Long-term net migration into the United Kingdom for the 12 months up to June 2025 stood at 204,000, figures released on Thursday by the national statistics agency showed, the lowest level for the period in four years. 

That equates to a 69% reduction compared to the same 12-month period a year ago, 649,000. However, that figure includes the second half of 2023 — an all-time record calendar year for net migration into the UK — when roughly 860,000 more people immigrated to the UK on a long-term basis than emigrated from it.

Labour seeks to cut numbers amid pressure from Reform

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) data comes as Labour struggles to contain the rising poll numbers of right-wing populist party Reform UK, led by longstanding migration critic Nigel Farage. 

With Labour's approval ratings tanking after its first year in power, and the former ruling Conservative party still in the doldrums of the latter days of their rein, Reform has been leading most polls in recent weeks.

The new appointee as Home Secretary, or interior minister, Shabana Mahmood, continued her efforts to strike a tough tone on both legal and unauthorized migration since taking up the role in a Cabinet reshuffle in September.

"We are going further because the pace and scale of migration has placed immense pressure on local communities," Mahmood said following the release of the ONS data.

Thursday's ONS numbers pointed to 898,000 people entering the UK on a long-term basis to work or study, and 693,000 leaving up to June 2025.

Several changes to migration requirements and standards, stemming both from Labour and from the previous Conservative government, coming into effect have contributed to the decline.

Reform UK focused more on irregular migration

Immigration has been a major issue in British politics for more than a decade, at least since the campaign for the referendum on leaving the European Union in 2016. 

The issue came into sharp relief in September when tens of thousands of people marched in London at an event organized by far-right activist Tommy Robinson. 

Robinson and Reform UK focus on both legal and unauthorized migration, but pay particular attention to the far smaller but rising numbers of people crossing the English Channel in small boats without permission to enter the country. 

The numbers make up a tiny fraction of new arrivals, in the region of 5%. But their uncontrolled entry and the government's obligation to house them as they are processed — often in hotels because the UK has a strained housing market and has not built reception centers for the purpose — makes the issue an evocative one. 

Almost 40,000 people arrived on small boats between January 1 and November 25, 2025, a 17% increase on the same period in 2024, according to Home Office data. But at the same time, more than 36,000 were returned and deported between October and September 2025, an 11% year-on-year increase.

Earlier this year, a deal was struck with neighboring France that was hailed by Labour as a breakthrough in Prime Minister Starmer's election promise to "smash the gangs" enabling illegal migration.

How non-EU migration spiked in post-Brexit, post-COVID era

In the years after Brexit, several factors came together to cause a rapid increase in migration to the UK, despite the fact that proponents of leaving the European Union had argued that doing so would reduce the numbers. 

The previous Conservative government said it wanted to use the opportunity of leaving the EU to make it easier for skilled workers from non-EU countries to migrate. These countries often have historical and colonial-era ties to Britain.

This process was slow, as was the process of leaving the EU, which did not formally take place until February 2020. Shortly thereafter, the global pandemic hit, leading to lockdowns and major limitations on travel and migration worldwide.

As travel restrictions eased and the backlog of visa applications from the pandemic was cleared, Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In light of the war, the UK welcomed around a quarter of a million Ukrainians with eased visa requirements.

Edited by: Dmytro Hubenko