UK net migration drops by two-thirds as government rolls out tougher policies

By Muvija M

LONDON (Reuters) -Long-term net migration to Britain fell by more than two-thirds in the year to June, official data showed on Thursday, extending a downward trend fuelled by tougher government policies to curb arrivals.

Immigration - both legal and illegal - has dominated political debate in Britain for over a decade, with successive governments imposing stricter visa rules and higher salary thresholds, and the current government promising more.

The Office for National Statistics said net migration had fallen to 204,000 from 649,000 in the 12 months to the end of June due to fewer non-EU nationals arriving for work and study and a continued, gradual rise in emigration levels.

Immigration by non-EU nationals for work fell 61%, while study-related immigration dropped 25%, the ONS said.

The falls come after a ban on most international students bringing dependants, which took effect in January last year, while salary thresholds for skilled worker visas rose in April. Both were enacted by the previous Conservative government.

The current Labour government has been tightening policies to counter Nigel Farage's populist Reform UK party, which campaigns on an anti-migration platform and holds a double-digit lead in opinion polls.

A policy effectively ending immigration by care workers, the single biggest driver of work migration in recent years, and an even higher salary threshold of 41,700 pounds for skilled worker visas took effect in July.

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

This month the government announced further sweeping reforms, including making refugee status temporary, speeding up deportation of those arriving illegally, and doubling the qualifying period for some workers to obtain settled status to ten years.

Revised ONS data last week showed that net immigration peaked earlier and at a higher level than previously thought - 944,000 in the 12 months to March 2023 - and fell to 345,000 in 2024.

Despite recent drops, polls show voters still view immigration as the country's main issue, in part due to highly visible arrivals on small boats from France to seek asylum.

"Those who most want lower immigration are the least aware of the falling numbers," the British Future think tank said.

($1 = 0.7563 pounds)

(Reporting by Muvija M; Editing by Andrew MacAskill and Conor Humphries)