Official Statistics

Migrant journey: 2024 report

Published 22 May 2025

1. Introduction

This release explores how migrants’ leave status changes as they journey through the UK’s immigration system.

The report examines the number of migrants granted leave in the UK each year, and their status at the end of each subsequent year until their journey ends. An individual’s status may be one of 3 broad categories:

Valid leave to remain - these individuals have valid leave to remain in the UK for a limited period. This may be in the category they started their journey in, or in a new category.

Indefinite leave to remain  - these individuals have been granted permission to remain in the UK indefinitely (for example being granted settlement or citizenship).

Expired  - these individuals’ leave has expired. They are required to leave the UK before their leave expiry date.

This report also includes analysis on the proportion of visas for which the individual is known to have arrived in the UK. Not all arrivals are recorded on the system (for example people travelling via the Common Travel Area between the UK and Ireland may not be included in the data). Data relating to what people do when their leave expires is not included in this release, and work is ongoing to resolve data issues which currently prevent this. See section ‘about the data’ for more details.

Our intention is to provide a measure of individuals who have an in-time departure from the UK (as previously published in ‘Statistics relating to exit checks’). Due to ongoing data issues, analysis has not been included on departures as part of this report, but the aim is to re-publish data in the future once improvements have been implemented. Additional details can be found in the ‘update on statistics relating to exit checks’ section.

What is a migrant journey?

A migrant journey is defined within this dataset when an individual, who did not hold leave in the previous 12 months, is either granted leave to enter the UK or applies for Asylum in the UK.

Leave to enter the UK may be granted through an entry clearance visa or resettlement. Only Asylum applications where protection has been granted are included. An individual may remain in the UK for the period in which the leave allows. They may extend their ‘journey’ beyond that leave date either in their existing leave category (for example, Work or Study) or in a new category, by applying for further leave.

A journey in this dataset ends when an individual’s leave expires, and they have no subsequent period of leave in the next 12 months. If an individual is granted leave within 12 months of their previous period of leave expiring, they continue in their existing journey.

If an individual is granted new leave more than 12 months after their previous leave expired, a ‘new journey’ begins. In this dataset, the number of ‘new journeys’ reported in a year will be fewer than the number of visas granted, because if a visa is granted within 12 months of previous leave expiring it will not be counted as a ‘new journey’.

Different time periods have been applied where appropriate to reflect the nature of each route and ensure meaningful analysis. Unless otherwise stated, the statistics presented include both main applicants and dependants.

Figure 1: Flow chart showing a migrant journey

2. Overall trends

Which routes do people most commonly arrive on?

In 2024, a total of 845,702 journeys to the UK were initiated by non-UK citizens, excluding those coming to the UK as a visitor, which represents a 35% decrease compared with the previous year. This marks a notable decline following 2 consecutive years of high volumes, with approximately 1.3 million journeys recorded in both 2022 and 2023. Despite the recent reduction, the number of journeys initiated in 2024 remains substantially above pre-COVID levels, when annual figures averaged just over 400,000. This trend is broadly in line with wider visa trends, which have recently been impacted by several policy changes.

• Work: From April 2024, the general salary threshold for the Skilled Worker route increased from £26,200 to £38,700, with exemptions maintained for Health and Care Workers and roles subject to national pay scales. Overseas care workers and senior care workers are no longer permitted to bring dependants, and sponsoring employers in England must now be regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). However, it is worth noting that the decline in Health and Care route grants began prior to these changes, and increased scrutiny applied by the Home Office to employers in the Health and Social Care sector is likely to have had the greatest impact on application volumes.

• Study: As of 1 January 2024, international students commencing courses can no longer bring dependants to the UK, except for those enrolled in postgraduate research programmes or in receipt of government-funded scholarships.

• Family: From 11 April 2024, the minimum income requirement for those applying on a partner route was increased to £29,000.

