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ONS figures show majority of migrants come to the UK to work (30 August 2016)

Date: 30/08/2016
Duncan Lewis, Legal News Solicitors, ONS figures show majority of migrants come to the UK to work

ONS figures estimate that net migration to March 2016 stands at 327,000 – net migration is the difference between immigration and people emigrating from the UK.

The ONS says that the net migration estimate for the year ending to March 2016 was 7,000 lower than the 334,000 estimated for December 2015, however.

Immigration from Romania and Bulgaria had reached a record figure 69,000 annually – in 2013, Migration Watch estimated that between 30,000 and 70,000 people from those countries would come to the UK to live and work every year.

The ONS figures for the reporting period to March 2016 include the International Passenger Survey data and do not cover the period after the EU referendum.

The ONS says that visa, National Insurance number (NINo) and labour market data is for the end of June 2016 – and the figures only include data for few days after the EU referendum, which took place on 23 June.

Figures show, however, that immigration of EU citizens at 268,000 remains lower than that of non-EU citizens at 282,000. The ONS says that the gap has narrowed partly due to increases in immigration from EU15 countries (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom). These were the existing EU member states before the accession of a further ten countries in May 2004.

The ONS says that increases in immigration from EU2 citizens (Bulgaria and Romania) have also narrowed the gap.

The figures show that work remains the most common reason for long-term immigration to the UK (303,000) – with 176,000 of those coming to the UK having with a definite job to go to and 127,000 newcomers to the UK arriving to look for work.

There were also 631,000 National Insurance number (NINo) registrations by EU nationals in the year to June 2016, with 193,000 by non-EU nationals – however, both show a fall from the previous year, though latest quarterly figures show NINo registrations remaining level.

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