2023 Year (July 2022 - June 2023)
Net Immigration Increased by 43% Compared to the Same Period Last Year
The annual net immigration to the UK has surpassed 900,000, reaching an all-time high. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer attributed the surge in immigration to the previous Conservative government and announced plans for a significant reduction in immigration.
On the 28th (local time), the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) announced that the net immigration to the UK for 2023 (July 2022 to June 2023) reached a record high of 906,000, a 43% increase compared to the same period last year. It was recorded that 1.32 million people immigrated to the UK, while 414,000 people left the UK.
The previously announced provisional net immigration figure for 2023 was 740,000. The ONS explained that the figure was significantly revised upward by more than 160,000 due to the inclusion of previously omitted Ukrainian migrants and data on existing UK residents who switched to long-term residence visas.
Prime Minister Starmer described the net immigration statistics as "shocking" and declared, "We will soon publish a white paper containing measures to reduce immigration." The fact that the surge in immigration, which was one of the main reasons for the UK's decision to leave the EU (Brexit) in 2016, remains at a high level is expected to put pressure on the current government. Although the provisional net immigration for 2024 is estimated to have decreased to 728,000, it still exceeds double the 2016 figure of 321,000.
Starmer stated, "This scale of failure is not simply bad luck or coincidence," and claimed, "It has become clear that the previous government conducted an 'open border experiment'." He pointed out that the previous Conservative governments, after the UK's exit from the EU in 2020, introduced a points-based work visa system that caused a surge in immigration from non-European nationals. In fact, about 1 million of the immigrants who entered the UK in 2023 were from non-European Union (EU) countries such as India, Nigeria, Pakistan, China, and Zimbabwe.
Starmer emphasized, "I want to see a significant reduction in immigration," but also said, "The majority of migrants came to fill the UK's labor shortages. We will reform the current points-based immigration system and strengthen workforce development within the UK." He also warned that companies employing foreign workers who violate visa regulations or fail to pay minimum wages will be strictly monitored.
The UK Home Office also announced on the same day that it had signed a security agreement focused on cracking down on Iraqi and human smuggling criminal groups and strengthening border controls. The agreement also includes accelerating the deportation of illegal residents in the UK to their home countries and supporting reintegration programs for returnees. The UK spent ?5.38 billion (approximately 9 trillion KRW) on asylum processing from May 2023 to April 2024, a record high that represents a 36% increase from the previous year.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
