National statistics

Summary of latest statistics

Updated 14 November 2023

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1. How many people come to the UK each year (including visitors)?

There were an estimated 125 million passenger arrivals from outside the Common Travel Area (CTA) in the year ending June 2023 (including returning UK residents). This was almost twice (+79%) as many as in the year ending June 2022 (70 million), when UK and global travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic were still in place. The latest passenger arrivals number is over four-fifths (85%) of the total number of arrivals in 2019 (146 million), the period immediately before the COVID-19 outbreak.

There were 3,287,404 visas granted in the year ending June 2023, 58% higher than the year ending June 2022. This was primarily due to 889,821 (+96%) more grants of visitor visas, but also due to more grants for:

• work visas (including dependants), up 208,295 (+63%) to 538,887
• study visas (including dependants), up 165,968 (+34%) to 657,208, including sponsored and short-term students

There have been a total of 182,600 applications for the BN(O) route since its introduction on 31 January 2021 up to the end of June 2023.

There have been a total of 147,649 grants of out of country BN(O) visas since its introduction on 31 January 2021 to the end of June 2023, and 123,800 people have arrived in the UK on the scheme since it began. There were 8,647 grants of out of country BN(O) visas in the latest quarter, April to June 2023. 10,300 people arrived during this quarter.

There have been a total of 28,758 grants of in-country BN(O) visas since its introduction on 31 January 2021 up to the end of June 2023. There were 1,460 grants of in-country BN(O) visas in the latest quarter, April to June 2023.

For further details see ‘How many people come to the UK each year (including visitors)?’.

2. Statistics on Ukrainians in the UK

Since their introduction in March 2022, there have been 300,319 applications for a visa under the 2 main Ukraine Visa Schemes; of these 233,771 have been granted and 179,500 arrivals have been counted to the end of June 2023. In addition, there have been 26,591 extensions granted under the Ukraine Family Scheme and Ukraine Extension Scheme. For further details see ‘Statistics on Ukrainians in the UK’.

3. Why do people come to the UK?

3.1 Work

There were 321,101 grants to main applicants on work visas, 45% higher than in the year ending June 2022, largely due to increases in the ‘Skilled Worker’ visas.

‘Skilled Worker’ visa grants have increased by 34% (+17,610) in the past year to 69,421. ‘Skilled Worker – Health and Care’ visa grants have increased over two and a half times (+157% or +74,096) to 121,290 compared with the previous year

The latest increase is in part due to the expansion in late 2021 for ‘Care Workers and Home Carers’ and ‘Senior Care Workers’. In the year ending June 2023, ‘Care Workers and Home Carers’ comprised around 50% of visas granted under the ‘Health and Care’ visa category.

Indian nationals were the highest nationality granted on both these routes.

For further details see ʻWhy do people come to the UK? To work’.

3.2 Study

In the year ending June 2023, there were 498,626 sponsored study visas issued to main applicants, 23% more than in the year ending June 2022.

There were 142,848 grants to Indian nationals, an increase of 49,883 (+54%) compared to year ending June 2022. Chinese nationals were the second most common nationality granted sponsored study visas in the year ending June 2023, with 107,670 visas granted.

The vast majority of Certificate of Acceptance (CAS) used (91%) were for sponsored study at higher education (university) institutions, with the total divided between:

• higher education (91%)
• tertiary, further education and other colleges (4%)
• independent schools (3%)
• English language schools (2%)
• other (1%)

Almost a quarter (24%) of all sponsored study related visas granted were to dependants of students (154,063), compared to 17% (80,846) in the year ending June 2022.

For further details see ʻWhy do people come to the UK? To study’.

3.3 Sponsorship licensing for work and study

At the end of June 2023, there were around 69,500 organisations and institutions registered as licensed sponsors for work and study.

Home Office management information indicates that there were 9,153 decisions on applications for sponsor licences between April to June 2023, 40% more than in April to June 2022 (6,555). Of these, 7,060 licenses were granted and 2,093 applications were not granted (including both applications withdrawn and those rejected).

This data also shows that there were 32,893 decisions made in the year ending June 2023, compared to 20,869 in the year ending June 2022. Of the 32,893 decisions, 25,440 licences were granted (70% higher than the year before) and 7,453 were not granted (including both applications withdrawn and those rejected).

3.4 Family

There were 75,717 family-related visas granted in the year ending June 2023, more than double (110% more) the number in the year ending June 2022, primarily driven by an increase in family-related visas granted to partners; 80% of family-related visas granted in the year ending June 2023 were to partners, with the remainder being for children or other dependants.

28,986 EU Settlement Scheme permits were issued in the year ending June 2023 to family members of people from the EU, European Economic Area (EEA), and Switzerland, granted or eligible for settled or pre-settled status through the EUSS on the basis of residence in the UK before the end of the transition period. A total of 124,484 visas have been issued under this scheme since it opened in March 2019. This includes both EUSS family and travel permits.

