Sima Kotecha
Senior UK correspondent

There are several reasons why net migration has fallen substantially.

Policy changes from early 2024 under the former Conservative government are likely to have made an impact.

They included most overseas students being restricted from bringing family members to the UK.

Care and senior care workers were restricted from bringing dependents with them.

Ministers also increased the general salary threshold for those arriving on skilled visas by 48% from £26,200 to £38,700.

And they increased the minimum income requirement to sponsor someone for a family visa.

After Brexit, there was a large increase in immigration.

Conservative ministers relaxed salary thresholds and some other routes for health and social care workers. Critics of the previous government have dubbed it as the "Boriswave". Some inside the previous government have told the BBC the 2024 measures helped bring down those numbers.

The current government has announced further plans in recent months to reduce net migration even further including migrants coming to the UK having to speak English at an A-level standard.

It’s also announced a further increase in the income threshold for a skilled worker visa to £41,700.

Image source, PA Media

We're now hearing from shadow home secretary Chris Philp, who says that British citizens are "leaving the UK on a massive scale, driven by Labour’s high taxes".

The Conservative MP also says that immigration from countries outside the EU "remains far too high".

• As a reminder, the Office for National Statistics has provisionally estimated that 627,000 non-EU+ nationals arrived in the UK in the year to December 2025 - here's a reminder of the key figures

"Mass low-skill immigration undermines our society and low wage immigration is bad for the economy," he writes in a post on X.

"British families feel it in lower wages, longer waiting lists for public services and housing shortages."

Philp calls for Labour to reform indefinite leave to remain (ILR) before their "hard-left flank" forces the measure to be abandoned.

He says that a Conservative government would "introduce a binding annual immigration cap at a very low level, close the loopholes that let temporary visa holders stay indefinitely and tighten and extend the conditions for ILR".

"We want a small number of highly skilled migrants and no low-skilled migration at all. But sadly, Labour do not have the backbone to do any of it."

Rob England
BBC Verify senior data journalist

The number of asylum seekers living in hotels while their claims are processed in the UK has fallen by a third to just under 21,000.

It is the lowest figure since the government began publishing the data in 2022, and down from a peak of about 56,000 in September 2023 under the previous Conservative government.

But the overall number of asylum seekers being housed by the government remains much higher, at nearly 94,000.

That total fell by about 9,700 compared with December 2025, while more people were moved into longer-term accommodation such as houses of multiple occupation (HMOs) and former military sites.

The government must provide accommodation for asylum seekers who cannot support themselves financially while their claims are being considered.

Hotels were first used as emergency accommodation during a rise in asylum applications after the Covid-19 pandemic.

They later became a routine part of the system after housing stock ran out.

The National Audit Office said the hotels cost £5.7m a day in 2024-25 and were significantly more expensive than longer-term housing.

Labour pledged in its election manifesto to end the use of asylum hotels, saying the move would save taxpayers billions of pounds.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer, commenting on the fall of net migration, says: "I promised to restore control to our borders. My government is delivering.

"I know there’s more to do, we’re introducing a skills-based migration system that rewards contribution and ends our reliance on cheap overseas workers," he writes in a post on X.

This comes after similar comments from Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, who says the net migration figure shows the UK is "restoring order and control to our borders".

Image source, Reuters

Robert Cuffe
Head of statistics

Let’s break down the figures behind that fall in immigration we described earlier.

The number of people leaving the UK hasn’t changed much. Just over 640,000 people emigrated last year, down by about 6%.

But the number coming has fallen much faster.

Last year, just over 800,000 people immigrated to the UK, down 20% from the 2024 data.

The biggest driver of migration patterns is people who come from outside the EU, as they are still the largest group of arrivals.

When you dig into the visas data you can see far fewer people from outside the EU coming for work and fewer family members coming with them.

Image source, Getty Images

In the year to March 2026, some 39,271 people arrived in the UK on small boats, according to the Home Office figures.

That's a 3% increase on last year's figure to March 2025, which was 38,023. It is still lower than the 2022 peak of 45,774.

Small boat arrivals accounted for 90% of the 43,806 people who arrived via all illegal routes in the year to March 2026. That's roughly the same number as the total for the previous year of 43,822.

We can bring you more now from Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood following the announcement that net migration has dropped to its lowest since the Covid pandemic:

"We will always welcome those who contribute to this country and wish to build a better life here. But we must restore order and control to our borders," she says.

"As these statistics show, real progress has been made, but there is still work to do.

"That is why I am introducing a skills-based migration system that rewards contribution and ends Britain’s reliance on cheap overseas workers."

Image source, Dan Kitwood/PA Wire

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood says the drop in net migration shows "this government is restoring order and control to our borders".

In a post on X, she adds: "Net migration down 82%. Net migration is now at 171,000, down from a high of 944,000 under the Conservatives."

The ONS provisionally estimates 642,000people left the UK to live in another country long term during the year ending in December 2025.

Meanwhile, the provisional estimate for total long-term immigration to the year ending December 2025 stands at 813,000.

Here's a breakdown of the numbers:

Long-term emigration:

Non-EU+ nationals: 278,000 left the UK, just over half of these originally arrived with study-related visas.

EU+ nationals: 118,000 left the UK, down by 24% from the year before.

British nationals: 246,000 British nationals left the UK, a slight decline of 4% from the 2024 estimates.

Long-term immigration:

Non-EU+ nationals: Provisionally estimated at 627,000 - a decline from 780,000 the year before.

EU+ nationals: 76,000 arrived in the UK, a slight fall from the previous year.

British nationals: 110,000 arrivals into the UK, down from 140,000 the previous year.

