Net migration to the UK fell to 171,000 in 2025, nearly half that of the previous year, driven by the rise in departures of British workers for new lives abroad and a clamp down on visas.
Office For National Statistics (ONS) data shows 246,000 British citizens left in 2025, with 110,000 moving back. Experts say many of those leaving are entrepreneurs relocating to countries such as the UAE to reduce their tax burden.
The net migration number represents the difference between the number of people moving long-term to the country and the number of people leaving.
According to the ONS, 91 per cent of British citizens who left the UK on a long-term basis in 2025 were of working age, with only 1 per cent over 65.
The statistics suggest much of the change is down to fewer British citizens returning, rather than an increase in those leaving.
The number leaving was down slightly from 257,000 in 2024 (although this was originally calculated by the ONS at 77,000 before it reworked its figures) and 255,000 in 2023. It is also below the 247,000 in 2022, while slightly higher than 233,000 in 2021.
Chris Ball, chief executive of Hoxton Wealth, which specialises in financial advice for those moving abroad, said his company had noticed a “significant uplift” in people leaving the UK since the Labour government's first budget in October 2024.
He explained a “large proportion” were founders of service-based businesses, leaving for more “tax-favourable” countries such as the UAE, Italy, Portugal and Cyprus.
These businesses look to mitigate against capital gains tax rises, as well as the increase in the national insurance levy for employers, said Mr Ball.
Eight people with a base in the UAE are among the 350 wealthiest people in Britain, according to the Sunday Times Rich List published last week. The “Dubai set” accounts for 2.1 per cent of the £784 billion held by the most affluent individuals and families on the list.
Also leaving the UK in droves are young people, who are struggling to find work at home, looking abroad for employment and a different way of life. “The feeling is that there simply is not enough well-paid entry-level roles available in the UK,” he said.
At the other end of the job market, Mr Ball said more experienced professionals concerned about their pensions being drawn into the inheritance tax net from April next year, are looking at the US, Singapore and Saudi Arabia as destinations to move to.
“These figures should serve as a wake-up call for the UK government, and a review of the inheritance tax and national insurance trajectory would be a meaningful starting point,” he said.
“Large amounts of British nationals of working age, who make significant net-tax contributions, are leaving the country because they feel their prospects are better elsewhere – and the numbers are rising.”
Last November, Shabana Mahmood, the UK Home Secretary, announced what she called “the most significant reforms to migration” in a generation. These are intended to cut the length of time skilled professionals, such as doctors and entrepreneurs, from overseas have to wait to be allowed to remain in the country indefinitely.
The net migration figures show a dramatic fall from the peak of 944,000 in the year to March 2023, which appears to have left a legacy of public perception of rising immigration, despite continual falls in the net migration numbers.
A poll carried out by the British Future found six in 10 people who want immigration reduced think numbers of arrivals are still rising, while 51 per cent expect migration to rise next year.
Sunder Katwala, director of British Future, said the poll indicated a “massive perception gap” that is shaping debate around immigration and British politics more broadly, for which politicians “need to take responsibility”.
“It’s little wonder voters think net migration is going up when the only debate we have is about how to bring it down,” he said.
The fall in net migration is being driven by a steady decline in people from outside the European Union coming to the UK to work, study or join family members. Another factor is the rise in the number of people leaving for other countries, primarily non-EU students who have completed their education in Britain.
The drop in people coming to study and work is due to policy changes introduced by the previous Conservative government and continued by the current Labour administration. These changes began in January 2024 when most overseas students were no longer able to bring family members to the UK.
