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Summary of latest statistics

Published 24 November 2022

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Recent changes in visa numbers

There are a range of developments that are likely to have impacted visa numbers recently and which mean that the Home Office visa statistics at present, may include an element of uncertainty around the overall trends.

Global events such as the world recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and international events (war in Ukraine, Taliban takeover in Afghanistan and National Security Law in Hong Kong), along with policy changes introduced as part of the new Immigration system and the end of EU freedom of movement, have all had an impact on migration. As a result, we are seeing large increases in numbers of visas granted on some of the most commonly used routes in the year ending September 2022, with large increases for sponsored study, non-temporary work and dependants of students and workers, as well as on the new humanitarian routes (for people from Ukraine and Afghanistan, and the BN(O) visa route from Hong Kong).

Changes to travel plans caused by the emergence from the pandemic will have led to a higher number of visas being recorded in the most recent period. The reopening of travel opportunities has led to many people changing travel plans, whether for work, study or visits, in some cases recommencing, or bringing forward journeys they had planned during the pandemic. We saw evidence of this in the spike in passport applications in the UK earlier this year and the strong recovery in air travel shown in the previous Home Office statistical reports on passenger air arrivals. Analysis of Home Office data also suggests that some applications for visas will have been delayed, and some others where travel could not take place repeated, and these may also have caused a higher number to be concentrated in the year ending September 2022.

The end of free movement is likely to have had an impact on EU migration, and in turn non-EU migrants may fill some of the work and study places previously taken by EU migrants. Other policy changes such as the expansion of Skilled Work and Health and Care routes, seasonal work and the Graduate route will have increased visa numbers.

It is difficult to unpick the extent to which each of these factors is contributing to the current increase in both visa applications or grants, and the longer-term intentions of any travellers, whether on temporary or more permanent visas. It may take some time before the effects from the pandemic are seen to balance out in the data.

For further details see ‘Recent changes to visa numbers in Home Office data’.

1. How many people come to the UK each year (including visitors)?

There were an estimated 95.9 million passenger arrivals from outside the Common Travel Area (CTA) in the year ending September 2022 (including returning UK residents). This was more than 4 times (+357%) as many as in the year ending September 2021 (21.0 million), when travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic were still in place. However, the latest number is only around two thirds of the total number of arrivals in 2019 (146.3 million), the period immediately before the COVID-19 outbreak.

There were 2,610,024 visas granted in the year ending September 2022, 18% fewer (-561,705) than calendar year 2019, primarily due to 1.2 million fewer grants of Visitor visas, although the total number of grants continues to increase in the aftermath of the global pandemic. Of the visas granted in the latest 12 months, 48% were to visit, 23% were under the study routes, 15% were under the work routes, 3% were for family reasons, and 11% for other reasons (including grants of leave on the Ukraine Schemes and BN(O) route).

There were 10,100 applications for the BN(O) route in July to September 2022, with 9,420 out of country applications, and 600 in country applications. Of the total, 6,300 applications relate to main applicants and 3,800 relate to dependants. There have been a total of 150,600 applications for the BN(O) route since its introduction on 31 January 2021 up to the end of September 2022.

For further details see ʻHow many people come to the UK each year (including visitors)?’.

2. Statistics on Ukrainians in the UK

By 30 September 2022 a total of 220,225 applications received across both Ukraine Visa Schemes, of which 189,131 had been granted. The Ukraine Family Scheme had 63,074 applications by 30 September. Of these, 53,117 applications had been granted. The Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme had 157,151 applications and 136,014 grants. There were also 19,173 extensions granted, 7,272 under the Ukraine Family Scheme and 11,901 under the Ukraine Extension Scheme.

For further details see ʻStatistics on Ukrainians in the UK’.

3. Why do people come to the UK?

3.1 Work

There were 248,919 grants to main applicants in the year ending September 2022, which represented just under two thirds (65%) of all work visas. This is 82% higher than prior to the pandemic in 2019, and 80% more than in the year ending September 2021, although it should be noted that annual figures are unable to account for changes in travel patterns following the pandemic.

‘Worker’ visas (the main category for skilled work) granted to main applicants increased by 128% (+81,501) to 145,258, compared with 2019. These increases are largely due to the ‘Skilled Worker’ and ‘Skilled Worker - Health and Care’ visas, which were introduced in December 2020.