Rob England
BBC Verify senior data journalist

The number of asylum seekers living in hotels while waiting for their claims to be processed in the UK has fallen to 20,885 in the 12 months to March 2026.

That's down from 30,657 people in December 2025.

The peak was about 56,000 in September 2023 under the last Conservative government.

Home Office figures reveal that 93,525 people claimed asylum in the UK during the year between April 2025 and March 2026, down by 12% on the year before.

But, this is still more than double the level seen just before the pandemic.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) says net migration continues to fall and is at levels last seen in early 2021, when the new immigration system was introduced and Covid travel restrictions were in place.

Sarah Crofts, deputy director of the ONS, adds: "The recent decrease is driven by fewer people arriving from outside the EU, particularly for work."

Crofts adds that while the number of people leaving the UK - emigration - had been increasing, "there are early signs it may now be starting to fall, though it is too soon to say whether this will continue".

Robert Cuffe
Head of statistics

Migration added 171,000 people to the UK's population last year, just over half the level seen in 2024.

That’s down substantially from the peak of nearly a million people early in 2023 and the lowest figure - outside of the Covid pandemic - since 2012.

The UK's net migration dropped to 171,000 people in the year to December 2025, the lowest since 2012 - excepting the pandemic.

In the next few minutes, the latest UK migration figures will be released.

What's happening? The Office for National Statistics (ONS) and Home Office are about to release the latest sets of data on migration.

What's the difference? ONS will share net migration figures for the year to December 2025. The Home Office is publishing a report on immigration data in the 12 months to March 2026.

Things to know: We've taken a closer look at the previous figures - which showed a sharp fall in net migration and a drop in asylum claims (see more in the graph below). And we've got a quick guide to the key terms you need to know.

Bear with us: It may take us a few minutes to comb through and interpret the latest data, but we'll bring you the key figures shortly.

Image source, Getty Images

The figures we're getting this morning are a look back at migration figures from previous months, published with a time lag.

The two reports cover different time periods, here's a reminder:

The ONS report will cover the net migration figures in the 12 months toDecember 2025 - so the last calendar year. It publishes a new dataset twice a year (every six months).

The ONS figures are provisional, which means they are subject to change and will be revised when the final numbers become available after a further 12 months.

The Home Office report is published quarterly - so every three months - and relates to a 12-month period. Today's report on the latest immigration statistics will cover the 12 months toMarch 2026.

As we wait for the latest migration figures to be released, we've unpacked some of the key terms you'll hear this morning:

Net migration: This measures the number of people arriving in the UK compared to how many people are leaving.

Immigration: A term used to describe the movement of people to a new country, who have the intention of living there permanently.

Migrant: Someone who moves to another country for at least a year, so that country becomes their usual place of residence.

Asylum seeker: Someone who wants to be in the UK because they say they cannot live safely in their own country due to persecution or violence.

Asylum hotel: This refers to a commercial hotel used by the UK government to house individuals seeking asylum while their claim is being considered.

Legal and illegal immigrants: Legal immigrants are those who entered the country with permission, whereas illegal immigrants arrived without it.

• For more information, check out our quick guide to some of the common terms

Rob England
BBC Verify senior data journalist

As the Office for National Statistics prepares to publish its latest immigration figures for the UK, polling suggests many people are not aware that net migration has already fallen sharply.

Net migration - the difference between the number of people moving to the UK and the number leaving - fell from more than 900,000 in 2023 to 204,000 in the year to June 2025.

Experts at the University of Oxford’s Migration Observatory, external expect the next figures to show a further fall.

But a survey commissioned by the think tank British Future, external found only 16% of people believed net migration had fallen in 2025 compared with the previous year, while 49% thought it had increased.

The survey - of 3,003 adults in the UK, conducted online in March - also suggests public concern is being shaped more by asylum and small boat crossings than by work and study visas, which account for most immigration to the UK.

On average, respondents thought asylum seekers accounted for about a third of immigration to the UK, while official figures put the number at about 11%.

Image source, PA Media

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said in February a "very large number of people" arriving in the UK in an "unprecedented way" in recent years does "demand an answer" from the government

The Labour government's proposed changes would extend the standard wait to qualify for permanent residence from five years to 10 years, although there would be criteria which could lengthen or shorten it.

The changes would not apply to people who have already obtained settlement.

Settlement, also known as indefinite leave to remain, gives a person the right to live, work and study in the UK for as long as they like and apply for benefits if they are eligible.

Under the measures care workers and refugees would have to wait longer.

Mahmood also intends to apply the rules to migrants who are already in the UK rather than just those who arrive in the future.

The government has based many of its reforms on policies pursued by Labour's sister party the Social Democrats in Denmark, which the Home Office believes has led to a substantial reduction in migration.

But the plans have proven unpopular with Labour MPs. Over 100 MPs previously sent a letter to the home secretary opposing the changes.

Ahead of this morning's publication of the latest migration statistics, here's a look at the previous figures:

In February, the Home Office figures showed the number of people claiming asylum in the UK fell by 4% in the year to December 2025, as the number of people arriving by small boat rose by 13% to 41,262.

Some 100,625 people claimed asylum and 41% of these arrived by small boats, the figures showed. The number of small boat arrivals remained lower than the peak of 45,774 in 2022.

The previous figures from the Office for National Statistics, released in November,showed a sharp fall in UK net migration in the year ending June 2025.

The difference between the number of people arriving in the country and those leaving was 204,000, down from 649,000. The fall was mainly driven by fewer arrivals for work and study reasons, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

• For context, net migration peaked at 944,000 in the 12 months to March 2023