Blogs
We publish blogs that draw on data and research, and through them we inform debate, spark discussion, and explore the wider implications of current developments.
Analysis, Commentary and Research Updates
Explore our latest publications on immigration and asylum policies. Stay informed with well-researched insights.
Migration Watch Responds To The Latest Set Of Ons Migration Figures, September 2025
Alp Mehmet, Chairman of Migration Watch, said: For further comments, please contact admin@migrationwatchuk.org. Notes to editor:
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Don’t Be Fooled – This Government Is Not In Control Of Illegal Immigration
The Home Office today (9th September) issued a press release titled, ‘For the first time, small boat migrants arriving in the UK face being detained and returned to France’. Promising title – but is it…
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Cutting Student Visas: Bringing Migration Under Control
The numbers speak for themselves. In 2024, student visas accounted for 45% of all UK entry visas issued – the single largest route for legal migration. This surge is no accident. In 2019, ministers set…
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Migration Is Changing Your Area – Just Look At These Numbers.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) released its official estimates for the population of England and Wales yesterday, and the results make for dire reading. Already the headlines are coming in thick and fast: “Migration fuels population…
Learn MoreA Shocking Year, Strewn With Failure. Pull Your Socks up or go!
It’s been exactly one year since Labour won the 2024 General Election. Given that “immigration and asylum” was the second-most important issue for voters at the time – and by far the most important issue for Conservative…
Learn MoreWar In Iran Will Only Make Britain’s Migration Crisis Worse
The regional fallouts of the conflict engulfing Iran are yet to reveal themselves, but one catastrophic consequence is definitely not in doubt: Britain’s migration crisis will further deepen. Iran is already the nation from which…
Learn MoreIs The Prime Minister’s Plan Working?
Can the government stop the boats? Speaking in Dover today, the Prime Minister gave an update on his pledge to stop small boats crossing the English Channel. Illegal crossings, he said, are down 20 per…
Learn MoreA Passage From India – Explaining The Unexpected Rise Of Indians Crossing The Channel
This week the government disclosed that in 2023 Indians have been the second largest group of people illegally crossing the English Channel in small boats, making up 18 per cent of all crossings. Although the increase…
Learn MoreFrom Baghdad To Bournemouth – Granting Refuge To Terrorists
It emerged in the Daily Mail recently that among those who illegally entered the UK in a dinghy last year were 19 suspected terrorists, several of whom are thought to have been members of the…
Learn MorePress Comment On Ons Labour Market Statistics Release Of Employment Data
Commenting, Sir Andrew Green, Chairman of Migration Watch UK, said: ”Quarterly statistics fluctuate but these figures show an increase of 28,000 Romanians and Bulgarians in employment compared to the same period last year. Most of this has occurred when transitional controls were still in place making it likely that there
A Summary History Of Immigration To Britain
Introduction 1.1 There have always been episodes of migration to Britain but, as this paper demonstrates, those episodes were small and demographically insignificant until the Second World War. A study of official census records from 1851 until the present shows that the number of people born abroad living in Britain
International Students – A Guide To Visa Conditions Across The English Speaking World
In 2012 the Home Secretary announced her plans to tighten some aspects of the student visa system, mainly below graduate level. The Australian, American and Canadian governments have also recently reviewed their student regimes. This note compares the outcomes and demonstrates that the UK is internationally competitive.
The Guardian And Data ‘facts’
The Guardian recently posted an article in their ‘DataBlog’ section which claimed to examine the facts behind our headline claim that 150,000 eastern European migrants pay no more than £1 a week in direct tax. It is disappointing that despite writing under the tagline “Facts are sacred” the author, Tom
Tax Contribution Of East European Migrants
In a Today Programme interview on 30 April about our paper published that day (see Briefing Paper 1.38), Mr Portes did not challenge our findings that low paid migrants pay little or no net direct tax. However, he suggested that we had overlooked the effect of other taxes paid by the
Many East Europeans Work Hard But How Many Pay Tax?
About 150,000 pay only £1 a week net tax A new study out today reveals some of the ‘hidden’ costs to the UK taxpayer of the unprecedented wave of low paid Eastern European immigration in the past decade and how they are being ‘subsidised’ by the UK taxpayer. The research