There were 61,240 grants to main applicants of ‘Skilled Worker’ visas and an additional 61,414 grants to main applicants of ‘Skilled Worker - Health and Care’ visas. Grants for ‘Skilled Worker’ and ‘Skilled Worker - Health and Care’ visas have also grown in almost every quarter since they were first introduced, and together represent just under half (49%) of all work visas granted to main applicants in the year ending September 2022.

Grants of ‘Temporary Worker’ visas to main applicants have increased by 32,083 (+78%) to 72,997, compared with 2019. The increase has been largely driven by the ‘Seasonal Worker’ visa, which currently represent 53% of the total ‘Temporary Worker’ main applicant visas.

There were 27,769 work-related visas granted to main applicants from EEA and Swiss nationals seeking to come to the UK, representing 11% of all work-related visas to main applicants.

Over one third (35%) of all work visas were to dependants (partner or child) of main applicants, with 132,540 grants in the year ending September 2022. This was more than double (+139%) the grants in 2019. However, the percentage of dependants on work routes remain relatively stable, between 29% in 2019 and 35% in the year ending September 2022.

For further details see ʻWhy do people come to the UK? To work’.

3.2 Study

In the year ending September 2022, there were 476,389 Sponsored study visas issued to main applicants, 77% more than in 2019. However, annual figures are unable to account for changes in travel patterns following the pandemic, which may have led to more students applying for visas in the year ending September 2022, and so comparisons should be treated with caution at this point.

There were 127,731 grants to Indian students, an increase of 93,470 (+273%) compared to 2019 (34,261). Chinese students were the second most common nationality granted Sponsored study visas, with 116,476 visas granted, 2% fewer than the number seen in 2019 (119,231). After Indian nationals, Nigerian nationals saw the largest increase in main applicant Sponsored study visas, of 44,162 (+650%) to 50,960.

The vast majority of visas (91%) are granted for study at higher education (university) institutions, with the total divided between:

• higher education (91%)
• further education (3%)
• independent schools (3%)
• English language schools (2%)
• other (1%)

One fifth (20%) of Sponsored study related visas issued were to family members of students (116,321), compared to 6% (16,047) in 2019.

For further details see ʻWhy do people come to the UK? To study’.

3.3 Family

There were 76,412 visas and permits granted for family reasons in the year ending September 2022, 29% less than 2019.

Of these, there were 38,597 family-related visas granted, 31% fewer than 2019; almost three quarters (73%) of family-related visas granted in the year ending September 2022 were to partners, with the remainder being for children or other dependants.

There were 37,779 EU Settlement Scheme permits issued in the year ending September 2022 to family members of people from the EU, EEA and Switzerland granted or eligible for settled or pre-settled status through the EU Settlement Scheme on the basis of residence in the UK before the end of the transition period. This is almost 6 times the number that was granted in 2019 (6,611, a 471% increase). A total of 106,524 have been issued since the route opened in March 2019.

For further details see ʻWhy do people come to the UK? For family reasons’.

4. How many people do we grant protection to?

The UK offered protection (in the form of refugee status, humanitarian protection, alternative forms of leave and resettlement) to 17,378 people (including dependants) in the year ending September 2022. This number was 16% lower than in 2019, but similar to levels seen from 2015 to 2018. Resettlement accounted for 1,391 (8%) of the people offered protection in the year ending September 2022. The resettlement data here does not include the people who have been resettled under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme or relocated under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy; statistics on these schemes will be included in future editions of Immigration Statistics.

There were 72,027 asylum applications (main applicants only) in the UK in the year ending September 2022, over double the number in 2019. This is higher than at the peak of the European Migration crisis (36,546 in year ending June 2016) and is the highest number of applications for almost 2 decades (since 2003).

In the year ending September 2022, there were 16,400 initial decisions made on asylum applications. Although the number of decisions has increased in the last year, they remain 21% below numbers in 2019, before the pandemic. Just over three quarters (77%) of the initial decisions in the year ending September 2022 were grants (of asylum, humanitarian protection or alternative forms of leave), which is a substantially higher grant rate than in pre-pandemic years and the highest since 82% in 1990. Of the top 10 nationalities applying for asylum, half have a grant rate above 80% (Iran 82%, Afghanistan 98%, Eritrea 98%, Syria 98% and Sudan 87%). This rise in grant rate is in part because of the low number of refusals (including third country refusals, which have been affected by the UK leaving the EU), although the overall grant rate can vary for a number of reasons.

