Research

Risks of reviving the defective post-study work route
Summary 1. Until this year, non-EU students (who account for seven in ten overseas students in higher education[1]) have been restricted to a job search of up to six months after graduation before switching into a skilled work visa – the grant of which required a job offer, a minimum

Outcomes for UK-based applicants for nursing courses
1. Analysis of figures released by UCAS show that a majority (54%) of UK-domiciled applicants to nursing courses have been rejected since 2010 (348,000 out of just under 650,000 applicants). 2. More than 23,000 UK-based applicants failed to gain training places last year even as the country faced the initial onslaught

What action is the government taking to tackle overstaying?
Summary 1. The number of foreign nationals who need a visa but who the Home Office did not record as departing the UK on time nearly doubled from 50,000 in 2016/17 to nearly 92,000 in 2019/20. Additionally, the most recent investigation into the number of visitors from more than 50 countries who

How many people are expected to take up the new Hong Kong visa?
Summary 1. The government expects about 300,000 people to come to the UK over five years on a new path to citizenship that will – from 31 January 2021 – be available to more than five million people in Hong Kong (nearly three-quarters of the territory’s population). This note summarises

Impact of immigration on demand for homes in England
Summary 1. After the Covid crisis, net migration levels could well revert to the high levels witnessed over the past five years, or even surpass them, given the range of various additional uncapped routes being opened under the new Points Based System. If so, just over half of extra homes needed in

An Asylum System Overwhelmed and Abused
Summary 1. The asylum system is being overwhelmed following a rapid rise in the number of claims (most of which have been submitted by ‘clandestine’ entrants), as well as by growing costs, falling productivity, disintegrating enforcement, ballooning backlogs and significant (and, according to the government, “increas[ing]”) abuse. We estimate that, should
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Media
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Blogs
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Statistics
Migration Watch UK monitors and analyses official immigration and population statistics. We chart trends, report key developments, and provide clear, accessible insights to help understand migration and its impact on the UK.