7. Work and study remain the most common reasons to move to the UK

! Preliminary adjustments are not available for estimates of migration by reason for visit. The Long-Term International Migration (LTIM) and International Passenger Survey (IPS) estimates therefore remain our best available estimates. We will continue to develop our adjustment approach in our future reports.

While work remains one of the most common reasons to move to the UK, immigration for work-related reasons has continued to fall since June 2016. It is now at its lowest level since 2013, at 214,000. This fall is mainly because of a decline in the number of people arriving to look for work. However, since 2017, there has also been a fall in people moving to the UK for a definite job. Overall, immigration to the UK for formal study has remained at the highest levels seen since 2011, at 218,000 in the year ending March 2019.

Following a five-year period when work was the main reason that people moved to the UK, immigration for work and study are now at similar levels. Although not significantly higher, study has narrowly overtaken work as the main reason for immigration (Figure 6). However, it is too early to tell whether this is an emerging pattern and we will continue to monitor the long-term trend.

Figure 6: Total immigration for work continued to decrease whereas immigration for study remained high Long-term immigration trends by reason for migration, UK, year ending June 2009 to year ending March 2019 Source: Office for National Statistics – Long-Term International Migration Notes: “Accompany/join”, “Other” and “No Reason Stated” are not included in this chart. Confidence intervals are not shown in the chart, but they are available in the accompanying dataset. YE equals year ending. Download this chart Figure 6: Total immigration for work continued to decrease whereas immigration for study remained high Image .csv .xls

Immigration for work has fallen but remains the main reason for EU citizens moving to the UK

The overall fall in work-related immigration can largely be accounted for by a decrease in EU citizens moving to the UK for work since the year ending June 2016. This fall in work-related immigration was seen among all EU groups (EU2, EU8, EU15).

In the year ending March 2019, the number of EU citizens arriving for work fell to 92,000, which is less than half the level it was at its peak (190,000) in the year ending June 2016. The latest levels are similar to those seen in 2012.

! Not all data sources are directly comparable. Users should be aware of this before drawing conclusions.

Foreign citizens require a National Insurance number (NINo) to work in the UK, and NINo registration data can be used to provide another view of work-related immigration. Following a recent peak in 2015, the total number of EU NINo registrations have been falling, in line with the fall seen in the International Passenger Survey (IPS) data. For EU citizens, there were 448,000 NINo registrations in the year ending June 2019 (Figure 7). It is important to remember that NINo registrations data are for all NINo registrations regardless of length of stay or date of arrival. They will therefore include a large number of short-term migrants and people who may have been in the country for a while before registering.

Figure 7: EU immigration to the UK for work continued to fall EU work-related long-term immigration trends by data source, UK, year ending June 2009 to year ending March 2019 Source: Office for National Statistics – International Passenger Survey, Department for Work and Pensions – National Insurance number registrations to adult overseas nationals Notes: NINo registrations are for all NINo registrations regardless of length of stay or date of arrival, so they will include short-term migrants and people who may have been in the country for a while before registering. There was a change to the process of recording NINos during Quarter 2 (Apr to June) 2014 that meant that the volume of NINo registrations recorded was lower in that quarter and then higher in Quarter 3 (July to Sep) 2014 than would otherwise be the case. Comparisons of NINo registrations over time between these periods should be viewed with caution. Confidence intervals for the IPS-based estimates are not shown in the chart, but they are available in the accompanying dataset. YE equals year ending. Download this chart Figure 7: EU immigration to the UK for work continued to fall Image .csv .xls

Non-EU immigration for work has remained stable

Overall, non-EU immigration for work has remained stable since late 2017, but there have been different patterns for those arriving with a definite job than those coming to the UK looking for work.

The number of non-EU citizens arriving to look for a job has fallen to 9,000 in the year ending March 2019, compared with 23,000 in the previous year. This was driven mainly by a decline in Oceanian immigration to look for work. We will continue to monitor this trend in Oceanian immigration, using Home Office data when they become available.

Meanwhile, the number of non-EU citizens arriving for a definite job has increased since 2013 to its highest level since 2006, at 73,000 in year ending March 2019. This has been driven by an increase in Asian citizens arriving for a definite job – the number has more than doubled since the year ending March 2017, to 53,000.

This increase has been seen in all of the available sources (Figure 8). Home Office data for all work-related visas (including short-term or temporary work) shows that the number of non-EEA nationals coming to the UK for work has continued to increase, with the number of work visas granted in the year ending June 2019 at its highest level since the year ending March 2009. There were particular increases in those granted Skilled (Tier 2) work visas (accounting for 59% of total work visas), which increased by 13% to 108,890 in the latest year, following relatively stable levels between 2015 and 2018.

