Accredited official statistics

Summary of latest statistics

Published 27 February 2025

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

This Accredited Official Statistics publication provides comprehensive statistics on the operation of the UK immigration system.

The UK immigration system undertakes a wide range of activities including issuing visas to those outside of the UK, changes to visas, and grants of settlement and citizenship to those already in the UK, plus providing safe and legal (humanitarian) routes of entry, as well as granting asylum and carrying out enforcement action. Figure 1 illustrates the different aspects of the immigration system and provides the numbers of people dealt with by each in the latest year.

Figure 1: Summary of the UK immigration system^{1, 2, 3, 4}, in 2024

Notes:

1. This diagram is a simplification and doesn’t include all parts of the immigration system, such as people crossing the border who do not require a visa, or irregular arrivals. Data in different parts of the immigration system is not always comparable.
2. Safe and legal (humanitarian) routes include visas granted on the Ukraine, Hong Kong BN(O) and family reunion routes, as well as refugee resettlement and relocation in the UK.
3. The EU settlement scheme (EUSS) figure relates to grants of settled status or pre-settled status, in 2024.
4. Immigration detention relates to the number of people in detention on 31 December 2024.

1. How many people come to the UK?

Key statistics:

In 2024 there were 132.3 million arrivals to the UK. The majority (55%) were British nationals. Of the non-British arrivals, most will be short-term visitors, with smaller numbers arriving for other reasons such as work, study, family and humanitarian.

There are a number of ways a non-British national may receive permission to come to the UK:

• non-visa nationals can be granted leave to enter on arrival at the UK border for a short, temporary period (usually up to 6 months), primarily for tourism
• visa nationals must apply online for an entry clearance visa in advance of travel to visit or transit the UK – there were 2.2 million visitor visas granted and 17,000 transit visas in 2024
• since October 2023, certain nationalities may acquire an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) to visit the UK for short periods – there have been 1.1 million ETAs granted since the introduction of the scheme
• people coming to the UK for other reasons, such as work, study, family and humanitarian reasons usually require an entry clearance visa – there were 956,000 visas issued for a non-visit reason

Figure 2: Number of visas granted to come to the UK by main category (excluding visitors and transit), and number of detected irregular arrivals, in 2024 (main applicants and dependants)

Source: Entry clearance visa applications and outcomes - Vis_D02; Asylum and resettlement summary tables - Asy_11; Irregular migration to the UK - Irr_D01

Notes:

1. ‘Other visas’ include settlement visas, temporary visas (excluding transit), EUSS family permits and some other family members coming to accompany others.
2. ‘Safe and legal’ includes out of country Ukraine and BN(O) schemes and refugee resettlement. It excludes family reunion visas which are included in ‘Family visas’.
3. Chart does not include visitors or transit visas, those coming to the UK who have indefinite leave to remain or status on the EU Settlement Scheme, non-visa national visits, or undetected irregular arrivals.

For further details see ‘How many people come to the UK?’.

2. Why do people come to the UK? Work

Key statistics:

• there were 210,000 visas granted to main applicants in all work categories in 2024, 37% fewer than the previous year, but 53% higher than in 2019
• there were 27,000 ‘Health and Care Worker’ visas granted to main applicants in 2024, 81% fewer than the peak in 2023
• the number of grants to main applicants on other routes in the ‘Worker’ category, (which includes ‘Skilled Worker’ visas) in 2024 has fallen by 11%, compared to the previous year
• the number of ‘Temporary Worker’ visas granted to main applicants in 2024 was 78,000, which is almost double (+91%) the number in 2019, largely due to the growth in the ‘Seasonal Worker’ visa route
• there were 417,000 grants of an extension for work to main applicants, nearly 7 times the number in 2019, primarily driven by the ‘Graduate’, ‘Health and Care Worker’, and the ‘Skilled Worker’

For further details see ‘Why do people come to the UK? Work’.

3. Why do people come to the UK? Study

Key statistics:

• there were 393,000 sponsored study visas granted to foreign students in 2024, 14% fewer than 2023, but 46% higher compared to 2019. In 2024, visas issued to dependants of students fell by 85% to 22,000 compared to 2023, but were 37% higher compared to 2019
• over two-thirds (65%) of student visas in the latest 4 years were for masters level courses

For further details see ‘Why do people come to the UK? Study’.

4. Why do people come to the UK? Family

Key statistics:

• in 2024, 86,000 family-related visas were granted, marking a 7% increase from the previous year; this continues an upward trend since 2020 and is more than double the number granted in 2021
• the growth of family visa grants has largely been driven by Partner visas but in the most recent year the number of Partner visas granted has fallen by 7%
• there has also been a notable rise in ‘Other’ family visas in 2024, which more than doubled from 9,800 to 20,000 compared to the previous year; most (96%) of these were Family Reunion visas, which reached their highest level since the series began in 2010, largely due to the higher number of individuals granted refugee status in recent years

For further details see ‘Why do people come to the UK? Family’.

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

Key statistics:

• in 2024, 79,000 grants of leave were offered via safe and legal (humanitarian) routes to come to, or remain in, the UK. This was 21% fewer than the previous year, largely due to the reduction in visas and extensions granted on the Ukraine Schemes
• in 2024, 7,800 refugees were resettled in the UK, 91% of whom arrived through the Afghan Resettlement Programme

For further details see ‘How many people come to the UK via safe and legal (humanitarian) routes?’.