For further details see ʻWhy do people come to the UK? For family reasons’.

4. How many people do we grant protection to?

The UK offered protection to 175,142 people in the year ending June 2023. 20,888 (12%) people were granted refugee status or other protection following an asylum application and 154,254 (88%) were offered a safe and legal (humanitarian) route to the UK.

4.1 Asylum

There were 78,768 asylum applications (main applicants only) in the UK in the year ending June 2023, 19% more than the number in the year ending June 2022. This is higher than at the time of the European migration crisis (36,546 in the UK in year ending June 2016) and is the highest number of applications for 2 decades.

In the year ending June 2023, there were 23,702 initial decisions made on asylum applications, 61% more than in the previous year. This suggests a return to pre-pandemic levels of decisions (20,766 decisions were made in 2019).

More than 7 in 10 (71%) of the initial decisions in the year ending June 2023 were grants (of refugee status, humanitarian protection or alternative forms of leave). Since 2021, the grant rate has been between over 70% - substantially higher than in pre-pandemic years when only around one-third of applications were successful at initial decision. Prior to this latest period, the highest grant rate was over 30 years ago: 82% in 1990.

4.2 Safe and legal (humanitarian) routes

533,449 people were offered a safe and legal (humanitarian) route from 2015 to June 2023. This includes:

• 260,362 Ukraine visa grants
• 176,407 BN(O) visa grants
• 50,169 people resettled or relocated
• 46,511 family reunion visa grants

There were 3,408 people resettled in the year ending June 2023, 83% fewer than in the year ending June 2022 when 20,438 people were resettled, most following evacuation from Afghanistan after the fall of Kabul in August 2021.

For further details see ʻHow many people do we grant protection to?’.

5. How many people continue their stay in the UK or apply to stay permanently?

5.1 Extension of temporary stay in the UK

There were 669,061 grants of extension in the UK (including both main applicants and dependants) in the year ending June 2023, 52% more than in the year ending June 2022. Over four-fifths of the increase in extensions in the latest year (81% of 229,934) were for work.

5.2 Settlement

There were 116,997 grants of settlement in the UK in the year ending June 2023, 3% lower than in the year ending June 2022.

5.3 EEA nationals and their family members

Documents issued under European law are no longer valid as evidence of a right of residence in the UK unless an application to the EU Settlement scheme (EUSS) was made on or before 30 June 2021. Applications received before 1 January 2021 are still being processed. More information is available on the relevant visas and immigration pages on GOV.UK.

Statistics of decisions on applications for residence documents relating to EEA citizens and qualifying non-EEA family members in the UK under EU law can be found for 2004 to March 2023 in tables EEA_01 and EEA_02 and for 2006 to June 2023 in the form of a detailed dataset. When the last applications for these documents are decided the data tables will no longer be updated but will still be available for reference.

The Home Office publishes regular updates to EU Settlement Scheme numbers. The latest data show that 7.4 million applications to the EU Settlement Scheme had been received up to 30 June 2023, of which 7.2 million had been concluded.

5.4 Citizenship

There were 210,465 applications for British citizenship in the year ending June 2023, 17% more than in the year ending June 2022.

There were 49,478 applications for citizenship by EU nationals, 4% more than in the year ending June 2022. There were 160,987 applications for citizenship made by non-EU nationals, 22% more than in the year ending June 2022.

There were 180,218 grants of British citizenship in the year ending June 2023, 7% fewer than in the year ending June 2022.

There were 41,349 grants of citizenship by EU nationals, 31% fewer than in the year ending June 2022. There were 138,869 grants of citizenship made by non-EU nationals, 5% more than in the year ending June 2022.

For further details see ʻHow many people continue their stay in the UK?’.

6. How many people are detained or returned?

6.1 Immigration detention

20,354 people entered immigration detention in the year ending June 2023, 16% fewer than in the year ending June 2022.

At the end of June 2023, there were 1,924 people held in immigration detention (including those detained under immigration powers in prison). This was 6% lower than at the end of June 2022.

20,563 people left detention in the year ending June 2023, which was 14% fewer than in the year ending June 2022. 38% had been detained for 7 days or less, compared with 66% in the year ending June 2022. 75% of those leaving detention in the year ending June 2023 were bailed. Bail was mostly granted due to an asylum (or other) application being raised.

6.2 Returns

In the year ending March 2023, there were 4,193 enforced returns, an increase of 29% on the year ending March 2022 (3,257). The majority (72%) of enforced returns in the year ending March 2023 were Foreign National Offenders (FNOs) and around half (46%) of enforced returns were EU nationals.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, returns of FNOs have been gradually increasing. There has been an increase in returns of non-EU FNOs, including Albanians, while FNO returns of EU nationals have remained low. Returns of FNOs in the year ending March 2023 (3,141) were fewer by 51% compared with the high of around 6,400 in 2016.

For further details see ʻHow many people are detained or returned?’.

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