Migration plunges as more Brits flee UK and work visas fall - amid fears over 'brain drain' and 'wealth exodus'

New data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows this figure- representing the difference between the number of people arriving and leaving Britain - rose by 204,000 in the year to June 2025.

This was a sharp fall from the 649,000 additions recorded in the year to June 2024 and was 80 per cent lower than the peak in 2023.

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ONS officials say the drop is driven by a "gradual increase in levels of emigration", with provisional figures showing there were 109,000 fewer Britons in the UK by June 2025.

It comes as Sir Keir Starmer is urged to tackle “an alarming brain drain" in the UK, with experts fearing the growing number of young Brits leaving the country were hurting the economy.

The figures also highlight a ‘wave of wealth migration’ as more wealthy individuals leave the UK as other countries looking more attractive in terms of take home pay.

Former Manchester United and England star Rio Ferdinand, who left Britain in August for Dubai, told LBC earlier this month: "There’s things that are falling apart and going wrong in the country, then I sit there and go, we pay towards tax and is it really going towards the things that are actually benefiting the people that live here? "

Elsewhere, the ONS figures also showed a 70 per cent decline in the number of non-EU nationals arriving on work or study-dependant visas.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood welcomed the figures, saying net migration was "at its lowest level in half a decade and has fallen by more than two-thirds under this government".

She added that ministers were going further "because the pace and scale of migration has placed immense pressure on local communities".

But while the overall migration figures were seen as good news, Ms Mahmood will be less happy with the Home Office figures on asylum, which were also released this morning.

Figures showed another small rise in the number of asylum seekers being housed in hotels, currently 36,273, a number that has increased since Labour came to power, despite Sir Keir Starmer's promise to end their use.

The vast majority of people arriving through illegal routes in the year ending September 2025 were also still from small boats, with the figure still in the tends of thousands.

Since Labour was voted in 16 months ago, a whole range of new measures have been brought in to tackle this as part of their pledge to "smash up the gangs", but they appear to have had little effect so far.

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the fall was not sharp enough, claiming any progress was due to the reforms made by the last Conservative government.

A total of 898,000 people arrived in the UK in the last year, a decrease of 401,000 from the revised figures for the year up to June 2024.

Meanwhile, 693,000 people moved elsewhere - an increase of 43,000.

Most people who left the country in the year up to June 2025 were non-EU nationals, around 286,000, with half of those leaving originally arriving on study-related visas.

EU citizens also saw more people leaving the country, with 70,00 leaving these shores. By contract, the net migration figure for non-EU nationals was 383,000.

A further 133,502 people seeking asylum had received initial decisions on their claims, the home office said.

In a migration data double-release, the Home Office also published its asylum seeker data for the last year on Thursday morning.

Figures show 110,051 people claimed asylum in the year ending September 2025, with some 51,249 people arrived in the UK through illegal routes - small boats making up 89 per cent of this figure.

More than 80,000 people - 62,171 cases - were awaiting a decision on their asylum claims - 36 per cent less than the previous year.

Sir Keir Starmer welcomed today's figures on falling net migration as a "step in the right direction", adding that he was "determined to close all our asylum hotels".

But Mr Philp felt the Prime Minister "doesn't have the backbone" to tackle illegal immigration.

"We need to go further," the Tory shadow minister said. "Under a future Conservative government, only those who make a real contribution can stay permanently, and only British citizens will be eligible for benefits funded by British taxpayers."