EU Migration to and from the UK

How many EU migrants are there in the UK? How has the migration of EU citizens changed since Brexit? This briefing provides key statistics on EU migrants and migration in the UK.

How many EU nationals are migrating to and from the UK?

Since 2022, more EU citizens have left the UK than have arrived. Net migration of EU nationals was -70,000 in the year ending 30 June 2025. Around 155,000 EU citizens emigrated from the UK, while 85,000 immigrated. Most EU nationals who immigrated to the UK during this period already had status under the EUSS, around 53% of the total. This was a consistent pattern in recent years – as discussed below, relatively few EU nationals have been granted visas under the post-Brexit immigration system.

Between mid-2021 and mid-2025, the number of EU nationals living in the UK declined by a cumulative 162,000 because of migration. Net migration from the EU fell sharply after the Brexit referendum in June 2016 and continued declining after free movement ended on 31 December 2020. This followed a period of rapid growth in migration from the EU that began with the eastward expansion of the EU in 2004, briefly interrupted after the 2008 financial crisis.

Most of the decline in EU net migration has occurred because of a sharp drop in immigration, which fell by more than 80% from 2016 to 2025. Most of the drop occurred before any restrictions were introduced in 2021 – possible reasons for this include uncertainty about the political and social situation in the UK after Brexit, and a fall in the value of the pound, reducing the value of earnings in the UK. Migration from the EU had also been unusually high in the period before the referendum, meaning it may have been expected to somewhat decline anyway. Emigration initially increased after the referendum before stabilising at a lower level than before, though the large majority of EU migrants did not leave the UK.

Figure 1

Overall net migration into the UK rose sharply after the new immigration system was introduced in 2021, reaching an all-time peak of 944,000 in the year ending 31 March 2023 (Figure 1). Yet numbers declined rapidly after the government introduced restrictions on immigration, to around 200,000 in the year ending 30 June 2025 (for more details, see Net migration to the UK).

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How many EU migrants are there in the UK?

There were around 4 million EU-born people living in the UK at the time of the Census in 2021/22, approximately 50% more than in 2011. People born in the EU made up 37% of the foreign-born population, and 6% of the total population of the UK. Most of the growth in numbers between the censuses came from an increase in the number of residents born in EU8 and EU2 member states in Central and Eastern Europe, who made up 52% of the EU-born population in 2021/22.

Table 1

The total number of EU passport holders in the UK at the time of the 2021/22 Census was around 5.3 million, of which 634,000 people were dual UK-EU nationals. Numbers also included around 684,000 Irish passport holders living in Northern Ireland (people born there can choose to have British, Irish, or both citizenships). Excluding UK and Irish citizens – who have different rights as part of the Common Travel Area – the number of EU passport holders in the UK falls to 3.8 million.

There are no reliable data on the evolution of the migrant population in the UK after 2021. Estimates between the censuses were previously based on survey data, though a collapse in response rates has rendered such methods inaccurate. However, data on migration flows suggest it is likely that the number of EU nationals living in the UK has declined by around 160,000 between 2021 and 2025.

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Where do EU migrants in the UK come from?

At the time of the 2021/22 Census, about a fifth of EU-born residents in the UK were Polish (21%, 841,000). The next largest groups were people born in Romania (14%), Ireland (10%), Italy (7%), and Germany (7%). Compared to the previous census in 2011, the largest increase in population was seen among migrants born in Romania – numbers rose almost 7 times from 83,000 to 558,000 – and Bulgaria, whose numbers increased from around 50,000 to 159,000. The number of people born in Italy and Spain also roughly doubled between the censuses. In contrast, the number of UK residents born in France and Germany remained relatively constant, and the number of Irish-born people declined.

Figure 2

The largest group among EU passport holders living in the UK were Irish citizens – 904,000, of whom 508,000 were living in Northern Ireland. They were followed by Polish (784,000), Romanian (557,000), and Italian (370,000) citizens.

