Why do people come to the UK? For family reasons
Published 29 February 2024
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-system-statistics-year-ending-december-2023/why-do-people-come-to-the-uk-for-family-reasons
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Data relates to 2023 and all comparisons are with 2022 (unless indicated otherwise). All data includes dependants, unless indicated otherwise.
Statistics on dependants travelling with or joining family members on work and study visas are not included in this section and can be found in the relevant “Why do people come to the UK to work”, and “Why do people come to the UK to study” topics.
1. Family-related visas and permits
Family-related visas relate to persons wishing to live with family members who are British citizens or non-British settled migrants in the UK as part of their family. It also includes people wishing to join a relative with refugee status or humanitarian protection in the UK.
There were 81,203 family-related visas granted in 2023, an increase of 72% from 2022 and the highest calendar year on record.
In the 5 years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of family visa grants averaged around 43,000 per year (from 2015 to 2019). The increase in grants of family-related visas in the last year may in part reflect the greater opportunities to travel following the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated impacts, along with the clearance of a queue of applications.
Figure 1: Family-related visa grants and family visa applications, 2014 to 2023
Source: Entry clearance visa applications and outcomes: Vis_D01 and Vis_D02
Figure 1 shows that the family-related visas granted, and family visa applications have been relatively stable for a number of years up to 2018, before increasing prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, then falling in 2020. Family visa applications have also increased since the end of December 2021. Family-related visa grants lagged behind applications in 2021 and early 2022 but have increased sharply since mid-2022 and are now almost double pre-pandemic levels.
Three quarters of family-related visas issued in 2023 were to partners, similar to previous years, with the remainder being for children or other dependants.
Those arriving on family routes are more likely to acquire indefinite leave to remain (ILR) than those arriving on work and study visas. Analysis from the Migrant journey: 2022 report shows that of those whose first leave to enter the UK was on the family route since 2007, 65% had ILR after 5 years, increasing to 84% after 10 years. This is much higher than those starting on work and study routes, where around 22% and 8% respectively had ILR after 10 years.
1.1 Family-related visas by nationality
Pakistani nationals accounted for 18% (14,330) of the total Family-related visas granted almost 3 times the number of Indian nationals (5,248), the next largest nationality on this route.
Table 1: Top 5 nationalities family-related visas granted, years 2022 and 2023
| Nationality | 2022 | 2023 | Change | Percentage change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pakistan | 8,415 | 14,330 | +5,915 | +70% |
| India | 3,349 | 5,248 | +1,899 | +57% |
| Bangladesh | 2,098 | 3,534 | +1,436 | +68% |
| United States | 2,131 | 3,477 | +1,346 | +63% |
| Nepal | 1,850 | 3,147 | +1,297 | +70% |
| All other nationalities | 29,276 | 51,467 | +22,191 | +76% |
| Total | 47,119 | 81,203 | +34,084 | +72% |
Source: Entry clearance visa applications and outcomes: Vis_D02
2. EU Settlement Scheme family permits
The EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) Family permits was launched alongside the EU Settlement Scheme. The permits enable family members of EU, other EEA and Swiss citizens who were resident in the UK by 31 December 2020, to join them. Once here the family member can then apply to the EUSS to continue living in the UK.
There were 17,169 EUSS family permits granted in 2023, 45% fewer than 2022.
The number of family permits granted peaked at 54,973 in the year ending December 2021. They have subsequently fallen, reaching 17,169 in 2023 following the formal end of the scheme on 30 June 2021, with the exception of some groups who can still apply on the family route. Further information can be found in the Family section of the user guide.
A total of 129,062 EU Settlement Scheme family permits were granted since the opening of the scheme in March 2019.
Nationals of Pakistan, India and Bangladesh are the top 3 nationalities and accounted for almost 50% (61,972) of EUSS family permits granted since the opening of the scheme, same nationalities as those applying for family-related visas.