Most journeys by foreign migrants to the UK continue to begin on the Study and Work routes. Of the new journeys, which began in 2024:

• Study routes accounted for 42%
• Work routes accounted for 39%
• Family routes accounted for 9%
• Asylum routes accounted for 4%

The remaining 6% of journeys began via other routes, including safe and legal pathways such as resettlement schemes, or as dependants accompanying a main applicant on an existing journey.

How do people’s leave statuses change over time?

Of the 459,811 individuals who began their journey in 2019, 43% still held valid leave to remain in the UK 5 years later, at the end of 2024. This comprised:

• 29% with limited leave to remain, a proportion that has steadily increased from 18% among those who began their journey in 2011
• 14% with indefinite leave to remain (ILR)
• the remaining 57% had expired leave and are therefore expected to have left the UK

These proportions vary by route. While most journeys begin on Study or Work routes, relatively few workers and students go on to obtain ILR, whereas a majority of those entering via Family routes typically seek to stay in the UK.

Among students who arrived between 2011 and 2018, around one-third (34%) held valid leave 3 years after their initial grant, which suggests that approximately two-thirds were expected to have left the UK at the end of their studies. This proportion rose to 39% for the 2019 cohort and to 57% for those who arrived in 2020 - making this the first student cohort where a majority continued to hold valid leave after 3 years.

This trend continued in the 2021 cohort, with 59% still holding valid leave 3 years after arrival. Of this group:

• 15% remained on a study route
• 36% had switched to a Work route
• 8% had moved to other routes, predominantly BN(O) and Family

While relatively few students typically receive indefinite leave to remain (ILR), some transition into work in the UK before eventually leaving. The introduction of the Graduate visa in 2021 has led to an increased proportion of students opting to extend their stay, compared to previous cohorts. For instance, in the 2013 cohort, fewer than 1% of students had obtained ILR after 5 years, with that figure rising to nearly 10% after 11 years, most having initially moved into Work or Family visa routes. This trend contrasts with the figures from the latest cohorts; however, it should be cautioned that it is still too early to assess whether the Graduate visa route will result in a more significant long-term retention of former students in the UK. Additional information on foreign students moving into work following their studies has been published in the Home Office report: ‘Analysis of migrants’ use of the Graduate route’.

Work visa holders, if they stay in the UK, typically remain on Work routes before their leave expires, or they go on to get ILR. At the end of 2024, 45% of workers who had started their journey 5 years earlier, continued to hold some form of leave, with 25% holding temporary leave to remain and 20% had obtained ILR.

For those who had started on Work routes 10 years earlier, 19% had obtained ILR by the end of 2024. This varied by type of work, with the ‘Worker’ category (which includes Skilled Work and Health and Care visas) closely aligned to the overall trend, while few of those with ‘Temporary Worker’ visas go on to receive ILR (see the ‘Work’ section for more details).

Figure 2: Immigration status at end of 2024 of people initially granted leave in 2019, by initial visa type

Source: Migrant journey detailed datasets - MJ_D01

Notes:

1. Percentages on the left do not sum to 100% as the initial categories of ‘Dependants joining or accompanying’ and ‘Asylum’ are excluded from the chart.

Figure 2 shows that although the majority of new journeys in 2019 began with a grant of a Study visa, most individuals did not hold further leave after 5 years. Conversely, those starting journeys on Family routes were most likely to hold further leave or have been granted settlement.

Of the 46,661 journeys started on Family routes in 2019, over half (53%) had ILR after 5 years. This proportion increases to over three-quarters (77%) for those starting on Family routes 10 years prior to 2024. Most remained on the Family route before getting ILR Changes in 2012 to the eligibility period for settlement from 2 years to 5 years for those on the Family route have meant that people coming to the UK for Family reasons after the change, are typically taking longer to get ILR than those coming before the change.

Most individuals granted leave following an Asylum application typically go on to obtain indefinite leave to remain (ILR) shortly after becoming eligible, which is usually after 6 years. Among those granted Asylum in 2018, 48% had received ILR by the end of 2024, 6 years later. This proportion increases over time; for those granted leave after applying in 2014, 88% had secured ILR 10 years later.

