Accredited official statistics

Why do people come to the UK? Family

Published 27 February 2025

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-system-statistics-year-ending-december-2024/why-do-people-come-to-the-uk-family

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

Data relates to 2024 and all comparisons are with 2023 (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? Work’, and ‘Why do people come to the UK? Study’ topics.

Family-related visas apply 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. This category also includes people wishing to join a relative with refugee status or humanitarian protection in the UK.

In 2024, there were 91,899 family-related visa applications, a 16% increase compared with 2023. This year-on-year increase continues an upward trend over the past 4 years.

Figure 1: Family visa applications and grants, 2010 to 2024

Source: Entry clearance visa applications and outcomes: Vis_D01 and Vis_D02

Figure 1 shows that family-related visa applications remained stable between 2015 and 2019, before declining in 2020. Since 2021, applications have been on an upward trend, driven primarily by a 57% increase in partner visa applications between 2021 (35,714) and 2024 (56,076).

In December 2023, the government announced an increase to the Minimum Income Requirement for sponsoring a partner on a family visa (from £18,600 to £29,000) from April 2024. This led to a surge in Partner visa applications in Q1 (January to March) 2024 ahead of the change, followed by a subsequent decline.

The overall rise in applications has also been influenced by a sharp increase in ‘Other’ family visa applications since late 2023, reaching 24,112 in 2024 - 65% higher than the previous year. Most of these grants fall under the Refugee Family Reunion visa category, which allows those with protection status in the UK to sponsor immediate family members to join them. For more information see How many people come to the UK via safe and legal (humanitarian) routes.

There were 86,049 family-related visas granted in 2024, 7% more than in 2023. The slight decreases in Partner and Child visa grants were offset by an increase in ‘Other’ visa grants, the majority of which were Refugee Family Reunion

The trend in family visa grants shows a steady increase from 2013 to 2019, followed by a sharp decline between 2020 and 2022. This decrease can be attributed to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the re-prioritisation of casework resources to support the introduction of the Ukraine schemes, in response to the war in Ukraine.

In the latest period, the number of grants has increased, continuing a 4-year upward trend and more than doubling since 2021. This growth had largely been driven by ‘Partner’ visa grants, which increased by 67% between 2022 and 2023. This is due to both an operational response to clear the backlog that grew while caseworkers were reassigned, and an increase in applications more generally. However, partner visas fell 7% in the latest year.

Figure 2: Family-related visa grants by visa type, 2010 to 2024

Source: Entry clearance visa outcomes: Vis_D02 and ; Fam_D01

Figure 2 shows that the increase in family-related visa grants in the latest year was largely driven by the ‘Other’ visa category, which more than doubled to 20,437 compared with the previous year. This contrasts with previous years, where the increase in Partner visa grants attributed to a more than two-thirds increase in overall family-related visa grants between 2022 and 2023. In 2024, however, the number of Partner visas granted decreased by 7%. This reduction is likely due to the increase in the Minimum Income Requirement (MIR) that took effect in April 2024, with fewer partners and sponsors able to meet the higher income threshold required for visa eligibility.

Refugee Family Reunion visas made up over 96% (19,710) of all ‘Other’ visas granted in 2024. The number of Refugee Family Reunion visas granted rose throughout most of 2024, peaking at 5,328 in Q3 (July to September) before slightly declining to 4,907 in Q4 (October to December). There was a notable increase in the number of people granted refugee status in late 2023 (nearly 55,000 in July to December 2023). Many of those granted asylum will be eligible to bring family members to the UK on Refugee Family Reunion visas, which may explain the increasing numbers into 2024.

Figure 3: Top 10 nationalities for family-related visas granted, by family visa type, 2024

Source: Entry clearance visa outcomes: Vis_D02

Figure 3 shows that Pakistani nationals accounted for over one-sixth (16%, or 13,748) of all family-related visas granted in 2024, with the majority (87%) issued through the Partner visa route.

Syrian nationals were the second-largest nationality group (5,662), with grants more than doubled compared with the previous year, with 92% Refugee Family Reunion. The number of family visas granted to Iranian nationals in 2024 (4,386) more than doubled compared with the previous year. Like Syrian nationals, most of these grants (81%) were issued through the Refugee Family Reunion visa route.

The number of Nepali children granted family-related visas increased by 53% in 2024 compared with 2023, and more than tripled in comparison to 2022. This significant rise in Child visa grants for Nepali children may be linked to the settlement concession for Gurkhas, which offers a rules-based pathway for eligible Gurkhas discharged before 1 July 1997, along with their qualifying family members, to settle in the UK.

EUSS Family Permits

In addition, 13,250 EUSS Family Permits were granted in 2024, a fifth (21%) less than in 2023, continuing year on year decreases since the peak in 2021 of 54,973. The EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) family permit allows eligible family members of an EEA citizen or, if applied by 8 August 2023, a qualifying British citizen, to enter the UK. It lets the holder join or accompany their EEA or British citizen family member, including naturalised British citizens, dual British and EEA citizens, relevant persons of Northern Ireland, and those exempt from immigration control or working as frontier workers.

For further information on EUSS family permits, see ‘How many people have been granted settlement via the EU Settlement Scheme’

Indefinite leave to remain: Migrant journey

Those arriving on family routes are historically more likely to seek to remain permanently in the UK, acquire indefinite leave to remain (ILR), compared with those arriving on work and study visas. Analysis from the Migrant journey: 2023 report shows that since 2007, of those whose first leave to enter the UK was on the family route, 62% had ILR after 5 years, increasing to 83% after 10 years. This is much higher than those starting on work and study routes, where 21% and 7% respectively had ILR after 10 years.

2. Extensions for family reasons

Extensions of stay for family-related reasons relate to people wishing to extend their stay in the UK for family-reasons. It covers extensions where an individual is applying based on their relationship to a person settled in the UK or a British citizen. An individual is required to apply for an extension before their existing permission to enter or stay expires and may make more than one application in any given year.

There were 128,020 extensions of stay granted for family reasons in 2024, an increase of 19% compared with 2023, but 5% lower than 2022 when grant levels were at their highest level.

Analysis from the Migrant journey: 2023 report, which links the current category of leave to the previous category of leave shows that 75% of family-related extensions granted in 2023 were to people who held a family-related visa before their current family extension. A further 5% previously held leave as a student, and 6% as a worker.

3. 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 is 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 How many people are granted settlement via the EU settlement scheme), 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.

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.

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’. Trends in Refugee Family Reunion visas may reflect changes in the number of people granted refugee status or humanitarian protection in previous years, many of whom may now be eligible to bring family members. Further data on the Refugee Family Reunion visa category can be found in ‘How many people come to the UK via safe and legal (humanitarian) routes’.

More information about the statistics can be found in the user guide.

3.1 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 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.

Further information on the statistics in this section can be found in the extension section of the user guide.

3.2 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.

4. Data tables

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

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