In the year ending June 2019, there were 256,000 National Insurance number (NINo) registrations from non-EU nationals, an increase of 32% on the previous year.

Figure 8: Non-EU citizens moving to the UK to work remained stable in recent years Non-EU work-related immigration trends by data source, UK, year ending June 2009 to year ending March 2019 Source: Office for National Statistics – International Passenger Survey, Home Office – long-term work visas, Department for Work and Pensions – National Insurance number registrations to adult overseas Notes: Confidence intervals for the IPS-based estimates are not shown in the chart, but are available in the accompanying dataset. Visa data are Home Office entry clearance work visas granted for 12 months or more for main applicants only. NINo registrations are for all NINo registrations regardless of length of stay or date of arrival, so they will include short-term migrants and people who may have been in the country for a while before registering. There was a change to the process of recording NINos during Quarter 2 (Apr to June) 2014 that meant that the volume of NINo registrations recorded was lower in that quarter and then higher in Quarter 3 (July to Sep) 2014 than would otherwise be the case. Comparisons of NINo registrations over time between these periods should be viewed with caution. YE equals year ending. Download this chart Figure 8: Non-EU citizens moving to the UK to work remained stable in recent years Image .csv .xls

EU and non-EU nationals working in the UK labour market

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) produces estimates of the labour market activity of the resident population in the UK by nationality and country of birth.

! The number of migrants working in the UK is not a measure of how many people migrate to work. Our latest report into the coherence of migration data sources discusses the differences in what survey sources tell us about migration flows. The Long-Term International Migration (LTIM) and International Passenger Survey (IPS) estimates are our best available estimates of migration flows for work-related reasons. We will continue to develop our adjustment approach in our future reports.

For the period April to June 2019, the latest estimates from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) show that there were:

an estimated 2.37 million EU nationals working in the UK, 99,000 more than a year earlier

an estimated 1.29 million non-EU nationals working in the UK, 34,000 more than a year earlier

Looking over the longer time series, since 2009, the number of EU nationals working in the UK has generally increased, while the number of non-EU nationals working in the UK has remained broadly stable.

This is broadly comparable with long-term immigration in the IPS where we are continuing to see both EU and non-EU citizens arrive in the UK for work-related reasons.

Immigration for study remains high and is the main reason for non-EU citizens moving to the UK

In the year ending March 2019, the International Passenger Survey (IPS) estimated 218,000 people arrived in the UK intending to stay for a year or more for formal study, remaining among the highest levels recorded since 2011. Over the last year, there has been an increase in non-EU immigration for study, particularly from Asian citizens.

Home Office data for non-EEA nationals show the number of Sponsored Study (Tier 4) visas granted was at its highest level since 2011. The majority (85%) of sponsored study visa applications in the year ending June 2019 were to study at higher education (university) institutions, and the number of non-EEA nationals arriving at universities was the highest level on record. Home Office data shows that the largest number of these students are from China (107,622 or 43% of the total non-EEA sponsored students in the year ending June 2019).

Figure 9: Non-EU student immigration has risen in the last year after remaining broadly stable from 2013 to 2017 Non-EU long-term student immigration trends by data source, UK, year ending June 2009 to year ending March 2019 Source: Office for National Statistics - International Passenger Survey, Home Office - long-term study (Tier 4) visas, Higher Education Statistics Agency - first year student enrolments (England and Wales only) Notes: Confidence intervals for the IPS-based estimates are not shown in the chart, but they are available in the accompanying dataset. Visa data are Home Office Sponsored Study (Tier 4) visas granted for 12 months or more for main applicants only. Student enrolment data are for 12 months or more and are ONS analysis of HESA first-year student records. The data are for student enrolments for courses starting in the academic year from August to July, by length of study and domicile. HESA data are from higher education institutions in England and Wales only. We present these data compared with the equivalent year ending September. HESA data are annual point estimates, and the line illustrates the trend between those points. YE equals year ending. Download this chart Figure 9: Non-EU student immigration has risen in the last year after remaining broadly stable from 2013 to 2017 Image .csv .xls

! Not all data sources are directly comparable. Users should be aware of this before drawing conclusions.

The UK granted asylum, alternative forms of leave, or resettlement to 18,519 people in the year ending June 2019

Home Office data show that the total number of people granted protection comprised:

10,555 grants of asylum (up 61%)

1,126 grants of Humanitarian Protection (up 31%)

1,147 grants of an alternative form of leave (down 3%)

5,691 people provided protection under resettlement schemes (similar to the previous year)

Overall, the number of people granted protection in the UK over a one-year period was the highest since the year ending September 2003.