However, there are notable differences in outcomes depending on the type of leave initially granted. Individuals granted ‘Refugee permission’ are significantly more likely to obtain ILR in the long term - 95% of those granted in 2014 had acquired ILR by 2024. In contrast, those granted other forms of leave - such as discretionary leave, exceptional leave, or leave as an unaccompanied asylum-seeking child (UASC) - were less likely to transition to ILR, with only 41% of this group from the 2014 cohort having obtained ILR 10 years later.

Who is granted indefinite leave to remain (ILR)?

In 2024, 30% of those granted settlement initially came to the UK on a ‘Family’ route, despite family applicants accounting for less than 10% of new journeys annually. This is because individuals who arrive for family reasons are more likely to seek to remain in the UK indefinitely.

Similarly, 31% of those granted settlement in 2024 began their journey on a ‘Work’ route, with three-quarters of them holding a ‘Worker’ visa. The Work route typically makes up around a third of new journeys each year. Among workers who remained in the UK, 87% continued on a Work-related route prior to obtaining settlement, while 13% transitioned to another route, predominantly the Family route, often through marriage.

Although students account for nearly half of new journeys each year, only 11% of those granted settlement in 2024 had initially entered the UK on a ‘Study’ route. Historically, relatively few students seek to remain indefinitely, with around 10% going on to obtain ILR. Of those students who do seek to stay long-term, many switch to a different route before securing settlement. In 2024, 50% of students granted settlement had transitioned to a ‘work’ route, and 32% had moved to a ‘Family’ route. Only 3% remained on a ‘Study’ route immediately prior to receiving settlement.

Additionally, 14% of those granted settlement in 2024 had initially sought Asylum and resettlement (refugee-related leave), with the majority gaining settlement shortly after becoming eligible. Over 80% of asylum seekers granted leave to remain eventually go on to obtain ILR within 5 to 6 years.

The remaining 14% of those granted settlement included individuals who arrived through safe and legal humanitarian routes, some of which are eligible for immediate settlement, as well as other routes.

Figure 3: Category immediately prior to being granted settlement, by category in which the journey started, for those granted settlement in 2024

Source: Migrant journey detailed datasets - MJ_D02

Notes:

1. Individuals who were in their ‘initial category’ prior to being granted settlement did not necessarily remain in the category for the entire period. Some may have switched to another category before switching back. Others may have moved to a different route within their initial category (for example, from one type of work to another).
2. ‘Category prior to settlement’ relates to the type of leave someone had immediately before being granted settlement.
3. Categories less than 3% are not labelled on the chart.

3. Study

Data in this section relates to individuals who initially entered the UK on a Sponsored Study visa either as main applicants or dependants. Short-term Study visas (which permit people to travel to the UK for short periods of up to 11 months) are excluded from this analysis.

How many students arrive in the UK?

Of the 358,626 student journeys starting in 2024, 99% had a recorded arrival.

How long do students remain in the UK?

Among the 217,229 people whose journey started on a Sponsored Study visa (hereafter referred to as the ‘Study cohort’) in 2019, 25% still held valid or indefinite leave to remain at the end of 2024 (5 years later):

• 7% remained on a Sponsored Study route
• 14% had switched to a Work route, including 4% to the Graduate route
• 4% held another category of leave
• less than 1% held indefinite leave to remain

The 2019 Study cohort exhibited the highest proportion of leave to remain 5 years after arrival across the relevant time-series of this report (since 2008). Between 2012 and 2016, the proportion remained relatively stable at 17% to 18%, following the 2012 immigration rule changes, before rising to 21% for the 2017 cohort.