For further details see ʻHow many people do we grant protection to?’.

5. How many people continue their stay in the UK or apply to stay permanently?

5.1 Extension of temporary stay in the UK

There were 471,666 decisions on applications to extend a person’s stay in the UK (including dependants) in the year ending September 2022, 21% more than a year earlier and 54% more than in 2019.

5.2 Settlement

There were 129,397 decisions on applications for settlement in the UK in the year ending September 2022, 12% more than in the year ending September 2021, and 37% more than 2019. Of these, 127,820 (99%) were granted.

5.3 EEA nationals and their family members

Documents issued under European law are no longer valid as evidence of a right of residence in the UK unless an application to the EUSS was made on or before 30 June 2021. Applications received before 1 January 2021 are still being processed. More information is available on the relevant visas and immigration pages on GOV.UK.

In the year ending September 2022, there were a total of 890 decisions on applications for EEA residence documents, only 4% of the number in the previous year. This included 783 registration certificates and registration cards issued, and 85 documents certifying permanent residence and permanent residence cards issued.

The Home Office publishes regular updates to EU Settlement Scheme numbers. The latest data show that 6.9 million applications to the EU Settlement Scheme had been received up to 30 September 2022, of which 6.7 million had been concluded.

5.4 Citizenship

There were 183,414 applications for British citizenship in the year ending September 2022, 5% more than in 2019 prior to the pandemic.

There were 46,678 applications for citizenship by EU nationals, 6% fewer than in 2019. There were 136,736 applications for citizenship made by non-EU nationals, 9% higher than in 2019. EU nationals accounted for a quarter (25%) of all citizenship applications in the year ending September 2022 compared to 12% in 2016. Increases in citizenship applications from EU nationals since 2016 are likely to reflect people seeking to confirm their status in the UK following the EU referendum and the UK’s exit from the EU.

There were 185,857 grants of British citizenship in the year ending September 2022, 17% more than in 2019 prior to the pandemic. This increase comes after a period of relative stability since 2014.

For further details see ʻHow many people continue their stay in the UK?’.

6. How many people are detained or returned?

6.1 Immigration detention

23,226 people entered immigration detention in the year ending September 2022, this represented a decrease of 5% compared with pre-pandemic levels in 2019.

At the end of September 2022, there were 2,077 people in immigration detention (including those detained under immigration powers in prison), almost 3 times more than at the end of June 2020 (698) when the impact of the pandemic was most pronounced and 27% more than pre-pandemic levels at the end of December 2019 (1,637). However, the number detained at the end of September 2022 was 25% lower than at the end of March 2018 (2,758).

22,643 people left detention in the year ending September 2022, which was 8% fewer than in 2019. 60% had been detained for 7 days or less, compared with 39% pre-pandemic in 2019. This high proportion was in part due to an increasing proportion of detainees being bailed (82% of those leaving detention in the year ending September 2022 were bailed), with the most common reason being an asylum (or other) application being raised.

6.2 Returns

In the year ending June 2022, there were 3,250 enforced returns, 55% fewer than in 2019 pre-pandemic (7,198). The vast majority of enforced returns in the year ending June 2022 were of Foreign National Offenders (FNOs) and around a half (49%) were EU nationals.

Enforced returns have been declining since the peak in 2012 with the most recent fall related to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of enforced returns were very low during quarters that coincided with lockdowns starting in late March 2020 and early January 2021 (363 and 428). Numbers have increased to near 900 in each of the last 2 quarters(January to March and April to June 2022); however, this is still below the pre-pandemic levels in 2019 (which saw around 1,800 returns per quarter).

In the year ending June 2022, there were 2,867 FNOs returned from the UK, of which the majority (56%) were EU nationals (1,599) and 44% were non-EU nationals (1,268). FNO returns are a subset of total returns figures and in the year ending June 2022 constituted the vast majority of enforced returns and 24% of enforced and voluntary returns combined.

This figure of 2,867 FNO returns was 44% lower than in 2019 (5,128). Non-EU FNO returns have picked up slightly following the COVID-19 pandemic, driven by the increase in Albanian FNO returns. Overall, though, FNO returns have shown a downward trend since 2016, with the majority of FNOs returned being from the EU in every year since 2014.

For further details see ʻHow many people are detained or returned?’.

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