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How many EU migrants are part of an ethnic minority group?

Around 15% of all EU passport holders in the UK – 799,000 individuals – identified themselves as part of an ethnic minority group at the time of the 2021/22 Census (not including any white respondents). The largest group among them were Asian EU nationals, 274,000 of whom lived in the UK, mostly from South Asia. They were followed by Black (226,000) and Mixed ethnicity (170,000) EU nationals.

The share of ethnic minorities varied widely by nationality. Slightly more than half of Portuguese passport holders in the UK, 51% of the total, were part of an ethnic minority group. The highest shares of ethnic minorities were found among Dutch (60%), Portuguese (50%), Belgian (47%), Italian (44%), and Austrian (42%) passport holders. In contrast, nationals of member states in Central and Eastern Europe were much more likely to be White, though there were significant Roma minorities among Romanian, Czech, and Slovakian citizens.

Figure 3

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Where do EU migrants live in the UK?

According to the 2021/22 Census, the highest concentrations of EU-born residents relative to population can be found in London and the East of England. The local authority with the highest share of EU-born residents was Boston in Lincolnshire (20%). Of the top 10 local authorities by share of EU-born population, seven were in London, including the rest of the top five – Kensington and Chelsea (19%), Haringey (18%), the City of London (18%), and Westminster (18%).

Compared to non-EU migrants, EU migrants are less likely to live in London. There were about 1.1 million EU-born residents in London at the time of the census, or 28% of the UK total. Among non-EU migrants, the share who lived in London was almost 37%, with 2.4 million residents. The EU-born were a minority of the migrant population in most local authorities, although there are some exceptions, particularly in the East of England. For more details, see Where do migrants live in the UK? and the Local Data Guide.

Figure 4

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How many visas are granted to EU nationals?

Uptake of the post-Brexit immigration system remains very low among EU nationals. These made up around 5% of all work, study, and family visas granted between 1 January 2021 and 30 September 2025. Around 241,000 EU citizens were granted visas in this period, of which half were work visas. These figures include short-term workers and “frontier workers” — a one-off cohort of people who do not live in the UK but conducted some work here before the end of 2020.

The share of EU nationals among all those granted visas to the UK increased from 3.9% in 2021 to 6.4% in the year ending 30 September 2025 as arrivals from outside the EU fell sharply. The share of EU nationals among those granted work visas also increased from 4.5% to 9.2%. However, their share remains much lower than before Brexit – for example, EU citizens made up 58% of all foreign nationals moving to the UK for the long term in the year ending 31 March 2019.

Figure 5

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How many EU nationals work in the UK?

Around 2.3 million EU nationals were in payrolled employment in the UK at the end of 2024, making up 7% of all employments. EU nationals made up a majority of foreign employees in the UK before the start of 2022, though a surge in the number of non-EU migrants in the labour market subsequently reversed this longstanding pattern.

Migrants from the EU work in a wide range of occupations and industries. The largest sectors that employed them at the end of 2024 were administrative and support services (332,000), retail (296,000), manufacturing (265,000), and hospitality (248,000).

Figure 6

The number of EU employments peaked at around 2.6 million in November 2019, after a period of rapid growth in the 2010s that was driven to a large extent by Romanian and Bulgarian nationals, whose number in employment more than tripled between 2014 and 2019. By the end of 2024, the number of EU employments had declined by 13% compared to this peak, with the steepest fall of 20% among EU8 citizens. This contrasts with an 88% increase in the number of non-EU employments during the same period.

The decline in EU workers is likely to be a result of the combined effect of Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic. EU employments dropped in 2020 and only partly recovered in 2021 before continuing to steadily decline. As shown in Figure 5, take-up of the new immigration system remains very low among EU citizens, with relatively small numbers coming to the UK for work.