The recent increase in this proportion can largely be attributed to students transitioning to the Graduate route, as well as other Work routes. For cohorts between 2011 and 2015, 3% to 4% of students were in Work routes after 5 years. This figure increased to 10% for the 2018 cohort, and 14% for the 2019 cohort, with 4% specifically in the Graduate route. This shift coincided with a slight decrease in the proportion of students extending their studies over the 5-year period, which dropped from 11% for the 2011 to 2015 cohorts to 7% for the 2019 cohort

Figure 4: Proportion of students who held valid leave after 3 and 5 years, by year of initial Study grant

Source: Migrant journey detailed datasets - MJ_D01

Historically, most students’ journeys finished at the end of their studies. Of those starting their studies between 2011 and 2018, around a third continued to hold valid leave after 3 years (decreasing to around 20% after 5 years). However, more recent student arrivals appear to be more likely to remain in the UK beyond their studies - nearly 60% of students starting their studies in 2020 and 2021 held valid leave after 3 years. (See figure 4) These changes follow the introduction of the Graduate route in 2021. The Home Office report titled ‘Analysis of migrants use of the Graduate route’ provides further information. It is too early to say whether these students will remain in the UK permanently, to what extent they are staying longer, or the extent to which other recent policy changes, such as the restrictions on dependents, will impact this trend in future.

A higher proportion of students are transitioning into Work routes, and this shift is occurring earlier in their residence. For student cohorts arriving between 2012 and 2019, approximately 1% had moved onto a Work route within the first year. However, this trend has increased notably from the 2021 cohort onwards, with 14% of the 2023 cohort making the transition. This shift is likely driven in part by the growing proportion of students coming to the UK to study at the master’s level in recent years, as well as the expanded availability of Work routes.

Figure 5: Leave status after 5 years of people who started their journey on the Sponsored Study route¹ between 2008 and 2019

Source: Migrant journey detailed datasets - MJ_D01

Notes:

1. Sponsored Study and pre- Points-Based System equivalents. Excludes Short-term Study visas.
2. Categories less than 6% are not labelled on the chart.
3. Percentages may not sum to 100% due to rounding

The composition of students coming to the UK can also impact the overall proportion staying long-term. For example, Chinese students (who are less likely to stay in the UK long-term) accounted for around 40% of the foreign student cohorts between 2017 to 2019 but decreased in recent years, to 25% of the 2021 cohort. 12% of Chinese nationals in the 2019 ‘Study cohort’ had valid leave 5 years later, compared with 34% for all other nationalities.

Amongst those whose journey began on a Sponsored Study visa in 2014, who continued to hold valid leave to remain after 10 years, around 1 in 10 (11%) were still on the Study route with 36% having switched to Work and 23% to Family routes.

Figure 6: Category of leave of people whose journey started on a Sponsored Study visa since 2008

Source: Migrant journey detailed datasets - MJ_D01

Notes:

1. Figure 6 shows the category of leave over time for students; it is based on all historic cohorts of students and will not reflect the more recent changes in student behaviour.

How many students get indefinite leave to remain (ILR)?

In 2024, 11% (18,001) of those granted settlement began their journey on a Study route. Whilst Study is not a direct route to settlement, students can become eligible for settlement in several ways. For example, they may switch to a different route and meet the additional residency requirements for settlement on that route. Alternatively, an individual may become eligible for settlement after 10 years’ continuous leave on a combination of routes under the long residence rules, including routes which are not a direct route to settlement. Of the individuals who began their migrant journey on a Study route and were granted settlement in the UK in 2024, half had transitioned into Work-related routes, prior to being granted settlement. Other significant routes include Family and Asylum, with 32% and 7% respectively transitioning into these routes before being granted settlement.

Figure 7: Category of leave immediately prior to settlement for those starting their journey on a Sponsored Study visa, by year of settlement grant

Source: Migrant journey detailed datasets - MJ_D01

Notes:

1. Categories less than 4% are not labelled on the chart.
2. Percentages may not sum to 100% due to rounding

4. Work

Data in this section relates to those who initially entered the UK on a Work visa either as main applicants or dependants.

How many workers arrive in the UK?

