Britain’s latest migration picture has taken a dramatic turn, and the numbers released today reveal one striking truth: asylum seekers now make up almost half of the country’s net migration.
New figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show just how much the landscape has shifted—and why it matters.
Net Migration Drops, but One Group Keeps Growing
For the year ending June 2025, net migration—meaning the number of people coming to live in the UK long-term minus those leaving—fell sharply to 204,000.
That’s a steep drop from just a year earlier, as more foreign workers and other categories of migrants moved out of the country.
But while overall immigration has plunged, one group is moving firmly in the opposite direction: asylum seekers.
Their numbers have climbed to historic highs, pushing them to the center of Britain’s migration debate.
Asylum Seekers Now a Larger Slice of the Pie
Experts at Oxford University’s Migration Observatory describe asylum as the only major migration category that didn’t shrink.
In fact, long-term immigration of people seeking asylum hit 96,000 in the year to June—twice the share recorded back in 2019.
Since asylum seekers rarely leave the UK once they arrive, the net impact remains substantial.
The Observatory estimates 90,000 of them contributed to net migration in that year alone.
That translates to 44 percent of all net migration, a share that has also doubled since the pre-Brexit era.
Concerns Over Economic Impact
Dr. Ben Brindle, a researcher with the Migration Observatory, noted that this shift could have implications for the UK economy.
With fewer skilled workers arriving on visas and more refugees requiring support, the overall economic value of migration may be changing.
His view is simple: it’s not just about how many people come to the UK, but who they are.
The makeup of migration, he suggests, may now be “less favourable” from an economic standpoint.
The Newest Numbers Push the Trend Even Further
And the story doesn’t end there. While analysts used the latest ONS release combined with older Home Office data for June, the Home Office has just published more recent figures—and they paint an even steeper rise.
In the year to September, Britain received 110,051 asylum applications, the highest number ever recorded and significantly above the earlier figure of 96,000 used in calculations.
With overall net migration dropping so quickly, asylum seekers are almost certainly making up an even larger proportion than the already eye-catching 44 percent.
What Comes Next
We’ll get a clearer view when the ONS publishes its next update in six months.
But one thing is already certain: asylum seekers are now a central force shaping Britain’s migration landscape, and their influence on the numbers is growing faster than any other group.
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