There are also visible shifts in the balance of jobs that EU workers do in the UK. The new immigration system greatly restricts options for EU nationals to work in lower-skilled occupations. Between November 2019 and December 2024, employments of EU citizens fell most in sectors such as hospitality (-37%) and administrative services (-30%). Manufacturing (-14%) and retail (-13%) were also affected. EU employments grew in more highly skilled sectors like finance (+7%) and public administration (+44%).

Figure 7

EU nationals employed in the UK had median earnings of £31,100 a year at the end of 2024. Earnings among EU nationals overtook those of other groups in 2022 after being historically lower.

Much of the increase is likely driven by changes in the composition of the migrant population in the UK – large numbers of recent non-EU arrivals in sectors with low pay like social care, selective emigration of EU nationals employed in sectors with lower wages, and low recent immigration meaning most EU citizens have now spent longer periods of time in the UK, with incomes increasing significantly over time among all migrants. For more details, see Migrants in the UK Labour Market: An Overview and EU Citizens in the UK Labour Market.

Figure 8

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How many EU nationals study in the UK?

Post-Brexit rule changes led to a sharp decline in the number of international students from the EU. Around 28,000 EU-domiciled students enrolled on a new course in British universities in the 2024/25 academic year, compared to 67,000 in the last year under free movement. Most of this decline happened immediately after the new rules were introduced.

From the 2021/22 academic year, EU nationals became subject to the same rules as non-EU citizens. Those include needing to apply for a study visa and pay higher international student tuition fees, without entitlement to government-subsidised loans. The increase in the cost of tuition has affected postgraduates less than undergraduates, whose fees were previously capped at the same level as for domestic students. The result has been a steeper drop in EU enrolments among undergraduate students.

Figure 9

While the number of EU students declined, that of other international students in the UK increased sharply between 2018/19 and 2022/23. The introduction of restrictions on the rights of students to bring dependants to the UK led to a slight decline in the following year. In 2023/24, around 400,000 non-EU students enrolled on a new course in UK universities. That meant that EU students made up just 8% of new international students, compared to almost 27% in the 2016/17 academic year (for more details, see EU Students in the UK after Brexit and Student migration to the UK).

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How many people applied to the EU Settlement Scheme?

Most EU citizens and their family members already living in the UK before the end of free movement were required to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) to continue living in the UK legally after 30 June 2021 (see Understanding the Policy).

By the end of September 2025, an estimated 6.4 million people had applied to the EUSS. This included 5.8m EU citizens, 65,000 EEA or Swiss citizens, and 531,000 non-EEA family members. These figures are lower than the 8.7 million applications during the same period, because around 1.8 million people applied more than once. People with pre-settled status were initially required to apply again in order to secure settled status, though the government introduced a system of automated upgrades using administrative records in January 2025.

Figure 10

The original deadline for applications to the EUSS was 30 June 2021. Another 1.9 million applications were made after this date by joining family members or repeat applicants, mostly those applying to upgrade to settled status. In addition, 744,000 first-time late applications were submitted to the EUSS between the original deadline and 30 September 2025. These can result in a grant of status if the applicant can prove they were in the UK before 31 December 2020. Around 38% of all late applications concluded by 30 September 2025 resulted in a grant of status. It remains unknown how many people are in the UK without status despite having been eligible to apply for the EUSS, or how many might still apply in the future. The number of late applications has declined over time, though 55,000 late applications were submitted in the first nine months of 2025 (for more details, see What Now? The EU Settlement Scheme After the Deadline).

The number of EU citizens who applied to the EUSS is much higher than the population of EU citizens living in the UK at any given snapshot in time. For example, excluding UK and Irish nationals, there were 3.8 million EU citizens living in the UK at the time of the census. In contrast, 5.8 million EU citizens applied to the EUSS. This difference is likely to be a combination of two main factors. On the one hand, emigration means that many EUSS applicants may no longer live in the UK. Anyone who lived in the UK before the end of 2020, no matter how briefly, was potentially eligible to apply to the scheme. Many such migrants have since left the country. On the other hand, official statistics may underestimate the size of the EU migrant population. More accurate estimates based on the Census partly address this, yet some uncertainties remain.

