UK crowned ‘Europe’s immigration capital’ | UK | News

Britain attracted more immigrants than any other European country in 2023, according to official figures highlighting the scale of arrivals into the UK.

An estimated 1.27 million foreign nationals moved to Britain during the year, a figure roughly equivalent to the population of Birmingham .

Germany received around 1.22 million migrants, followed by Spain with 1.1 million. Italy recorded 378,000 arrivals, while France saw 295,000.

The figures were set out by the House of Commons Library in a recent report examining migration trends, drawing on data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the EU’s Eurostat agency.

Recent fall but comparisons limited

UK immigration levels have since declined, with fewer than 900,000 people arriving in the year to June 2025, reports the Daily Mail.

However, direct comparisons with EU countries are no longer possible, as Eurostat data for other nations has not been updated beyond 2023.

Despite the recent fall, Britain’s elevated migration levels in recent years have prompted concern among analysts, who note that most arrivals entered the country legally, according to the report.

Concerns over legal migration

Alp Mehmet of Migration Watch UK told the Daily Mail about what he described as Britain’s « soft-touch » system, saying: « Over five million long-term migrants have arrived in the past five years; around twenty-five times the number who have crossed the Channel illegally in small boats.

« They have come because we made it possible, because they will be better off, and because they know that once here they’re likely to to be allowed to stay.

« Add to that the state support available, and the question becomes: why wouldn’t they come? »

Net migration also highest

Net migration figures, which measure the difference between arrivals and departures, also place the UK at the top of the European table.

In 2023, Britain recorded net migration of 897,000, compared with Germany’s 793,000, Spain’s 616,000, Italy’s 334,000 and France’s 218,000.

The UK’s rise to become Europe’s leading destination followed its overtaking of Germany, which had previously held that position for many years.

Germany’s net migration stood at around 100,000 in 2009 before rising sharply to a peak of 1.27 million in 2015.

That year saw then-chancellor Angela Merkel open Germany’s borders to large numbers of asylum seekers, declaring: « Wir schaffen das », roughly translated as « we’ll manage ».

Brexit and policy changes

The following year, the UK voted to leave the EU, a move widely interpreted as a rejection of mass migration.

However, by 2021, the UK had overtaken Germany as Europe’s main immigrant destination, despite public opposition.

Part of the shift was attributed to Germany tightening its border controls, while UK immigration rose sharply.

Much of the increase was driven by what has become known as the « Boris wave », marked by a surge in non-EU immigration between 2021 and 2023.

This followed the introduction of a new immigration system in early 2021, promoted as an « Australian-style, points-based » model.

In practice, the system functioned as an employer-led work visa scheme, lowering skills and salary thresholds.

The minimum salary requirement fell from £30,000 to £25,600, allowing more middle-skilled roles to qualify.

Record visa numbers

Previously, most non-EU workers needed a graduate-level job paying at least £30,000 to qualify for a sponsored visa, with limited exceptions.

Although Covid travel restrictions initially obscured the impact of the changes, the effect became clear once restrictions eased.

A record 1.2 million residency visas were issued in the year to June 2022, the highest figure since records began.

The increase came amid growing public dissatisfaction with immigration levels.

Polling suggests the proportion of people who believe immigration has been too high over the past decade has risen by around 20% in the last two years.

Population changes

An ONS estimate from June 2023 put the number of non-UK-born residents in England and Wales at 11.4 million.

This included 3.4 million EU-born residents and 8.0 million from outside the EU, together accounting for around 19% of the population.

By comparison, around 1.3 million UK nationals were living in EU countries, excluding Ireland, as of 2024.

India, Poland, Pakistan, Romania and Ireland were the most common countries of birth among migrants in 2021/22, making up 32% of those born abroad.

Family reasons were cited most often for moving to the UK in 2022 at 37%, followed by work at 29% and study at 14%.

London had the highest share of migrants, with more than 40% of residents born outside the UK.

Long-term trends and illegal migration

High immigration levels are a relatively recent development in Britain.

Between 1964 and 1983, the UK generally experienced net emigration, with net immigration recorded only in 1979.

Since 1994, net migration has remained positive, exceeding 100,000 annually from 1998 onwards, apart from 2020.

Migration levels fell during the Covid pandemic, when net migration dropped to an estimated 93,000.

Despite this, research suggests Britain may also have the largest number of undocumented migrants in Europe.

Oxford University experts estimated the UK’s illegal migrant population at 745,000, higher than France’s 300,000 and above Germany’s upper estimate of 700,000.

Researchers suggested this could be linked to the relative size of Britain’s black economy.

They also noted that differences in how countries record migration mean comparisons should be treated with caution, as the figures are estimates rather than precise counts.