In 2024, 328,519 journeys began with a grant of a Work visa, 42% fewer than the previous year (567,056). This included:

• 245,334 Worker visas
• 60,779 Temporary worker visas
• 6,304 Investor, business development and talent visas
• 16,102 Other Work visas and exemptions

Across all Work routes and of the journeys starting in 2024, 98% had a recorded arrival.

How long do workers remain in the UK?

Of the 157,995 people whose journey started on a Work visa (hereafter referred to as the ‘Work cohort’) in 2019, 45% still held valid or indefinite leave to remain at the end of 2024 (5 years later). This figure includes:

• 20% who remained on a Work visa
• 5% who had switched to a different category
• 20% who had been granted indefinite leave to remain (ILR)

Of the 2019 ‘work cohort’ 55% had expired leave after 5 years. This varied by the type of Work visa - 83% of those on Temporary worker visas had expired leave after 5 years, compared with 43% of those on the ‘Worker’ and 23% on ‘Investor, business development and talent’ routes.

Figure 8: Leave status after 5 years (at the end of 2024) for people starting their journey on Work routes in 2019, by type of work

Source: Migrant journey detailed datasets - MJ_D01

Notes:

1. ‘Investor, business development and talent’, Worker and Temporary worker totals include pre-points-based system equivalents.
2. Percentages may not sum to 100% due to rounding.
3. The ‘Other Work visas and exemptions’ category includes European Community Association Agreement (ECAA) businessperson, overseas domestic workers, UK Ancestry visas, routes that are now closed (but under which people have existing leave).

Most (98%) individuals aged 17 and under are dependants accompanying someone on a Work visa, such as a parent. Those aged 17 and under included in Work routes in 2019 were the age group most likely to hold valid leave (33%) or indefinite leave (23%) to remain after 5 years, compared to 23% and 20% respectively for those aged 18 and over. This suggests that work migrants who bring family with them are more likely to stay in the UK long term.

Figure 9 shows that for each ‘Work cohort’ between 2011 and 2016, over 70% of people had expired leave 5 years later. This proportion has decreased each year since, falling to 55% for the 2019 cohort. This is likely due, in part, to an increase in the proportion of Work visa holders in the ‘Worker’ category, from 47% in 2011 to 63% in 2019. People coming on the ‘Worker’ route are more likely to remain in the UK long-term than those in ‘Temporary worker’ and ‘Other work visas and exemptions’ categories. Additionally, the length of time people hold valid leave on the ‘Worker’ route has increased in recent years (14% of the 2011 cohort held valid leave after 5 years compared to 29% for the 2019 cohort).

Figure 9: Leave status after 5 years of people who started their journey on a Work route¹ between 2008 and 2019

Source: Migrant journey detailed datasets - MJ_D01

Notes:

1. Percentages may not sum to 100% due to rounding.

There has also been a decrease in the proportion of people with expired leave, who had started on a Work visa 3 years earlier, across all work categories. This proportion was consistently above 60% for those arriving between 2010 and 2016, but has been decreasing each year since, falling to 31% for those who began their journey in 2021.

As noted earlier in this report, this suggests that people coming to work in the UK in more recent years have been staying longer, but it is too early to see whether this will lead to an increase in numbers acquiring ILR.

For those starting their journey in a Work category since 2008 who had valid leave to remain (excluding ILR) after 5 years, 82% remained in a Work category. After 10 years, 41% remained in a Work category and 33% had switched into a Family route.

How many workers get indefinite leave to remain?

Most workers become eligible for settlement after five years residency in the UK. Figure 9 shows that of the 2019 work cohort, 20% had been granted ILR after 5 years, continuing an upward trend since the 2015 cohort.

This varies between those coming for skilled jobs and temporary workers: 28% of people in the ‘Worker’ category had been granted ILR after 5 years, an 8% increase on the previous year, compared with less than 1% for ‘Temporary workers.’ The ‘Investor, business development and talent’ route had the largest proportion reaching ILR after 5 years at 41%.

