Accredited official statistics

Summary of latest statistics

Published 25 February 2021

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1. How many people come to the UK each year (including visitors)?

There were an estimated 39.5 million passenger arrivals in 2020 (including returning UK residents), a 73% (106.8 million) decrease compared with the previous year.

This was driven by significantly fewer passenger journeys in the last three quarters of 2020, when there was an 87% (101.7m) decrease compared to the same period in the previous year, due to the travel restrictions imposed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

There were just under one million visas granted in 2020, 69% fewer than the previous year. Of these, around half (51%) were to visit, 23% were to study (excluding short-term study), 13% were to work, 4% were for family, and 9% for other reasons.

For further details see ʻHow many people come to the UK each year (including visitors)?’.

2. Why do people come to the UK?

2.1 Work

There were 125,176 work-related visas granted in 2020 (including dependants), 35% lower than in 2019.

The majority of the fall was accounted for by a decrease in grants of ‘Tier 2 – Intra-company transfer’ visas, which fell by 63% (-31,988) to 19,178 in 2020. While much of this decline is as a result of COVID-19, it follows a fall over the last few quarters before the pandemic.

Grants of ‘Tier 2 – General’ and ‘Skilled worker - General’ also fell in 2020, down 17% (-5,986) to 30,109. The much larger fall in the number of Intra-company transfers means that ‘Tier 2 – General’ is now the largest Tier 2 route for the first time.

There were also falls in the number of grants of Youth mobility and temporary worker (Tier 5) visas, down 39% to 26,500, and High value (Tier 1) visas, down 70% to 1,669 – these were all affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

For further details see ʻWhy do people come to the UK? To work’.

2.2 Study

In 2020, there were 232,191 Sponsored study (Tier 4 and new Student routes) visas granted (including dependants), an 18% decrease compared to 2019.

Chinese nationals were the most common nationality granted sponsored visas in 2020, accounting for 35% of the total. However, the number of grants to Chinese nationals in 2020 was almost a third less than in 2019, falling 32% to 81,846, due to COVID-19. Indian nationals saw a notable increase in the number of sponsored visas granted in 2020, up 15,867 or 42% to 53,263 and continuing an increase seen since 2016. India was the nationality with the largest increase in Sponsored visas and now account for 23% of all sponsored study visas in 2020, up from 13% a year earlier.

For further details see ʻWhy do people come to the UK? To study’.

2.3 Family

There were 154,658 visas and permits granted for family reasons in 2020, 18% fewer than 2019, with sharp falls seen in the second quarter of 2020 (90% lower than in the same period in 2019) due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. There were falls in both family-related visas granted (down 28% to 40,255) and family permits granted (down 14% to 44,772). Dependants of people coming to the UK on other types of visas also decreased, down 14% to 69,631.

19,234 EEA family permits and 25,538 EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) family permits were granted in 2020.

For further details see ʻWhy do people come to the UK? For family reasons’.

3. How many people do we grant asylum or protection to?

The UK offered protection, in the form of asylum, humanitarian protection, alternative forms of leave and resettlement, to 9,936 people (including dependants) in 2020. This figure is 52% lower than in 2019 and is lowest level since 2014. The fall in people granted in the latest year is due to fewer initial decisions being made on asylum applications (14,365 in 2020 compared with 20,766 in 2019), as well as the pause to resettlement activity since March 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

There were 823 grants of protection through resettlement schemes in 2020, 85% fewer than in the previous year. The vast majority were resettled in the first quarter before resettlement activity was paused during the second and third quarter of 2020 due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The Home Office recommenced resettlement activity in December 2020, with 8 refugees resettled in the month.

The Vulnerable Person Resettlement Scheme (VPRS) accounted for 80% (662) of those resettled in the UK in 2020 (823) in 2020. Since the government announced the expansion of the scheme on 7th September 2015, including the target of resettling an additional 20,000 refugees under the scheme by 2020, 19,776 refugees have been resettled in the UK (99% of the 20,000 target) and plans to bring the final arrivals under the Vulnerable Person Resettlement Scheme in 2021. In addition, 239 refugees were resettled prior to this, and do not count towards the 20,000 target.

