Accredited official statistics

Overview of the immigration system

Updated 7 December 2023

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-system-statistics-year-ending-september-2023/overview-of-the-immigration-system

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The Home Office ‘Immigration system statistics’ series forms part of a larger cross-government statistical service transformation plan to meet changing user needs, and will begin to put administrative data at the core of evidence on migration.

‘Immigration system statistics, year ending September 2023’ provides the latest figures on persons subject to UK immigration controls. All data in this release relates to the year ending September 2023. All comparisons are with the year ending September 2022, unless stated otherwise. Before 2021, due to EU freedom of movement principles, the majority of UK immigration control related to non-European Economic Area (EEA) nationals. From 2021, unless otherwise stated, data in this release relates to both EEA and non-EEA nationals.

The ‘Immigration system statistics’ release provides information on the Home Office’s operation of immigration control and related processes, including the work of UK Border Force, UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI), and Immigration Enforcement.

Figures on performance against service standards and processing times are published as part of the Home Office Migration transparency data.

The Home Office publishes a range of other research and analysis on migration. Details on the developments and future plans for Home Office ‘Immigration system statistics’ can be found in Developments in migration statistics. For details of other migration outputs published across government, see the ‘About this release’ section.

Figure 1 provides a high-level overview of UK immigration control. It does not include reference to all aspects of immigration, as highlighted in the chart notes.

Figure 1: Summary of UK immigration system1,2,3

Notes:

  1. A person can cross the UK Border legally either with a visa or as a non-visa national, as regular passenger arrivals, along with those that are seeking asylum and refugees through resettlement schemes. Individuals arriving at the border may be refused entry and returned to where they travelled from. Whilst in the UK, individuals may apply: for asylum; to extend their stay; to settle permanently; or for citizenship. Individuals also enter illegally by evading border control. Where detected, these individuals would be detained and returned. Individuals can also be removed from the UK for breaching their conditions of entry (for example, persons who overstay) and foreign national offenders.
  2. The chart excludes references to appeals.
  3. Non-visa nationals seeking to enter the UK in a visa category, or for longer than 6 months, require a visa, whereas those seeking to enter the UK for 6 months or less do not.

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