How many people come to work and study in the UK?

Sir Keir Starmer says migration numbers volition autumn "significantly" nether tighter rules projected by Labour.

He said the measures successful the government's white paper - a blueprint for aboriginal laws - would marque the strategy "controlled, selective and fair".

How person numbers changed and what are the existing rules?

The proposed changes include:

• English tests for each visa applicants and their big dependants
• overseas workers volition mostly request a degree-level qualification to use for the main skilled idiosyncratic visa alternatively of the equivalent of an A-level, and wage thresholds volition emergence
• overseas graduates volition lone beryllium capable to enactment successful the UK for 18 months aft their studies, alternatively of 2 years
• immigrants volition typically person to unrecorded successful the UK for 10 years earlier applying for the close to enactment indefinitely – treble the existent five-year period. The BBC understands that the authorities volition use the longer play to those who are already successful the UK arsenic good arsenic to caller visa applicants
• the dedicated visa for societal attraction workers introduced during Covid volition adjacent to caller applicants successful June
• employers who privation to sponsor overseas workers volition beryllium incentivised to find and make home endowment
• a constricted excavation of UNHCR-recognised refugees and displaced radical volition beryllium capable to use for skilled idiosyncratic visas
• making it easier to region oregon garbage introduction oregon asylum to individuals who breach migration rules oregon interruption the law

In her foreword to the achromatic paper, the Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the authorities would besides acceptable retired further reforms to the asylum strategy and borderline information "in effect to irregular and amerciable migration" aboriginal successful the summer.

The ONS figures amusement that of the 1.2 cardinal radical who came to unrecorded successful the UK successful the 12 months to June 2024:

• 5% (58,000) were British nationals
• 10% (116,000) were EU nationals oregon from Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland (EU+)
• About 86% (one million) were non-EU+ nationals

Of the 1 cardinal non-EU+ nationals who came:

• 82% (845,000) were of moving property (16 to 64 years)
• 17% (179,000) were children (under 16 years)
• 8% (84,000) claimed asylum, either aft arriving via a regular way oregon arriving irregularly, for example, via tiny boats crossed the English Channel

Among non-EU+ migrants, the astir communal nationality coming to the UK for some work-related (116,000) and study-related (127,000) reasons was Indian.

• Net migration could propulsion UK colonisation to 72.5m - ONS

The Home Office statistic showed that 27,000 visas were issued to radical coming to the UK to enactment successful wellness and societal care successful the 12 months to December 2024.

This is simply a autumn of 81% compared with the erstwhile 12 months. The fig coming to enactment successful the assemblage had accrued importantly aft temporary changes to the wellness and attraction visa rules.

In the twelvemonth ending December 2024, determination were astir 3 dependants for each idiosyncratic coming to bash a occupation successful wellness and societal care.

However, the fig of dependants fell sharply successful the past 10 months of the period, aft the erstwhile Conservative authorities changed the rules to halt planetary societal attraction workers bringing their children oregon partners with them.

The immigration wage list replaced what was antecedently called the shortage concern list.

It helps employers capable vacancies successful cardinal sectors.

These jobs person a little wage threshold making it easier for applicants to summation capable points to get a visa.

The database includes:

• health and attraction workers
• pharmacists
• graphic designers
• some farming and sportfishing roles
• construction workers
• vets

Employers utilized to beryllium capable to wage overseas workers 80% of the accustomed "going rate" to capable these positions.

But this little complaint was abolished for radical applying aft 4 April 2024.

Temporary workers specified arsenic effect pickers and poultry workers are covered by seasonal idiosyncratic visas, taxable to an yearly quota.

There were 35,561 seasonal idiosyncratic visas issued successful the twelvemonth to December 2024.

More than three-quarters of these (78%) were from Central Asian countries, specified arsenic Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.

For 2025, the quota is 45,000:

• 43,000 horticulture workers
• 2,000 poultry workers

Seasonal workers tin enactment successful the UK for up to six months for horticultural work, and from 2 October to 31 December each twelvemonth for poultry work.

They cannot judge a imperishable occupation oregon bring household members with them.

Before Brexit, EU and UK citizens had the state to live, enactment oregon survey successful immoderate EU state without needing a visa.

However, this state of question ended connected 1 January 2021 erstwhile the UK near the EU.

In the 12 months to June 2024, the ONS figures showed that nett migration for non-EU nationals - the quality betwixt those arriving and those leaving - was 845,000.

In the aforesaid period, nett EU migration was -95,000, meaning 95,000 much EU nationals near the UK than arrived.

Net migration of British nationals was -21,000, meaning much British radical near the UK than came back.

• Five cardinal impacts of Brexit 5 years on