Net migration to the UK rose to a record high of more than half a million people in the year to June 2022, according to figures published by the Office for National Statistics on Thursday.
The surge in long-term arrivals to the UK was driven by a post-pandemic rebound in international study and by inflows of Ukrainian and Afghan refugees and Hong Kong residents. Overseas recruitment by UK employers — the NHS in particular — also contributed.
“Brexit has not reduced net migration . . . The end of free movement doesn’t mean the UK is closed to migrants; just open in a different way,” said Jonathan Portes, professor of economics and public policy at King’s College, London. But he added that future flows were unlikely to remain at current levels, and it was too soon to say whether overall work-related migration would increase.