Immigration system statistics published for year ending December 2024 reveal visa grants down, asylum claims up
The Home Office has today released the official immigration figures for the year ending 2024. You can access the full immigration statistics here on GOV.UK.
Image credit: UK GovernmentThe Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford noted on Bluesky that the big news is that visa grants fell by 460,000 or 33% compared to 2023, though they remain historically high at 950,000.
Asylum claims in the UK reached a record high in 2024, with 108,000 people claiming asylum, relating to 84,000 cases. This surpasses the previous record high of 103,000 claims in 2002. 84,000 people received initial decisions on asylum claims in 2024. Of those decisions, 47% were positive grants of protection, down from 67% in 2023.
In 2024, asylum seekers arriving by small boats across the Channel accounted for a minority of total asylum claims. There were 37,000 small boat arrivals last year, representing a 25% increase from 2023 but a 20% decline compared to 2022.
Highlights from the Home Office's summary of the statistics include:
Total Visa Numbers
- A total of 956,000 visas were issued for non-visit purposes, a 33% decrease from 2023.
Work Visas
- In 2024, 210,000 work visas were granted to main applicants across all categories, a 37% decrease from the previous year.
- The number of 'Health and Care Worker' visas granted to main applicants dropped to 27,000 in 2024, an 81% decline from the peak in 2023.
- The number of visas issued to main applicants in other 'Worker' category routes, including 'Skilled Worker' visas, fell by 11% compared to 2023.
- In 2024, 78,000 'Temporary Worker' visas were issued to main applicants, nearly double (+91%) the number in 2019, primarily due to the expansion of the 'Seasonal Worker' visa route.
- There were 417,000 work-related extension grants for main applicants, nearly seven times the number recorded in 2019.
Student Visas
- A total of 393,000 sponsored study visas were issued to international students in 2024, marking a 14% decline from 2023.
- The number of visas issued to student dependants fell by 85% to 22,000 in 2024 compared to 2023.
Family Visas
- In 2024, 86,000 family-related visas were granted, a 7% increase from the previous year, continuing an upward trend since 2020 and more than double the number granted in 2021.
- The number of Partner visas granted fell by 7% in 2024.
- There was a significant rise in 'Other' family visas, which more than doubled from 9,800 in 2023 to 20,000 in 2024
Asylum Claims, Humanitarian Visas, and Refugee Resettlement
- In 2024, 108,000 people applied for asylum, linked to 84,000 cases, surpassing the previous record peak of 103,000 in 2002.
- There were 79,000 grants of leave via safe and legal (humanitarian) routes for individuals to enter or remain in the UK in 2024, a 21% decrease from the previous year, mainly due to fewer visas and extensions under the Ukraine Schemes.
- In 2024, 7,800 refugees were resettled in the UK, with 91% arriving through the Afghan Resettlement Programme.
Returns from the UK
- In 2024, there were 8,200 enforced returns, a 28% increase from the previous year, continuing a three-year upward trend. Albanians were the most common nationality for enforced returns.
- A total of 5,000 Foreign National Offender (FNO) returns were recorded in 2024, a 25% rise compared to the previous year
EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
- As of 31 December 2024, there have been 8.4 million applications to the EUSS by an estimated 6.3 million people since its launch in 2018.
- Of the 8.2 million concluded applications, 50% (4.1 million) were granted settled status, 35% (2.9 million) were granted pre-settled status, and 15% had other outcomes.
The Migration Observatory has a helpful summary of the statistics here. Dr. Ben Brindle noted that recent fluctuations in visa categories, particularly for students' family members and health and care visas, are due to high visa numbers issued in the post-Brexit immigration system. Despite declines in certain categories, overall visa grants to non-EU citizens remain significantly higher than pre-Brexit levels.