Of all those granted indefinite leave to remain in 2024 (167,621), 31% began their journey on a Work route, 75% of whom were in the ‘Worker’ category. For this cohort the majority (59%) were granted their work visa in 2019, meaning many people applied for settlement as soon as they were eligible after 5 years.

Most workers remain in their initial category before getting settlement. Of those granted settlement in 2024 who started their journey on a Work route, 87% were still on a Work route when granted settlement. Only 7% had switched to a Family route before getting settlement and 6% into other routes.

The proportion of workers who had been granted settlement after 5 years differs by type of work. Those on the Temporary Worker route and those who arrived as Intra-company Transfers (ICTs) will not have a direct route to settlement. Those who arrived on the former Tier 2 General (Skilled Work) categories are the most likely to have settlement after 5 years compared with the ICT and Temporary work categories where almost none have settled in the UK.

5. Family

How many people arrive in the UK on Family visas?

There were 73,310 journeys started with a grant on the Family route in 2024, which was 4% more than the previous year, and a 57% increase compared with 5 years ago in 2019. This growth has been largely due to a sharp increase in Refugee Family Reunion visas, which more than doubled compared with the previous year - likely linked to a rise in grants of Refugee status in late 2023. In contrast, grants of Partner visas saw a slight decline, potentially reflecting the introduction of a higher Minimum Income Requirement (MIR) from April 2024, which may have made it more difficult for some applicants and sponsors to meet the eligibility threshold.

Of the journeys starting in 2024, 98% had a recorded arrival, which is consistent with pre-pandemic years.

How long do people remain in the UK on Family routes?

Of the 46,661 people whose journey started on a Family visa (hereafter referred to as the ‘Family cohort’) in 2019, almost 9 out of 10 (89%) still held valid or indefinite leave at the end of 2024 (5 years later):

• 34% remained on a Family visa
• 2% had switched to a different category of visa
• 53% had been granted indefinite leave to remain

This pattern is broadly consistent over previous cohorts, with the majority of those who start their journey on the Family route remaining on the Family route until either their leave expires, or they go on to get ILR. However, there has been a significant increase in those starting their journeys in 2019 going on to get ILR after 5 years, compared to the Family cohort starting their journey the previous year.

Most people coming to the UK on a Family route intend to remain long-term - only 11% of the 2019 ‘family cohort’ had expired leave after 5 years.

For those arriving between 2008 and 2011, over 70% of those starting their journey on a Family visa had ILR within 5 years (many within 3 years). Following changes to the Immigration Rules in 2012, which increased the eligibility period for settlement from 2 years to 5 years for those on the Family route, the proportion getting settlement before 5 years fell from 75% for the 2011 cohort to 18% for the 2013 cohort. It has remained above 10% since (apart from for the 2015 cohort - many of whom became eligible for ILR during the COVID-19 pandemic and may have delayed applying for ILR).

Figure 10: Leave status after 5 years of people who started their journey on a Family route between 2008 and 2019

Source: Migrant journey detailed datasets - MJ_D01

Notes:

1. Percentages may not sum to 100% due to rounding.

How many people on the Family route get indefinite leave to remain?

Those who arrive on a Family visa are much more likely to obtain settlement than those arriving on Work or Study routes.

Of the 167,621 people granted settlement in 2024, 30% (50,576) started their journey on a Family route (despite the Family route typically accounting for just 10% of new journeys each year). This proportion has remained broadly consistent since 2019. Just over a third (67%) began their journeys in 2018 or 2019. This suggests many on the Family route apply for settlement soon after they become eligible. Most (98%) of the ‘Family cohort’ remain in the Family category before getting settlement.

The highest numbers of settlement grants, among those who initially entered on a Family route, were issued to nationals of Pakistan, India, and Nigeria - each recording an increase compared with the previous year.

6. Asylum

Data in this section relates to those granted leave following an Asylum application.