3. Extensions for family reasons
Visas on extensions of stay for family-related reasons relate to people wishing to extend or change the status of their stay in the UK. It covers extensions where an individual is applying on the basis of their relationship to a person settled in the UK or a British citizen. An individual is required to apply for an extension or change in status before their existing permission to enter or stay expires and may make more than one application in any given year.
There were 108,230 extensions of stay granted for family reasons in 2023, a decrease of 20% compared with the previous year but similar to levels at the start of the pandemic.
Analysis linking the current category of leave to the previous category of leave shows that 71% of family-related extensions granted in 2023 held a family-related visa before their current family extension.
4. About these statistics
The statistics in this section provide an indication of the number of people who had an intention to enter the UK for family reasons.
Before the end of the transition period for the UK leaving the EU on 31 December 2020, EU nationals were able to come to the UK under freedom of movement and did not typically require separate permission (such as a visa). The majority of UK immigration control before 2021 related to non-European Economic Area (EEA) nationals. From 2021, EEA nationals became subject to immigration controls and are now more likely to obtain permission to travel to the UK. For many this will be under the EU Settlement Scheme (see EU Settlement Scheme statistics), while others will require a visa.
Entry clearance visas allow an individual to enter and stay in the UK within the period for which the visa is valid. From 2021, EEA nationals require a visa to enter the UK for family reasons, unless they are eligible for the EU Settlement Scheme or a free EU Settlement Scheme family permit.
Data in this section refers to the number of Entry clearance visas granted for family reasons, and EU Settlement Scheme permits granted, within the period. If an individual was granted a visa more than once in a given period, this has been counted as multiple grants in the statistics. If an individual entered the UK multiple times within the period for which a visa was valid, this has been counted as one grant in the visa statistics.
Data in this section should be viewed in the context of wider policy and legislative changes, which can impact the number of applications and decisions. Availability and allocation of resources within the Home Office should also be considered. This can affect the number of decisions made in a given period.
Year-on-year comparisons of the number of decisions can be affected by quarterly fluctuations in the data. These fluctuations can be examined in the quarterly data 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 are granted settlement or citizenship?’. Further data on the Family reunion visa category can be found in ‘Safe and legal (humanitarian) routes to the UK’.
Prior to 1 July 2021, the EU Settlement Scheme family permit operated alongside the EEA family permit, which continued to provide a separate entry clearance route for those who qualified for it. After 30 June 2021, EEA family permits were no longer valid for travel to the UK. The EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) family permit facilitates entry into the UK for an eligible family member to join, or accompany, an EEA or Swiss citizen who has been granted settled status or pre-settled status under the EUSS. This is a separate entry clearance route from those applying directly to the EU Settlement Scheme. EU Settlement Scheme statistics are published by the Home Office.
More information about the statistics can be found in the user guide.
4.1 Extension of temporary stay in the UK
Extensions of temporary stay in the UK relate to individuals inside the UK extending or changing the status of their right to stay in the UK. An individual is required to apply for an extension or change in status before their existing permission to enter or stay in the UK expires.
The statistics in this section show the number of grants and refusals on applications for extension of temporary stay in the UK. One individual may have made multiple applications for an extension, so may account for multiple decisions. Data in this section includes dependants and takes account of the outcomes of reconsiderations and appeals.
The statistics do not show the number of people applying to extend their temporary stay in the UK, nor do they show how long an individual stayed in the UK following their extension.
Data on the previous category of leave links current and previous leave types, within and across caseworking systems, with a match rate of 99.7 to 99.9%. Of the successfully matched cases, 8% of previous case types were unknown. Figures and percentages are rounded to reflect this uncertainty.
Further information on the statistics in this section can be found in the extension section of the user guide.
4.2 Other sources
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publish long-term international migration estimates. These are statistics under development that estimate the number of people immigrating to and emigrating from the UK for 12 months or more.
5. Data tables
Data on family immigration can be found in the following tables:
- Entry clearance visa summary tables
- Detailed Entry clearance visa datasets
- Extensions summary tables
- Detailed Extensions datasets
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