National statistics

Summary of latest statistics

Updated 7 December 2023

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

There were an estimated 129 million passenger arrivals from outside the Common Travel Area (CTA) in the year ending September 2023 (including returning UK residents). This was 35% more than in the year ending September 2022 (96 million), this reflects an increase in global travel after restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic were removed in early 2022. The latest passenger arrivals number is over four-fifths (88%) of the total number of arrivals in 2019 (146 million), the period immediately before the COVID-19 outbreak.

There were 3,383,446 visas granted in the year ending September 2023, 30% higher than the year ending September 2022. This was primarily due to 660,565 (+53%) more grants of visitor visas, but also due to more grants for:

• work visas (including dependants), up 205,343 (+54%) to 585,774
• study visas (including dependants), up 48,315 (+8%) to 643,778, including sponsored and short-term students
• family visas, up 44,484 (+117%) to 82,395

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

2. Why do people come to the UK?

2.1 Work

There were 335,447 work visas granted to main applicants in the year ending September 2023, 35% higher than in the year ending September 2022, and two and half times more (+150%) than prior to the pandemic in the year ending September 2019.

While ‘Skilled Worker’ visas have only seen a modest rise in the past year (+9%), ‘Skilled Worker – Health and Care’ visa grants have more than doubled (+135%) to 143,990.

The latest increase in ‘Skilled Worker – Health and Care’ visas follows its expansion in late 2021 for ‘Care workers and home carers’ and ‘Senior care workers’ to boost the adult social care workforce.

In the latest year, ‘Care workers and home carers’ accounted for over half (58%) of ‘Skilled Worker – Health and Care’ visas granted.

There were 250,297 grants to dependants of people who had been granted a work visa. The proportion of all work-related visas granted to dependants was 43%, compared to 35% in the preceding year.

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

2.2 Study

For the year ending September 2023, there were 486,107 sponsored study visas granted to main applicants, similar to the year ending September 2022 (+2%) but almost double (+86%) the year ending September 2019.

There were 133,237 grants to Indian nationals, nearly 5 times higher than in the year-ending September 2019. Chinese nationals were the second most common nationality granted sponsored study visas in the year ending September 2023, with 108,978 visas granted.

The vast majority of Certificates 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%)

In the year ending September 2023, almost a quarter (24%) of all sponsored study related visas granted were to dependants of students (152,980), compared to 5% (14,839) in the year ending September 2019.

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

2.3 Sponsorship licensing for work and study

At the end of September 2023, there were around 77,400 organisations and institutions registered as licensed sponsors for work and study.

Home Office management information indicates that there were 10,891 decisions on applications for sponsor licences between July to September 2023, 56% more than in July to September 2022 (6,965). Of these, 8,525 licenses were granted, and 2,366 applications were not granted (including both applications withdrawn and those rejected).

This data also shows that there were 36,819 decisions made in the year ending September 2023, compared to 23,678 in the year ending September 2022. Of the 36,819 decisions, 28,557 licences were granted (64% higher than the year before), and 8,262 were not granted (including both applications withdrawn and those rejected).

2.4 Family

There were 82,395 family-related visas granted in the year ending September 2023, more than double (117% more) the number in the year ending September 2022, primarily driven by an increase in family-related visas granted to partners; 79% of family-related visas granted in the year ending September 2023 were to partners, with the remainder being for children or other dependants.

22,675 EU Settlement Scheme permits were issued in the year ending September 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 127,055 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’.

3. Safe and legal (humanitarian) routes

112,431 people were offered a safe and legal (humanitarian) route in the year ending September 2023. This includes:

• 64,264 Ukraine Visa and Extension Schemes grants
• 40,243 BN(O) visa grants
• 6,114 family reunion visa grants
• 1,810 people resettled or relocated (including 1,110 under Afghan schemes)

There were 1,810 people resettled in the year ending September 2023, 73% fewer than in the year ending September 2022 when 6,733 people were resettled, most following evacuation from Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover in August 2021.

For further details see ‘Safe and legal (humanitarian) routes to the UK’.