Someone in the UK may claim Asylum if they believe they face serious threat to their life or freedom in their home country. They are claiming to be recognised as a refugee under the Refugee Convention. Detailed statistics on asylum seekers are published quarterly by the Home Office in the Immigration system statistics quarterly release.

The following section of this report includes analysis of those who have been granted leave following an Asylum application (the leave may be ‘Refugee permission’ or another form of leave). It does not consider those who were refused asylum or are still awaiting the outcome of their Asylum application. It also does not include those who arrive as refugees on resettlement schemes, who will have been granted a right to remain in the UK on arrival.

Some individuals who claim Asylum may start their journeys on another route (for example as a student) and subsequently apply for Asylum while in the UK. Such individuals will be included in the category relating to their initial leave and not included in this section (unless more than 12 months has elapsed between their initial leave expiring and them applying for Asylum).

In previous editions of the migrant journey report, the start of a journey for asylum applicants was the date of the latest outcome of their application. In this and the 2023 report, the start of a journey is the date the Asylum application was lodged to better reflect the time asylum seekers spend in the UK immigration system.

How long do refugees remain in the UK?

Among the 24,477 people whose journey started with an application for Asylum in 2019, 95% still held valid or indefinite leave at the end of 2024 (after 5 years):

• 80% remained on the leave they were granted following their Asylum claim
• 4% switched to other routes (mainly Family)
• 11% had been granted indefinite leave to remain

‘Refugee permission’ is granted to people who have lodged an Asylum claim and are recognised as refugees. The majority of individuals granted Refugee Permission subsequently go on to obtain ILR. Some individuals who claim Asylum may not meet the criteria of a refugee and will therefore not be granted Refugee status. In some instances, they may be granted another type of leave.

Of those whose journey began in 2019 following an Asylum application, 89% - a total of 21,773 individuals - were granted Refugee status. Most of those 81% still had leave as a refugee at the end of 2024 but 11% had been granted settlement. Around 3% had switched to another category of leave, and 4% had expired leave.

Following an initial grant of leave after an Asylum application in 2019, 11% - or 2,704 people - were later granted an alternative form of leave. Most of those (93%) still held valid leave at the end of 2024 with 71% still in the Asylum route, 9% had switched to the Family route and 5% to other routes. 221 people (8%) had been granted settlement and 7% expired leave.

Figure 11: Immigration status of people granted Refugee permission following an Asylum application from 2008 onward

Source: Migrant journey detailed datasets - MJ_D01

Notes:

1. Categories less than 3% are not labelled on the chart.
2. Percentages may not sum to 100% due to rounding.

Figure 12: Immigration status of people granted other leave following an Asylum application from 2008 onward

Source: Migrant journey detailed datasets - MJ_D01

Notes:

1. Categories less than 4% are not labelled on the chart.
2. Percentages may not sum to 100% due to rounding.

How many people on Asylum routes get indefinite leave to remain?

Of the 167,621 people granted settlement in 2024, 11% started their journey on an Asylum route, of which:

• 86% were initially granted Refugee Permission
• 14% were initially granted other leave

Most (90%) people who started their journey on an Asylum route and were granted settlement in 2024, had remained on an Asylum route until getting ILR. A small proportion (3%) had switched to Family (most likely to marry) and 6% to other routes before being granted ILR.

Over the last 10 years, 1 in 8 (13%) people granted settlement started their journey with an Asylum application.

7. About the data

This release looks at how migrants’ leave status changes as they journey through the UK’s immigration system. It includes data for European Economic Area (EEA) migrants and non-EEA migrants. As EEA migrants had freedom of movement prior to the UK leaving the EU and were therefore not required to apply for a visa before coming to the UK, there are relatively few EEA nationals in the data before 2021. As this analysis looks at changes over time, most of the findings relate to non-EEA nationals.

1. Forward-look - this looks at migrants who were initially granted a visa in a given year and looks at their leave status in subsequent years. See detailed datasets MJ_D01 for the underlying data.
2. Backward-look - this looks at migrants who were granted settlement in a given year and looks at the visa they initially used to come to the UK. See detailed datasets MJ_D02 for the underlying data.

