The Migration Observatory informs debates on international migration and public policy.
Learn more about us
The Migration Observatory informs debates on international migration and public policy.
Learn more about us
Home / publications /
Browse by Topic
Note: selecting a topic will remove previously selected content filters
briefing 12 Dec 2024
This briefing examines immigration detention in the UK.
briefing 04 Dec 2024
The briefing reviews the evidence on migration and housing in the UK.
briefing 03 Dec 2024
This briefing examines Ukrainian migration to the UK, before and after the Russian invasion in 2022.
briefing 02 Dec 2024
This briefing covers the scale of immigration and net migration in the UK since the early 2000s and under the post-Brexit immigration system.
briefing 25 Oct 2024
This briefing provides an overview of research regarding the impact of immigration on government finances in the UK.
briefing 25 Oct 2024
This briefing examines the migration of Afghan asylum seekers and refugees to the UK.
briefing 30 Aug 2024
This briefing examines labour migration and work visas in the UK immigration system, before and after the implementation of the post-Brexit immigration system.
briefing 09 Aug 2024
This briefing provides an overview of the UK’s migrant population.
briefing 10 Jul 2024
This briefing examines migrants’ experiences and perceptions of discrimination due to their ethnicity, nationality, religion, language, or accent. It also discusses evidence of labour market discrimination against migrants.
briefing 01 Jul 2024
This briefing examines asylum, refugee resettlement, and bespoke humanitarian schemes in the UK.
briefing 28 Jun 2024
This briefing examines the phenomenon of people crossing the English Channel in small boats.
briefing 10 Jun 2024
This briefing provides an overview of data on migrants’ labour market integration and the jobs they do in the UK labour market.
briefing 14 May 2024
This briefing examines the impact of migration on recent and future UK demographic trends.
briefing 03 May 2024
This briefing examines what we know about the asylum backlog, its causes, and its consequences.
briefing 12 Mar 2024
This briefing examines data on how well different groups of migrants living in England and Wales speak English, and the relationship between English language proficiency and activity in the labour market.
briefing 27 Feb 2024
This briefing examines settlement or indefinite leave to remain (ILR), which is when a migrant is granted the right to live indefinitely in the UK.
briefing 23 Feb 2024
Considers the different ways in which one can understand who counts as a migrant in the UK.
briefing 14 Feb 2024
This briefing examines the deportation and voluntary departure of irregular migrants and other foreign citizens from the UK.
briefing 24 Jan 2024
This briefing answers key questions about the characteristics and numbers of students who come to the UK.
briefing 15 Dec 2023
This briefing looks at citizenship and naturalisation among migrants in the UK. It provides data on how many migrants become UK citizens and how this varies for different migrant groups, as well as the factors that affect naturalisation.
briefing 20 Nov 2023
This briefing provides key statistics on EU migrants and migration in the UK.
briefing 15 Nov 2023
This briefing examines the UK’s ‘No Recourse to Public Funds’ (NRPF) condition, which applies to people on temporary immigration statuses, and prevents access – in most cases – to state-funded welfare.
briefing 06 Oct 2023
This briefing examines the migration of family members to the UK.
briefing 28 Sep 2023
This briefing provides an overview of attitudes toward immigration in Britain.
briefing 27 Jun 2023
This Evidence Paper examines the role of migration and the impacts of immigration policy on the UK’s health and care workforce.
briefing 24 Mar 2023
Discusses the impacts of immigration on the labour market in the UK, focusing on wages and employment.
briefing 22 Jul 2022
This briefing examines what we know about children of migrants who are under age 18 living in the UK.
briefing 01 Apr 2022
This is the third briefing in a study that investigated public attitudes to labour migrants in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic.
briefing 01 Apr 2022
This is the fourth briefing of a study that investigated public attitudes to labour migrants in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on tracking preferences over time.
briefing 24 Mar 2022
This briefing looks at the distribution of migrants across UK nations, regions and local authorities within the UK, providing data by country of birth, nationality and reason for migration.
briefing 02 Dec 2021
This briefing presents key findings from the first round of a survey conducted in Hong Kong in Feb-Apr 2021 about the migration intentions of BNO status holders in Hong Kong.
briefing 30 Jul 2021
This is the first briefing of a study investigating public attitudes to labour migrants in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic.
briefing 30 Jul 2021
This is the second briefing of a study investigating public attitudes to labour migrants in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic. The focus of this briefing is on the public support for migrants’ access to health and welfare programmes.
briefing 27 Jul 2021
This briefing looks at migrants whose immigration status puts them on a ten-year route to settlement in the UK, rather than the usual five.
briefing 16 Dec 2020
This briefing explains what we know about how long migrants stay in the UK after arrival.
briefing 11 Sep 2020
This briefing examines irregular migration – also called ‘illegal immigration’ – in the UK, including the difficulties in defining and measuring it, and evidence on its nature and scale.
briefing 31 Aug 2020
This briefing examines health outcomes for migrants (defined as people who were born abroad) as well as the extent to which health problems impact their day-to-day activities or their jobs.
briefing 11 May 2020
Describes remittance flows both to and from the UK.
briefing 30 Mar 2020
This briefing explains immigration to the UK and reasons for it - including to work, to join family, to study and to seek asylum.
