables:

• Table MJ_D01: End-of-year category and immigration status of all applicants issued leave by year of initial grant, category of initial leave and country of nationality
• Table MJ_D02: Migrants granted settlement by year of settlement grant, initial leave category and country of nationality

Summary age and sex tables:

• Table MJ_01: Immigration status of those issued initial leave in 2015 at the end of 2025, by initial leave type and age at initial grant
• Table MJ_02: Immigration status of those issued initial leave in 2015 at the end of 2025, by initial leave type and sex
• Table MJ_03: Immigration status of those issued initial leave in 2020 at the end of 2025, by initial leave type and age at initial grant
• Table MJ_04: Immigration status of those issued initial leave in 2020 at the end of 2025, by initial leave type and sex
• Table MJ_05: Grants of settlement in 2025 by year of initial leave, initial leave type and age at time of settlement
• Table MJ_06: Grants of settlement in 2025 by year of initial leave, initial leave type and sex
• Table MJ_07: People with valid leave to remain (excluding ILR) at the end of 2025, for those issued leave from 2008 onwards, by leave type, age, and sex
• Table MJ_08: Proportion of journeys with a confirmed arrival, by year of initial leave and initial leave type