Accredited official statistics

About this release

Published 28 November 2024

Back to ‘Immigration system statistics, year ending September 2024’ content page.

The Home Office ‘Immigration system statistics quarterly release’ series gives an overview of work on immigration control, entry clearance, asylum and enforcement within the Home Office, including the work of UK Border Force, Immigration Enforcement and UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI). It helps inform users such as the government, Parliament, the media and the wider public, and supports the development and monitoring of policy.

This release includes the latest statistics for the year ending September 2024, on a range of topics including:

• How many people come to the UK each year?

• Why do people come to the UK? Work

• Why do people come to the UK? Study

• Why do people come to the UK? Family

• How many people come to the UK via safe and legal (humanitarian) routes?

• How many people come to the UK irregularly?

• How many people claim asylum in the UK?

• How many people are granted asylum in the UK?

• How many cases are in the UK asylum system?

• How many people are granted settlement or citizenship?

• How many people have been granted settlement via the EU Settlement Scheme?

• How many people are detained or returned?

The ‘Immigration system statistics’ release is an Accredited Official Statistics output produced to the highest professional standards and free from political interference. It has been produced by statisticians in Migration statistics within the Home Office in accordance with the Home Office’s ‘Statement of compliance with the code of practice for statistics’. The Head of Profession for Statistics reports to the National Statistician with respect to all professional statistical matters and oversees all Home Office Accredited Official Statistics products with respect to the Code of Practice, being responsible for their timing, content and methodology.

The Home Office ‘[‘Immigration system statistics’](https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release’ series forms part of a larger cross-government Statistical Service ‘Migration statistics transformation plan’ to meet changing user needs, and which will put administrative data at the core of evidence on migration. Improvements to this release, which are part of this programme of work, can be found in ‘Developments in migration statistics’.

1. Accredited Official Statistics

These data, formerly known as ‘National Statistics’, are ‘Accredited Official Statistics’. National Statistics is the legal term set out in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 for ‘Accredited Official Statistics’ that have been judged by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR), to comply with the Code of Practice for Statistics (“the Code”). This means these statistics meet the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value as set out in ‘the Code’. Further information about accredited official statistics can be found on the OSR’s website.

Our statistical practice is regulated by the OSR which sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to. You are welcome to contact us directly via migrationstatsenquiries@homeoffice.gov.uk with any comments about how we meet these standards. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.

The statistics last underwent a full assessment against the Code of Practice in February 2012. The continued designation of these statistics as National Statistics was confirmed in September 2018 following a compliance check by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). The OSR report highlighted a number of strengths and made suggestions for improvements.

2. Changes to the release

2.1 Data system transition

The Home Office is transitioning its immigration data to a new system (‘Atlas’). Data is transitioning in stages and certain datasets may be unavailable temporarily during this period. Updates to these datasets will be included in future publications as soon as they are available. In addition, published numbers may be revised in future quarters following this period of change.

2.2 Changes to publication frequency

Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the code of practice for statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, the resources required to compile the statistics, as well as quality and availability of data. This allows us to balance the production of our regular statistics whilst developing new statistics for future release.

There are several upcoming changes to the statistics, outlined below:

1. Publication of the number of NRM referrals from small boat arrivals and outcomes of the NRM referrals in data tables Irr_D04 and Irr_D05 is moving from a quarterly to annual update. The last quarterly release will be published on 27 February 2025, with data to the end of December 2024. The annual release of data will be published in May, with data to the end of the previous calendar year. This will allow more accurate reporting as a substantial amount of time is required to progress modern slavery claims. The trends in the data do not normally change greatly on a quarterly basis due to small volumes (less than 10% of small boat arrivals in total since 2018 have been referred).

2. Publication of the number of applications and grants of study visas by course level in data tables Edu_D01 and Edu_D02 is moving from a quarterly to a biannual update. The last quarterly release will be published on 27 February 2025, with data to the end of December 2024. The biannual release of data will be published in May and November of each year, with data to the end of March and the end of September respectively. Intake of sponsored study visas are seasonal, typically peaking in the first and third quarters of each year. The publication schedule provides information soon after the end of these peak periods.

3. Publication of passengers refused entry to the border data in tables Stp_01, Stp_02 and Stp_D01 will be discontinued. The last quarterly release will be published on 27 February 2025, with data to the end of December 2024. The insight contained within these statistics are superseded by the existing data on Passengers Refused Entry at Port and Subsequently Returned, within the Returns detailed and summary tables. This change will ensure we provide a more coherent overview of passengers returned at the UK border.

4. Publication of the Asy_D08 tables (asylum claims certified under Section 94) will be discontinued. The last quarterly release will be published on 27 February 2025, with data to the end of December 2024. Table Asy_D08 was introduced to monitor the number of claims certified under Section 94 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, which had an out of country right of appeal (also known as ‘non-suspensive appeal’). The Nationality and Borders Act 2022 removed the out of country right of appeal for any decisions certified under section 94 on or after 28 June 2022. Therefore, table Asy_D08 will be discontinued. The total number of certified claims (including those certified under Section 94) remains available in table Asy_D02. This change will ensure we provide a more coherent overview of asylum outcomes.

