Migration Watch UK Press Comment on Net Migration Statistics
Commenting, Sir Andrew Green, Chairman of Migration Watch UK said:
“The government’s immigration policy is succeeding in reducing net migration from outside the EU, now down by over a third to its lowest level since 1998. But the recent increase in migration from the EU will render it still more difficult to achieve their target.
A continuing problem is the low outflow of non-EU migrants which has been steady at around 100,000 for ten years despite inflows of 300,000 or more for most of the period. A very significant part of this is students who have been arriving at an annual rate of 139,000 over the last five years while this new data confirms that they are leaving at an annual rate of only 50,000 a year.
Meanwhile there is no evidence that immigration policy is constraining economic activity. Visitor visas are up by 15%, work visas are up by 5% and University sponsored applications are up by 7%. “