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May 23, 2025
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Indians top UK’s emigration list

Indian nationals formed the largest group to emigrate from the UK in the year ending December 2024, followed closely by 45,000 Chinese nationals, primarily students and workers

Indian nationals topped the list of people leaving the UK in the past year, reflecting a major shift in British migration patterns triggered by stricter visa and immigration policies, according to new figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The data, covering the year ending December 2024, shows that 37,000 Indian nationals left the UK after completing their studies, 18,000 departed after work-related stays, and another 3,000 exited for other reasons. Combined, they formed the largest national group to emigrate from the UK in this period, followed closely by 45,000 Chinese nationals, primarily students and workers.

The exodus comes amid a sharp overall drop in net migration, which fell by nearly half—from a peak of 764,000 in 2023 to 331,000 in 2024. The ONS attributes this dramatic decrease to both declining immigration and rising emigration, particularly among non-EU nationals who had arrived for education.

Political credit for the migration decline is being contested. James Cleverly, former Home Secretary under the previous Conservative administration, argued that the trend reflects policy decisions made before Labour came to power.

“Among people emigrating, Indian was the most common nationality,” the ONS said. “Study-related emigration was the most common reason for the five most frequent non-EU nationalities to emigrate… primarily driven by the large numbers of Indian and Chinese nationals leaving in the year ending December 2024.”

Other notable groups in the emigration figures include 16,000 Nigerians, 12,000 Pakistanis, and 8,000 Americans. In total, long-term emigration rose by approximately 11 per cent to 517,000 in 2024, up from 466,000 the previous year.

Mary Gregory, Director of Population Statistics at the ONS, said the migration shift was especially evident among international students and their dependants, who had formed a significant share of arrivals in earlier years.

“There has been a fall in immigration for work and study, particularly among student dependents, as well as an increase in people leaving the UK after completing their studies,” Gregory explained. “This change comes as COVID-era travel restrictions fully eased and the government tightened visa regulations.”

The UK government, under Prime Minister Keir Starmer, has been under intense pressure to reduce migration levels amid growing political backlash, particularly from the right-wing Reform UK party. The dramatic fall in net migration is being held up by Labour as evidence of its determination to “take back control” of Britain’s borders.

“Under the Tories, net migration reached nearly 1 million – roughly the size of Birmingham. I know people were angry about this, and I promised change,” Starmer said in a statement on social media. “Today’s stats show we’ve nearly halved net migration in just a year. We are delivering.”

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper also highlighted the government’s enforcement measures, noting “record levels” of penalties against illegal working, faster removal of failed asylum seekers, and a shrinking asylum backlog. “We’re cleaning up a broken system and restoring confidence,” she said.

Yet political credit for the migration decline is being contested. James Cleverly, former Home Secretary under the previous Conservative administration, argued that the trend reflects policy decisions made before Labour came to power.

“This drop is the result of visa rule changes that I enacted,” Cleverly posted on X (formerly Twitter), referencing restrictions introduced on student dependants, care sector visas, and post-study work rights.

The broader migration picture shows long-term immigration to the UK falling below the one million mark for the first time in three years—down to 948,000 in 2024 from 1.33 million in 2023. This marks the most significant year-on-year fall since the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite the fall in numbers, experts have cautioned that net migration remains historically high and that the UK’s demographic and economic needs continue to be shaped by global labour and education mobility.

Migration analyst Madeleine Sumption of the Migration Observatory at Oxford University said, “The sharp decline suggests that recent policy changes are having an immediate effect, particularly on student migration. But migration levels are still far above pre-Brexit norms, and the long-term implications will depend on how demand from international workers and students adapts.”

The latest data comes ahead of the expected publication of further policy proposals on migration reform from the Labour government, including additional measures to address labour shortages in key sectors like healthcare and construction, while continuing to limit overall numbers.

As the UK grapples with its post-Brexit identity and domestic political tensions over migration, the emigration of Indian nationals—once the largest source of growth in study and work visas—marks a critical inflection point in the country’s migration narrative.

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