Accredited official statistics

Why do people come to the UK? (4) For family reasons

Published 28 February 2019

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-year-ending-december-2018/why-do-people-come-to-the-uk-4-for-family-reasons

Back to ‘Immigration Statistics, year ending December 2018’ content page.

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Data relate to the year ending December 2018 and all comparisons are with the year ending December 2017, unless indicated otherwise.

This section contains data on:

  • family-related Entry clearance visas
  • dependants on other types of visas (excluding Visitor visas)
  • European Economic Area (EEA) Family permits

The Home Office provides a more detailed commentary on an annual basis. The latest detailed annual commentary is included in ‘Immigration statistics, year ending June 2018’.

1. Immigration for family reasons

There were 151,953 visas granted for family reasons in 2018, 14% more than in the previous year. The total included:

  • 44,429 visas for family-related reasons, 11% higher than the previous year, which reflects a change in the classification of children of a parent given limited leave to enter or remain in the UK for a probationary period who are now included in this category
  • 70,969 dependants of people coming to the UK on other types of visas (excluding Visitor visas), up 7%, driven by an increase in grants to dependants of Tier 2 visa holders (up 5,117 to 45,873)
  • 36,555 EEA Family permits, up 35% compared with the previous year, a return to levels similar to 2016 following a fall in 2017. The increase was driven by a rise in grants to Indian nationals (up 3,769 to 8,747)
Visa type 2017 2018 Change Percentage change
Family-related visas granted 40,131 44,429 +4,298 +11%
of which:        
Partners 32,530 33,253 +723 +2%
Children1 2,217 5,048 +2,831 +128%
Other dependants 5,384 6,128 +744 +14%
         
Dependants on other visas (excl. Visitor visas) 66,510 70,969 +4,459 +7%
         
EEA Family permits granted 27,106 36,555 +9,449 +35%
         
Total 133,747 151,953 +18,206 +14%

Source:

Entry clearance visas table vi 01 q (volume 1)

Table note:

  1. From December 2017, data on ‘Family-related visas granted’ to children include children of a parent given limited leave to enter or remain in the UK for a probationary period. These were previously included as ‘Dependants on other visas (excl. Visitor visas)’. The increase in grants to children in 2018 reflects this change.
The chart shows the number of family-related visas (including dependants on other visas) and EEA Family permits granted over the last 10 years.

Source:

Entry clearance visas table vi 04 q (volume 1)

Chart notes:

  1. Includes dependants of those coming on other visa categories (such as work and study) but excludes dependants of those on Visitor visas.
  2. From 29 November 2010, all non-EEA nationals applying to enter or extend their stay as a partner of a British citizen, or settled person, were required to demonstrate a level of English, except in certain circumstances. This change coincided with a fall in family-related visas granted.
  3. A number of changes to the Immigration Rules came into effect on 9 July 2012. Further details on the rule changes can be found in the user guide and in the additional analysis provided in ‘Immigration Statistics, July to September 2014’.

2. About these statistics

The statistics in this section provide an indication of the number of people who have an intention to enter the UK for family reasons.

Entry clearance visas allow an individual to enter and stay in the UK within the period for which the visa is valid. EEA nationals do not require a visa to enter the UK.

Data in this section refer to the number of Entry clearance visas granted for family reasons (including those issued to dependants of those travelling on other types of visas, excluding Visitor visas) and EEA Family permits granted, within the period. If an individual is granted a visa more than once in a given period, this will be counted as multiple grants in the statistics. If an individual enters the UK multiple times within the period for which a visa is valid, this will be counted as one grant in the visa statistics.

The data do not show whether, or when, an individual arrived in the UK, what they did on arrival to the UK, or how long they stayed in the UK.

Year-on-year comparisons of the number of decisions can be affected by quarterly fluctuations in the data. Such fluctuations can be examined in more detail in the quarterly data that are available in the published tables.

Additional analysis on Family visas was included in the Immigration Statistics, July to September 2014 release to assist users in understanding the trends in family data before and after the changes to the Immigration Rules in July 2012 (updated in the ‘Immigration Statistics, April to June 2015’ release).

For figures on family-related grants of settlement as well as residence documentation issued to EEA nationals and their family members, see ‘How many people continue their stay in the UK?’. Data on the Family reunion visa category can be found in this edition’s ‘How many people do we grant asylum or protection to?’ section.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes long-term international migration (LTIM) estimates in its ‘Migration Statistics Quarterly report’. The report includes estimates from the International Passenger Survey (IPS) on the number of people coming to the UK with the intention of staying for 12 months or more for work, study, family and other reasons. Estimates are available for EU, non-EU, and British nationals. IPS data are not directly comparable with Home Office visa data for a number of reasons. See the ONS article ‘Comparing sources of international migration statistics’ for details.

Further information on the statistics in this section can be found in the Visa and Family sections of the user guide.

3. Data tables

Data on family immigration can be found in the following tables:

We welcome your 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.

See section 7 of the ‘About this release’ section for more details.

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