There were 29,456 asylum applications (main applicants only) in the UK in 2020, an 18% decrease from the previous year. This latest figure will have been impacted by the measures taken in response to COVID-19.

In 2020, there were 14,365 initial decisions (main applicants only) made on asylum applications, and around half (46%) of these were grants of asylum, humanitarian protection or alternative forms of leave (such as discretionary leave or UASC leave), a decrease compared to the previous year (52%).

For further details see ʻHow many people do we grant asylum or protection to?’.

4. How many people continue their stay in the UK or apply to stay permanently?

4.1 Extension of temporary stay in the UK

Excluding extensions granted to individuals who were unable to leave the UK because of travel restrictions or self-isolation related to COVID-19, there were 234,527 decisions on applications to extend a person’s stay in the UK (including dependants) in 2020, 24% fewer than in 2019.

4.2 Settlement

There were 87,433 decisions on applications for settlement in the UK from non-EEA nationals in 2020, a 7% decrease on 2019. Of these, 85,470 (98%) resulted in a grant.

4.3 EEA nationals and their family members

In 2020, there were a total of 45,913 decisions in applications for EEA residence documents, down 71% compared to the previous year. This included 19,139 registration certificates and registration cards issued, down 71% on the previous year, and 10,659 documents certifying permanent residence and permanent residence cards issued, 80% fewer than the previous year.

EEA residence documents – including registration certificates, registration cards, documents certifying permanent residence and permanent residence cards – will not be valid after 31 December 2020. Since 30 March 2019, EU and EEA nationals resident in the UK, along with their non-EEA family members, can apply to the EU Settlement Scheme to continue living in the UK.

The Home Office publishes updates to headline EU Settlement Scheme numbers on a monthly basis, with more detailed statistical reports published quarterly. The latest data show that 5.06 million applications were received up to 31 January 2021.

4.4 Citizenship

There were 170,692 applications for British citizenship in 2020, 2% fewer than 2019.

Applications for citizenship by EU nationals rose by 20% compared to the previous year to 59,229. EU nationals now account for 35% of all citizenship applications compared with 12% in 2016. Applications made by non-EU nationals fell by 11% in 2020 to 111,463.

There were 130,568 grants of British citizenship in 2020, 18% fewer than the previous year. This fall was due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic response and comes after a period of relative stability since 2014.

For further details see ʻHow many people continue their stay in the UK?’.

5. How many people are detained or returned?

5.1 Immigration detention

The number of people entering detention in 2020 was 14,773, 40% fewer than the previous year. Although in part affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, this continues a general downward trend since 2015 when the number entering detention peaked at over 32,000.

As at 31 December 2020, there were 910 people in immigration detention, down from 990 at the end of September 2020 and 44% less than as at 31 December 2019 (1,637). The fall from the same day last year, in the number in detention, has been due to fewer people being detained in Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs) following the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2020, 15,449 people left the detention estate (down 37%). Over half (54%) had been detained for seven days or fewer, compared with 39% in 2019, and three-quarters (77%) detained for 28 days or fewer. There has been an increase in the proportion of people leaving detention within 28 days since mid-2018, when around two-thirds left detention within 28 days.

5.2 Returns

In the year ending September 2020, enforced returns from the UK decreased to 4,353, 42% less than the previous year and the lowest number since in the timeseries began in 2004. The fall in enforced returns was largely accounted for by a decrease in enforced returns of people who were in detention prior to their return (down 44% to 2,838). Although the number of enforced returns has been declining since 2013, the fall in the latest year was larger due to very few returns in 2020 Q2 and to a slightly lesser extent 2020 Q3, which was in part affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over the same period, there were 6,677 voluntary returns, continuing a downward trend since 2016. Although these data are not directly comparable over time (as voluntary returns are subject to upward revision, as in many cases it can take time to identify people who have left the UK without informing the Home Office), the numbers recorded have shown a downward trend since 2016.

For further details see ʻHow many people are detained or returned?’.

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