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How many people have status under the EU Settlement Scheme?

At the end of September 2025, around 5.8 million people held status under the EUSS. Of these, 4.4 million had settled status, including 1.2 million who successfully applied to upgrade from pre-settled status. Around 43% of all those initially granted pre-settled status had upgraded to settled status – a share that varies by nationality, from 57% of Italians to 20% of Swedish citizens. Another 55,000 people were upgraded to settled status using automated checks between January and September 2025.

Approximately 1.4 million people still held pre-settled status at the end of September 2025. The largest groups among them were Romanians (413,000), Italians (135,000), and Poles (131,000). It is unclear how many will need to reapply to obtain settled status, and how many may be covered by the new system of automated upgrades. A number of people with pre-settled status are also likely to have left the UK with no plans to return. Although pre-settled status was originally meant to last 5 years, the Home Office automatically extends it by another five years for those who have not yet upgraded to settled status. In theory, people lose their pre-settled status if they spend long periods of time outside the UK. The period was 2 consecutive years for absences that occurred before May 2024, and was extended to 5 consecutive years for later absences. However, there are no data on whether the Home Office has begun the process of removing pre-settled status from people with long absences from the UK.

Figure 11

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How many EU nationals are refused entry to the UK?

Around 11,000 EU citizens were refused entry at the UK border in the year ending 30 September 2025. That was 14% lower than the year before, though EU nationals still made up a majority (56%) of all those refused entry during the period, which has been the case since Brexit took effect at the start of 2021. The largest group among those stopped at the border were citizens of EU2 countries, particularly Romanians (about 5,600 or 29% of all those refused entry in the year ending 30 September 2025).

The end of free movement greatly increased the circumstances under which border officers could turn EU citizens away at the border. While EU citizens do not require a visa to enter the UK to visit, border officers have the discretion to turn them away if they believe that they are likely to break immigration rules, such as by working without permission. The decline in the number of EU nationals refused entry to the UK in recent years is likely connected to both officials and travellers better adapting to the new rules, though it remains unclear whether this decline will continue. A variety of factors can affect the number of people refused entry, including overall travel volumes, decision-making by border officers, and travellers’ knowledge and understanding of rules.

Figure 12

Evidence Gaps and Limitations

The quality of some of the UK’s key migration data sources declined during the Covid-19 pandemic. While some, notably the ONS’s migration flow estimates, have now improved thanks to new methods, others continue to fall short. Survey-based estimates of the population, such as those from the APS, have been particularly affected. The overall response rate of the APS, already below 50% in 2019, fell further during the pandemic. Additionally, migrant non-response to government surveys increased more than that of the UK-born, making comparisons with previous data unreliable. Pending the development of new methodologies, the ONS discontinued their yearly population data on nationality and country of birth in June 2021 – a major limitation since there is no other source of this data outside of the census, which is only conducted once every 10 years.

New data sources are being developed that improve our understanding of EU migration. In particular, the new HMRC data on the number of payrolled employees by industry and nationality at the time of registering for a National Insurance Number represents an important step forward. In future, there is scope to improve the published administrative data, for example, with more detail on migration and employment by individual country or region of birth.

Different sources of data on migration and migrants in the UK are not always consistent with each other. There are various reasons for this, including differences in how data sources define migrants; known uncertainty in the estimates, which come with margins of error; and unknown sources of error, such as those arising from the fact that not everyone agrees to participate in official surveys. This means that it is often sensible to look at the overall picture across several data sources, rather than focusing on short-term changes in a single dataset.

Acknowledgements

This briefing was produced with the support of the Economic and Social Research Council and Trust for London. Thanks to Zachary Strain for help updating this briefing, and to staff at the Home Office for helpful comments on a previous draft.