3.1 Ukraine Visa and Extension Schemes

Since their introduction in March 2022, there have been 315,086 applications for a visa under the 2 main Ukraine Visa Schemes. Of these, 242,314 have been granted, and 188,900 arrivals have been counted to the end of September 2023. In addition, there have been 29,075 extensions granted under the Ukraine Family Scheme and Ukraine Extension Scheme. For further details see ‘Safe and legal (humanitarian) routes to the UK’.

3.2 British Nationals Overseas (BN(O)) route

There have been a total of 191,000 applications for the BN(O) route since its introduction on 31 January 2021 up to the end of September 2023.

There have been a total of 154,078 grants of out of country BN(O) visas since its introduction on 31 January 2021 to the end of September 2023, and 135,400 people have arrived in the UK on the scheme since it began. There were 6,429 grants of out of country BN(O) visas in the latest quarter, July to September 2023, and 1,864 grants within the UK. 11,500 people arrived during this quarter.

There have been a total of 30,622 grants of in-country BN(O) visas since its introduction on 31 January 2021 up to the end of September 2023. There were 1,864 grants of in-country BN(O) visas in the latest quarter, July to September 2023. For further details see ‘Safe and legal (humanitarian) routes to the UK’.

4. How many people do we grant protection to?

There were 75,340 asylum applications (main applicants only) in the UK in the year ending September 2023, similar to the number in the year ending September 2022 but 10% lower than the previous peak (84,132 in 2002).

In the year ending September 2023, there were 41,858 initial decisions made on asylum applications, over two and a half times more than in the previous year. This is higher than the pre-pandemic levels of decisions (20,766 decisions were made in 2019) and the most initial decisions since 2004 (46,021 decisions).

Three-quarters (75%) of the initial decisions in the year ending September 2023 were grants of refugee status, humanitarian protection or alternative forms of leave. Since 2021, the grant rate has been 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.

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 689,844 grants of extension in the UK (including both main applicants and dependants) in the year ending September 2023, 48% more than in the year ending September 2022. The biggest increase in extensions grants in the latest year were for work (up 85% to 468,168 grants).

5.2 Settlement

There were 112,444 grants of settlement in the UK in the year ending September 2023, 12% fewer than in the year ending September 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 September 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 7.6 million applications to the EU Settlement Scheme had been received up to 30 September 2023, of which 7.4 million had been concluded.

5.4 Citizenship

There were 225,458 applications for British citizenship in the year ending September 2023, 23% more than in the year ending September 2022.

There were 52,104 applications for citizenship by EU nationals, 12% more than in the year ending September 2022. There were 173,354 applications for citizenship made by non-EU nationals, 27% more than in the year ending September 2022.

There were 181,879 grants of British citizenship in the year ending September 2023, 2% fewer than in the year ending September 2022.

There were 42,273 grants of citizenship to EU nationals, 20% fewer than in the year ending September 2022. There were 139,606 grants of citizenship made to non-EU nationals, 5% more than in the year ending September 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

16,363 people entered immigration detention in the year ending September 2023, this was 31% fewer than in the year ending September 2022.

As at 30 September 2023, there were 1,841 people held in immigration detention (including those detained under immigration powers in prison). This was 11% lower than as at 30 September 2022.

16,674 people left detention in the year ending September 2023, which was 28% fewer than in the year ending September 2022. 23% of departures had been detained for 7 days or less, compared with 58% in the previous year. 68% of departures in the year ending September 2023 were bailed compared with 81% in the previous year.

6.2 Returns

In the year ending September 2023, there were 5,506 enforced returns, an increase of 54% on the year ending September 2022 (3,569). Albanian returns comprise over half (52%) of this increase. Foreign national offenders continue to make up the majority of enforced returns (62%).

In the year ending September 2023, there were 17,301 voluntary returns, an increase of 74% compared with the year ending September 2022 (9,921). Two-thirds (64%) of voluntary returns are other verified returns and were primarily Albanian, Indian and Chinese nationals.

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

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