5. Publication of Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) for work visas and Confirmations of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) for study visas will be discontinued. The last quarterly release will be published on 27 February 2025, with data to the end of December 2024. The insights contained within these statistics are mostly superseded by the sponsored work visas by occupation and industry dataset, and the sponsored study visas by course level dataset. This change will ensure we provide a more coherent overview of the types of work and study that migrants come to the UK for.

6. The weekly Ukraine visa statistics publication will come to an end. The final weekly update to this publication will be on 19 December 2024. Statistics on the Ukraine visa schemes can be found within the Immigration system statistics quarterly publication.

2.3 Irregular migration

To bring the reporting of the department’s immigration system data into one place, data on irregular arrivals, which was previously published separately, has been incorporated into the Immigration system statistics quarterly release. The content and scope of the statistics previously published in the ‘Irregular Migration to the UK’ release has not changed.

The Irregular Migration statistics were designated as ‘Official Statistics’ from February 2022. For more information, please see the quality section of the Irregular Migration statistics user guide.

2.4 Sponsored work visas by occupation and industry

Publication of the ‘Sponsored work visas by occupation and industry’ dataset was temporarily paused due to the Home Office adopting the latest Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) framework; a common classification of jobs in the UK overseen by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). We have resumed publication of this dataset, with the latest available data currently up to the end of September 2024. The new dataset uses the SOC 2020 framework and in order to provide a comparable time series, is primarily based on modelled estimates by converting occupations under the 2010 framework to occupations under the 2020 framework.

The new data is not broken down by nationality or occupation at the unit group (4 digit) level, as estimates are not reliable at this level of granularity. The previous published dataset, which contains data up to 2024 Q1, and uses the SOC 2010 framework, will continue to be available on GOV.UK.

3. Migration Statistics User Forum

The Migration Statistics User Forum has been established for discussion of international migration statistics, allowing users to discuss their need for and use of the data, and for producers to consult on presentation and provide information on proposed changes or improvements to the statistics. The forum is a user-led group with over 200 members and affiliated to the wider Statistics User Forum established by the Royal Statistical Society. The forum meets annually at its conference, usually held in autumn. Home Office Analysis and Insight uses this forum to communicate with migration statistics users, including providing information on new data and publications.

Details of the next annual conference, any other events and information relating to migration publications will be sent to members of the forum via its distribution list. The distribution list is available to join through the MIGRATION-STATS JISCmail list.

4. Other Home Office research and statistics

‘Migration analysis at the Home Office’

This page provides a hub for collections and the latest updates relating to published statistics, research and evaluation on migration.

‘Developments in migration statistics’

In recent years Home Office statisticians have introduced a wide range of changes to the UK migration statistics. These include developments in the department’s range of official statistics, research and analysis using Home Office and other data sources.

‘Monthly entry clearance visa applications’

Statistics on visa applications for people coming to the UK for work and study.

‘Statistics relating to passenger arrivals since the COVID-19 outbreak’

Statistical reports showing the impact of COVID-19 on the immigration system.

‘Migrant journey’

Formerly known as ‘Statistics on changes in migrants’ visas and leave status’, this release explores migrants’ journeys through the UK’s immigration system.

‘Migration transparency data’

Performance data related to areas in the Home Office business plan, and data on borders and immigration activity, which has been regularly requested from the Home Office by the Home Affairs Select Committee.

‘Analysis of migrants use of the Graduate route’

This report looks at who entered the Graduate route and what they did after. It includes insights on their earnings by linking Home Office records to HMRC data.

‘Ukraine Family Scheme and Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme Statistics’

Provides the latest statistics on the Ukraine Family Scheme and the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme. The Ukraine Family Scheme allows applicants to join family members or extend their stay in the UK. The Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme allows Ukrainian nationals and their family members to come to the UK if they have a named sponsor under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme.

5. Other migration outputs

‘Migration Advisory Committee’ (MAC) is an independent, non-statutory, non-time limited, non-departmental public body that advises the government on migration issues. It publishes a range of reports on migration.

‘International migration’ (ONS).

Tool to locate the datasets for all ONS international migration outputs and for updates to international migration outputs.

‘Statistics at DWP’ (DWP).

Research and statistics on migration to support Home Office policy development and operational activity.

6. Further information and feedback

If you have any comments, or suggestions for the development of this report, please provide feedback by emailing MigrationStatsEnquiries@homeoffice.gov.uk. Please include the words ‘PUBLICATION FEEDBACK’ in the subject of your email.

Press enquiries should be made to:

Home Office Press Office Peel Building
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF
Tel: 0300 123 3535

The Home Office Responsible Statistician is Jack Cooper.

The Home Office Migration Statistics mission statement is:

We produce timely, accurate and objective statistics on immigration to support effective delivery of Home Office objectives and to inform government, Parliament and the public.