If an individual is granted new leave more than 12 months after their previous leave expired, a ‘new journey’ begins. The number of ‘new journeys’ in a year will be fewer than the number of visas granted because if a visa is granted within 12 months of previous leave expiring it will not be counted as a ‘new journey’.

The length of a ‘journey’ relates to the time in which an individual had valid leave to enter and remain in the UK. This is not the same as the amount of time an individual has been in the UK. An individual may leave the UK before their leave expires. Similarly, some individuals may remain in the UK after their leave expires, as an ‘overstayer’, or while awaiting the outcome of another application (for example an asylum application).

The report refers to people granted indefinite leave to remain (ILR). This relates to individuals who have been granted settlement or British citizenship (either additionally or alternatively to settlement). Where the report talks about people granted settlement, it refers only to grants of settlement and does not include grants of citizenship though some of those granted settlement will have gone on to be granted citizenship later.

Where does the data come from?

The data used in this report comes from a range of Home Office (HO) systems. It uses data matching to bring together information on a person’s immigration records (such as an entry clearance visa, or an in-country extension of leave) and travel records (such as an arrival into, or departure from, the UK). This allows us to understand how people interact with the UK immigration system, and how their immigration status changes over time.

The systems used to produce this data are designed for operational purposes. Due to limitations in the data, they cannot be used to provide a definitive view of a person’s status at an individual level. They do provide a reasonable view at the aggregate level (see ‘what are the limitations of the data?’ below for more details).

What are the limitations of the data?

Data input: as with all administrative data, there will be a small number of cases where data is missing or has been input incorrectly.

Data matching: despite the system having a robust data matching process, it will not have a 100% match rate. There are several reasons why records relating to an individual may not be correctly matched. For example, dual nationals may use different documents for different interactions with HO systems - such records may not be matched to the same person. Conversely, 2 individuals with similar personal details may be incorrectly identified as the same person, for example family members with similar names, nationalities and dates of birth (particularly twins).

Coverage gaps: The system does not have 100% coverage of people entering and leaving the UK. As there is no border control in the Common Travel Area (CTA) between the UK and Ireland, the system will not pick up travel through this route. This means that an individual could enter the UK from Ireland and not be counted as an arrival in the data or leave the UK to Ireland and not be counted as a departure.

Although these limitations will impact the leave status assigned to each individual to a small extent, they will have a large impact on the analysis that draws upon travel information. Specifically:

• analysis on the proportion of people who have arrived on a visa in each year; these figures should be considered a minimum number of arrivals
• analysis on the number of people who departed before their leave expired; these figures should be considered a minimum number of departures

As a result, the data should not be used to give a definitive view on the number of people who did not use their visa, or the number of people who did not depart once their visa expired.

An update on statistics relating to exit checks

It was our intention to provide a measure of individuals who have an in-time departure from the UK, previously published as part of the annual statistics relating to exit checks. There have been a number of changes to Home Office systems, and changes to immigration rules, that have impacted the data used to produce the exit checks reports. It is important that we fully understand the impact of these on the statistics and that data issues are addressed and understood to ensure the published statistics are robust. Due to ongoing data issues arising from these changes, we have not been able to include analysis on departures as part of this report. For example, issues have been identified around the matched data not correctly identifying in-time applications for further leave and therefore the statistics incorrectly show a person as having remained in the UK without extending their permission. We are working to address these issues with the intention of producing this analysis in future reports.

Other information

The ‘Migrant journey: user guide’ provides further details on this topic including definitions used, how figures are compiled, data quality and issues arising from figures based on data sourced from an administrative database.

The trends seen in this release reflect changes in the levels of immigration over time as well as policy and legislative changes. Details of these can be found in  ‘Policy and legislative changes affecting migration to the UK: timeline’ published alongside the Immigration system statistics quarterly release.