Why do people come to the UK? Family
Published 28 November 2024
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-system-statistics-year-ending-september-2024/why-do-people-come-to-the-uk-family
Back to ‘Immigration system statistics, year ending September 2024’ content page.
Data relates to the year ending September 2024 and all comparisons are with the year ending September 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.
1. Family-related visas
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 the year ending September 2024, there were 95,635 family-related visa applications, a 31% increase compared to the previous year. This year-on-year increase aligns with an upward trend in family visa applications observed over the past three years.
Figure 1: Family visa applications and family-related visa grants, year ending September 2010 to year ending September 2024
Source: Entry clearance visa applications and outcomes: Vis_D01 and Vis_D02
Family-related visa: Applications
Figure 1 illustrates that family-related visa applications and grants remained relatively stable between 2013 and 2018, followed by a decline in 2020. Since the end of 2021, there has been a clear upward trend in family visa applications, and the year ending September 2024 figure (95,635) represents nearly a two-third increase compared to the 58,372 applications in the year ending December 2019, the last year ending comparator before the onset of the pandemic.
Pakistani nationals were the largest group of applicants, accounting for over one-sixth (15,104) of all applications in the year ending September 2024. Applications from Syrian nationals were the second highest of any nationality and saw a significant increase over the past three years, rising from 1,931 in the year ending September 2021 to 6,202 in 2024. The high number of family visa applications from both Pakistani and Syrian nationals reflects a broader upward trend in grants of settlement and refugee permission to individuals from these countries.
There was a sharp reduction in ‘Family: Partner’ application numbers in Q3, July to September 2024 (8,982), compared to the previous quarter, April to June 2024 (15,292). This decrease may be related to the changes in legislation raising the minimum income requirement (from £18,600 to £29,000).
Family-related visa: Grants
There were 86,942 family-related visas granted in the year ending September 2024, 7% more than in the year ending September 2023.
Between 2015 and 2019, the number of family visa grants averaged close to 43,000 per year. The number fell in 2020, and again in 2022. The latter was due to the re-prioritisation of casework resources, used to support the introduction of the Ukraine Family and Sponsorship schemes, following the advent of war in Ukraine. Since the year ending September 2021, the number of granted family-related visas has nearly doubled, which is due to both an operational response to clear the backlog that grew while caseworkers were reassigned, and an increase in applications more generally.
Figure 2: Family-related visa grants by visa type (including type with immediate settlement), year ending September 2010 to year ending September 2024
Source: Entry clearance visa outcomes: Vis_D02 and Fam_D01
Figure 2 shows the number of family-related visas granted by visa type group. Most of the Family: Other visa category are Family Reunion visas, which account for over 96% of all visas granted within this category in the year ending September 2024. In total, 19,154 Family Reunion visas were issued during this period. A Family Reunion visa is intended to allow those with protection status in the UK to sponsor immediate family members to join them in the UK.
The ‘Family: Other’ visa category largely drove the increase in the number of family-related visas granted in the latest year, more than trebling compared to the previous year. In contrast, in the year ending September 2024, 57,531 Family: Partner visas were granted, down from 65,012 in the previous year — a decrease that reflects the trend in applications, though less sharply.
Figure 3: Top 10 nationalities for family-related visas granted, by family visa type, year ending September 2024
Source: Entry clearance visa outcomes: Vis_D02
Figure 3 shows that, in line with the trend in family visa applications, Pakistani nationals accounted for over one-sixth (17%, or 14,417) of all family-related visas granted, with the majority (88%) issued through the Family: Partner visa route. Syrian nationals were the second-largest nationality group (6,290), with grants almost quadrupling compared to the previous year (1,624). The number of family visas granted to Iranian nationals in September 2024 (3,984) more than doubled compared to the previous year (1,757). Like Syrian nationals, most of these grants were issued through the Family Reunion visa route.
EUSS family permits
In addition, 14,477 EUSS family permits were granted in the year ending September 2024, around two-thirds the number (66%) granted in the previous year.
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 to those arriving on work and study visas. Analysis from the Migrant Journey: 2023 report shows that of those whose first leave to enter the UK was on the family route since 2007, 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 124,776 extensions of stay granted for family reasons in the year ending September 2024, an increase of 8% compared with the year ending September 2023, but 8% lower compared with year ending December 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 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 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:
- Entry clearance visa summary tables
- Detailed Entry clearance visa datasets
- Extensions summary tables
- Detailed Extensions datasets
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