briefing 17 Mar 2020
briefing 13 Dec 2019
Discusses the meaning, dimensions, measurement and determinants of social cohesion.
briefing 10 Apr 2019
Examining the migration of non-EU family members to the UK
briefing 14 Jan 2019
briefing 13 Aug 2018
Explains the often confusing issue of how we define a short-term migrant.
briefing 03 Aug 2018
Gives details about how many foreign nationals acquire British citizenship every year
briefing 03 Jul 2018
Examines data on migrants whose basis for entry to the UK is through ties to a family member.
briefing 28 Jun 2018
Examines immigration by category, distinguishing between European and non-European migrants.
briefing 14 Jun 2018
Examines labour migration to the UK among people who are not from the European Economic Area (EEA).
briefing 11 Oct 2017
Reviews the available evidence on the main determinants of migration to the UK since the early 1990s.
briefing 02 Oct 2017
Looks at evidence on the impact of international students in the UK’s higher education (HE) sector on the UK economy.
briefing 12 Oct 2016
Analyses immigration offences in British immigration and asylum legislation, and trends in legislation and enforcement.
briefing 13 Jul 2016
Examines data and evidence on school pupils in England with English as an additional language (EAL).
briefing 28 Jun 2016
briefing 11 Feb 2016
Focuses on foreign-born young adults age 16 to 24.
briefing 30 Nov 2015
Provides an overview of young migrants in the UK and their demographic characteristics.
briefing 06 May 2015
Looks at levels of migration, factors driving migration to the UK, and how the UK compares to other EU countries.
briefing 06 May 2015
Discusses evidence on the characteristics and impacts of migration at the local level, focusing on the impacts on public services.
briefing 05 May 2015
Explains key questions and what we know about the extent to which migrants take up different categories of benefits.
briefing 16 Apr 2015
Looks at enforcement actions to remove various categories of foreign nationals, including foreign national offenders.
briefing 16 Apr 2015
Examines how migrants affect public finances in the UK.
briefing 13 Apr 2015
Examines policy changes the government has introduced in an attempt to reduce net migration.
briefing 13 Apr 2015
Discusses the impacts of immigration on the labour market in the UK, focusing on wages and employment.
briefing 01 Sep 2014
Summarises key statistics from the 2011 Census for Great Britain
briefing 19 Aug 2014
Summarises key statistics from the 2011 Census for England and its constituent regions and local areas.
briefing 08 Aug 2014
Provides an overview of the global stock of international migrants and compares the UK to other countries and regions.
briefing 26 Jun 2014
Summarises key statistics from the 2011 Census for Northern Ireland and its constituent local government districts.
briefing 04 Apr 2014
Compares the stock of international migrants in Scotland to the UK and other countries.
briefing 11 Mar 2014
Compares international migration to and from the UK with migration to other OECD countries.
briefing 04 Mar 2014
Summarises key statistics from the 2011 Census for Wales, and its constituent council areas.
briefing 10 Dec 2013
Summarises key statistics from the 2011 Census for the North West, and its constituent districts and unitary authorities.
briefing 03 Dec 2013
Summarises key statistics from the 2011 Census for Scotland, and its constituent council areas.
briefing 26 Nov 2013
Summarises key statistics from the 2011 Census for the North East, and its constituent districts and unitary authorities.
briefing 13 Nov 2013
Discusses the impact of immigration on crime, in the UK and international context.
briefing 14 Oct 2013
Summarises key statistics from the 2011 Census for the South West, and its constituent districts and unitary authorities.
briefing 10 Oct 2013
Summarises key statistics from the 2011 Census for the South East, and its constituent districts and unitary authorities.
briefing 18 Sep 2013
Prrovides an overview of the numbers, population shares, geographic distribution and nationalities of migrants in Scotland.
briefing 18 Sep 2013
Focuses on emigrants leaving Scotland for overseas destinations.
briefing 18 Sep 2013
Focuses on immigrants coming to Scotland from overseas destinations.
briefing 18 Sep 2013
Provides an overview of Long Term International Migration (LTIM) in Scotland.
briefing 18 Sep 2013
Provides an overview of the characteristics and outcomes of migrants in the Scottish labour market.
briefing 09 Sep 2013
Summarises key statistics from the 2011 Census for the East of England, and its constituent districts and unitary authorities.
briefing 15 Aug 2013
Summarises key statistics from the 2011 Census for the West Midlands, and its constituent districts and unitary authorities.
briefing 04 Jul 2013
Summarises key statistics from the 2011 Census for the East Midlands, and its constituent districts and unitary authorities.
briefing 12 Jun 2013
Summarises key statistics from the 2011 Census for Yorkshire and the Humber, and its constituent districts and unitary authorities.
briefing 20 May 2013
Summarises key statistics from the 2011 Census for London and its boroughs.
briefing 19 Jun 2012
Provides an overview of the numbers of EU migrants in different EU countries.
Contact Us
T: +44 (0) 1865 612 375
E: migrationobservatory@compas.ox.ac.uk
Connections
This Migration Observatory is kindly supported by the following organisations.
The Migration Observatory, at the University of Oxford COMPAS (Centre on Migration, Policy and Society)
University of Oxford,
58 Banbury Road,
Oxford, OX2 6QS