Yet fundamental economic dynamics are likely to reassert themselves once the public-health crisis subsides, and the United Kingdom will likely remain a country of net immigration going forward. Its decades-long transition from prioritizing migrants from the former colonial empire to European workers and students has been interrupted. Much movement since 2020 has been prevented by the pandemic, however, so it has been difficult to assess the changes brought by this new regime.Īfter Brexit and as coronavirus mobility restrictions have eased, the United Kingdom finds itself at an inflection point. Continued public opposition to migration was a critical driver of the 2016 Brexit vote that led to the country’s exit from the European Union.Ī key consequence of this vote was implemented at the start of 2021, when UK and European leaders introduced major parts of a new migration system halting free movement to and from the United Kingdom and imposing a new visa regime. Yet for the most part, the government’s substantial reshaping of migration policy in recent decades has had little impact on either the scale of migration or public anxiety.
Only since 1994 has it consistently been a country of net immigration.Īs arrivals grew, so did public sentiment against immigration. While the United Kingdom has received immigrants for centuries, it had traditionally been a net exporter of people. This represented a notable departure from previous decades. In the nine-year period beginning in March 2011, an average of 336,000 more non-UK nationals moved to the country each year than departed. In the 21st century, immigration to the United Kingdom had been larger and more diverse than at any other point in its history, at least until the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in 2020.
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