UK net migration hits record high of 606,000

According to recent data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the country’s total population grew by 606,000 in the year ending March 2023. This means for the first time ever, an estimated 1.2 million people arrived in the UK for long-term immigration. 164,000 more people arrived in 2022 than in 2021, mainly due to new visa routes created for nationals of Ukraine and Hong Kong. There was an increase in asylum seeker applicants in 2022, rising to 76,000.

net migration increasing

The UK population growth in 2022 was led mostly by unique events including the recovery of Covid-19, new arrivals from Ukraine and Hong Kong, and the rise in asylum seekers crossing the English Channel. In 2022, 1.2 million people arrived in the UK for long-term immigration purposes, an increase of 221,000 compared to 2021. Non-EU nationals accounted for 80% of total immigration at 925,000, this is an increase of 287,000 from the previous 12 months. EU national arrivals is estimated at 13% or 151,000, which is a 45,000 decrease from 2021. British nationals returning back to the UK was 8% or 88,000. About 114,000 arrivals to the UK were from Ukraine and about 52,000 were from Hong Kong.

Most Popular WOrk Visas

There is a number of visas available to work in the UK, the two most popular are the Skilled Worker and Health and Care Worker. The Skilled Worker visa attracted 69,423 to the UK, while the Health and Care Worker visa brought an estimated 101,570 in the year ending March 2023.

Countries of Origin

Work related visas granted for Non-EU nationals in the year ending March 2023 was 235,000.

The most popular visa route in 2022 was the Health and Care Worker visa which attracted 101,570. India remained the top nationality with 29,725 newcomers, followed by Nigeria 17,596 and Zimbabwe 17,421.

The Skilled Worker visa seen a 59% increase from 2021, attracting 69,423 arrivals. India remained the top nationality with 21,837 arrivals, followed by the USA 3,848 and the Philippines 3,124.

Work related visas granted for EU nationals in in the year ending March 2023 was 62,000.

Record number of students

In the year ending March 2023, there were around 480,000 new international students in the UK, which is a 22% increase from the previous 12 months. The most popular pathway is the Student Visa.

Study related visas granted for Non-EU nationals in 2022 was 361,000.

Indian nationals were the largest single group with 138,532 student visas granted, an increase of 53,429 from the previous 12 months. Chinese nationals followed this with 100,397 and Nigerian nationals at 57,636.

Study related visas granted for EU nationals in 2022 was 39,000.

French, German and Spanish nationals accounted for over 50% of the European population of students arriving in 2022. The total European arrivals in the past 12 months was 22,457.

Occupations in demand

Despite the increase in work visa sponsorship, there is still a skill shortage in many sectors. The below table shows the most in demand occupations as of June 2023.

Occupation code	Job types included on the shortage occupations list	Areas of the UK where there is a shortage	Annual salary (80% of going rate)
1181	Health services and public health managers and directors – all jobs	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £33,040 (£16.94 per hour)
1242	Residential, day and domiciliary care managers and proprietors – all jobs	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £22,640 (£11.61 per hour)
2111	Chemical scientists – only jobs in the nuclear industry	Scotland only	80% of going rate: £22,800 (£11.69 per hour)
2112	Biological scientists and biochemists – all jobs	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £24,480 (£12.55 per hour)
2113	Physical scientists – only the following jobs in the construction-related ground engineering industry: engineering geologist hydrogeologist geophysicist	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £26,080 (£13.37 per hour)
2113	Physical scientists – only the following jobs in the oil and gas industry: geophysicist geoscientist geologist geochemist technical services manager in the decommissioning and waste areas of the nuclear industry senior resource geologist and staff geologist in the mining sector	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £26,080 (£13.37 per hour)
2114	Social and humanities scientists – only archaeologists	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £20,480 (£10.50 per hour)
2121	Civil engineers – all jobs	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £27,760 (£14.24 per hour)
2122	Mechanical engineers – all jobs	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £26,400 (£13.54 per hour)
2123	Electrical engineers – all jobs	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £31,440 (£16.12 per hour)
2124	Electronics engineers – all jobs	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £27,120 (£13.91 per hour)
2126	Design and development engineers – all jobs	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £27,280 (£13.99 per hour)
2127	Production and process engineers – all jobs	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £25,600 (£13.13 per hour)
2129	Engineering professionals not elsewhere classified – all jobs	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £26,720 (£13.70 per hour)
2135	IT business analysts, architects and systems designers – all jobs	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £30,080 (£15.43 per hour)
2136	Programmers and software development professionals – all jobs	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £27,200 (£13.95 per hour)
2137	Web design and development professionals – all jobs	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £21,440 (£10.99 per hour)
2139	Information technology and communications professionals not elsewhere classified – only cyber security specialists	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £25,680 (£13.17 per hour)
2216	Veterinarians – all jobs	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £26,960 (£13.83 per hour)
2425	Actuaries, economists and statisticians – only bio-informaticians and informaticians	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £26,880 (£13.78 per hour)
2431	Architects – all jobs	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £26,320 (£13.50 per hour)
2461	Quality control and planning engineers – all jobs	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £25,280 (£12.96 per hour)
3111	Laboratory technicians – all jobs	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £15,120 (£7.75 per hour)
3411	Artists – all jobs	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £16,400 (£8.41 per hour)
3414	Dancers and choreographers – only skilled classical ballet dancers or skilled contemporary dancers who meet the standard required by internationally recognised UK ballet or contemporary dance companies. The company must be endorsed as being internationally recognised by a UK industry body such as the Arts Councils (of England, Scotland or Wales).	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £16,960 (£8.70 per hour)
3415	Musicians – only skilled orchestral musicians who are leaders, principals, sub-principals or numbered string positions, and who meet the standard required by internationally recognised UK orchestras. The orchestra must a full member of the Association of British Orchestras.	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £24,960 (£12.80 per hour)
3416	Arts officers, producers and directors – all jobs	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £23,360 (£11.98 per hour)
3421	Graphic designers – all jobs	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £18,400 (£9.44 per hour)
5215	Welding trades – only high integrity pipe welders, where the job requires 3 or more years’ related on-the-job experience. This experience must not have been gained through illegal working.	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £18,480 (£9.48 per hour)
6145	Care workers and home carers – private households or individuals (other than sole traders sponsoring someone to work for their business) cannot sponsor Skilled Worker applicants	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	No going rate – the salary must be at least £20,960 per year or £10.75 per hour
6146	Senior care workers – all jobs	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £14,880 (£7.63 per hour)

Latest Articles