6. How many people come to the UK irregularly?

Key statistics:

• there were 44,000 irregular arrivals detected in 2024, 19% more than the previous year
• there were 37,000 small boat arrivals in 2024 (84% of total irregular arrivals), 25% more than the previous year but 20% fewer than in 2022
• Afghans were the most common nationality amongst small boat arrivals in 2024, accounting for 17% of small boat arrivals (5,900); however, numbers were lower than the peak of 9,100 Afghan arrivals in 2022
• in 2024, around one third (32%) of the total number of people claiming asylum in the UK had arrived on a small boat

For further details see ‘How many people come to the UK irregularly?’. For more recent data on daily small boat arrivals see ‘Small boat activity in the English Channel’.

7. Asylum claims, outcomes and system

Figure 3: Asylum claims, outcomes and people awaiting an initial decision, between 2002 and 2024

Notes:

1. Includes main applicants and dependants.

Source: Asylum applications, initial decisions and resettlement – Asy_D01, Asy_D02 and Asy_D03

7.1 How many people claim asylum in the UK?

Key statistics:

• 108,000 people claimed asylum in 2024, relating to 84,000 cases, 18% more than in 2023 and higher than the previous recorded peak of 103,000 in 2002
• the number of people claiming asylum has almost doubled since 2021
• in the year ending September 2024 the UK received the fifth largest number of asylum seekers in the EU+

For further details see ‘How many people claim asylum in the UK?’.

7.2 How many people are granted asylum in the UK?

Key statistics:

• 84,000 people received initial decisions on asylum claims (relating to 64,000 cases) in 2024, 11% less than the previous year, but higher than between 2003 and 2022
• almost half (47%) of the initial decisions to main applicants in 2024 were grants, a lower proportion than the 67% in 2023

For further details see ‘How many people are granted asylum in the UK?’.

7.3 How many cases are in the UK asylum system?

Key statistics:

• at the end of 2024, there were 91,000 cases awaiting an initial decision, relating to 125,000 people, 5% fewer than at the end of 2023
• while the number of cases awaiting an initial decision is 32% lower than the peak at the end of June 2023 (134,000 cases), it is still higher than before 2022

For further details see ‘How many cases are in the UK asylum system?’.

8. How many people are granted settlement or citizenship?

Key statistics:

• there were 162,000 grants of settlement in the UK in 2024, representing just over a third more than in 2023; this is the highest number for 13 years, although still below the peak in 2010 (241,000)
• individuals granted settlement, who had previously been granted leave to remain in the UK under work routes, made up the largest category, accounting for 36% of total grants, with a 44% increase for those on the Skilled Worker route, reaching the highest level since the route was introduced in 2008
• settlement granted to former refugees increased by over a third in 2024, compared to the previous year
• there has been a sharp increase in citizenship grants in recent years, with numbers rising from 131,000 in 2020 to 270,000 in 2024 (the highest since the time series began)
• most citizenship in 2024 was granted  to Non-EU nationals (78%)

For further details see ‘How many people are granted settlement or citizenship?’.

9. How many people are granted settlement via the EU Settlement Scheme?

Key statistics:

• there were 8.4 million applications to the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) since the scheme launched in 2018 up to 31 December 2024
• 8.2 million applications had been concluded to 31 December 2024, of which 50% (4.1 million) were granted settled status, 35% (2.9 million) were granted pre-settled status and 15% had other outcomes
• an estimated 6.3 million people have applied to the scheme since it began, of whom 26% (1.6 million) had made at least one repeat application

For further details see ‘How many people are granted settlement via the EU settlement scheme?’.

10. How many people are detained under immigration powers in the UK?

Key statistics:

• numbers of people entering detention in 2024 increased 12% compared to the previous year; this uptick follows a long-term downward trend since 2015
• Albanians have been the most common nationality entering detention since 2022, but their numbers have been falling; numbers of Romanian and Brazilian nationals entering have both risen by around a third in the last year
• the proportion of people leaving detention to be returned to another country has risen to 44% in 2024 – the same as the proportion in 2015 to 2018

For further details see ‘How many people are detained under immigration powers in the UK?’.

11. How many people are returned from the UK?

Key statistics:

• in 2024 there were 8,200 enforced returns, an increase of 28% on the previous year, continuing an increase seen over the last 3 years; Albanians were the most common nationality for enforced returns in 2024
• there were 5,000 FNO returns made in 2024, an increase of a quarter compared to the previous year

For further details see ‘How many people are returned from the UK?’.

Additionally, data on returns between 5 July 2024 and 31 January 2025 are available in this recent ad-hoc statistical release. This release also includes data on enforced and voluntary returns of FNOs, and FNOs under the Early Removal Scheme, as well as numbers of charter flights.

A further release on Home Office enforcement activity provides recent figures on numbers of enforcement visits and arrests.

12. Additional Home Office migration statistics

The Home Office publishes a range of research and statistics which can be found on the migration analysis pages.

Details on the developments and future plans for Home Office ‘Immigration system statistics’ can be found in ‘Developments in migration statistics’.

12.1 Migration transparency

Figures on performance against service standards and processing times are published as part of the Home Office migration transparency. For further details see ‘Migration transparency data’.

12.2 Migrant Journey

The Migrant Journey report provides an analysis of the behaviour of migrants entering the UK immigration system under the main routes of entry to the UK and the common pathways leading to settlement. Selected analysis of this data feature throughout the Immigration system statistics report. For the latest publication see ‘Migrant journey’.

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.

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of our documents. If you have any feedback relating to accessibility, please email us.

See section 6 of the ‘About this release’ section for more details.