Migrants from new EU countries are going home again at double their previous rate, Home Office figures show

The number of foreign-born workers leaving Britain rose by nearly 30% as the economic recession started to bite last year, according to statistics published today.

The latest official figures confirm that immigration to Britain has stalled, with the number of Polish and other east European migrants registering to work in Britain falling by 50% in January to March this year compared with the same period in 2008.

The number of Polish and other east European workers going home to live doubled in the 12 months to September 2008 as the British economy began to contract.

Overall, estimates from the international passenger survey published today show that net migration to Britain – the number coming to stay for more than a year minus those who are relocating abroad – has fallen from 207,000 to 147,000 over the 12 months to September 2008, compared with the previous year.

Further evidence that the rise in immigration in recent years to Britain has stalled is provided by new national insurance numbers allocated to foreign-born workers in Britain, which are down 7% to 720,000 over the same period.

But the latest Home Office figures show a surge of 27% in asylum applications from those coming to Britain to flee the world's troublespots, with Zimbabwe and Afghanistan at the top of the list.

The number of new asylum seekers coming to Britain rose by 700 to 5,145 between January and March this year, with 41% given permission to stay on initial decision and a further 26% on appeal.

The figures show that the continued drive to deport foreign prisoners continues to take its toll on the removal figures of failed asylum seekers and other illegal migrants. A total of 15,840 people were removed from Britain between January and March this year. This included 2,805 failed asylum seekers – down 7% – and 13,035 non-asylum cases – down 5%.

The 27% rise in asylum applications to Britain compares with an average increase of just 2% across the whole of the European Union.

The Office of National Statistics said the international passenger survey showed that the fall in emigration during the second half of 2007 was driven by a decline in emigration of British citizens, whereas the more recent increase in emigration was being driven predominantly by non-British citizens going home in their hundreds of thousands.

The recession is deterring new workers from leaving eastern Europe for Britain. The number of migrants from Poland and seven other new EU members who applied under the workers' registration scheme between January and March this year fell to 23,000 compared with 49,000 over the same period in 2008 and 52,000 in the first months of 2007.

New figures on citizenship published today show that applications for British passports fell by 1% last year to 156,015, with the number being granted British citizenship down 21% to 129,375.

A total of 91,450 citizenship ceremonies were held in 2008, down by 24% on the figure for 2007, which was the first year in which the ceremonies were held.