Off the wire
• U.S. stocks narrowly mixed amid soft data  • 2nd LD Writethru: 19 killed in suicide attack on Nigeria bus station  • EU, African countries to convene on Ebola recovery  • Co-CEO of Germany's largest bank to face trial in court  • U.S. house prices on rise for 14 consecutive quarters  • U.S. initial jobless claims increase to 313,000  • Jordan, Israel sign water deal to save Dead Sea  • Myanmar badly needs peace, development: scholar  • German parliament to back aid extension for Greece  • Cyprus denies reports about Russian military facilities in exchange for loan  
You are here: 　 Home

Britain's net immigration increases significantly to 298,000

Xinhua, February 27, 2015 Adjust font size:

The net migration to Britain in the year ending September 2014 was estimated to be 298,000, rising significantly compared with the figures in the previous 12 months and representing a cruel blow to British Prime Minister Cameron's 100,000 target.

Figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Thursday showed that the net long-term migration to Britain increased to 298,000 in the year ending September 2014, up from 210,000 in the previous year, but below the peak of 320,000 in the year ending June 2005.

ONS said that 624,000 people immigrated to Britain in the year ending September 2014, which is a statistically significant increase from 530,000 in the previous 12 months. While the figures of people emigrated from Britain during the same period were 327,000. It said the emigration levels remain stable since 2010.

Among the immigration to Britain, 292,000 were from non-EU regions, and EU (non-British) citizens reached 251,000. Immigration of British citizens increased by 4,000 to 82,000 in the year ending September 2014.

It said 271,000 people immigrated to Britain for work, and the number of immigration for study increased from 175,000 to 192,000 in the year ending September 2014.

Statistics also showed there were 24,914 asylum applications in 2014, an increase of six percent compared with 23,584 in 2013. The largest number of asylum applications in 2014 came from Eritrea, Pakistan, Syria and Iran.

However, the latest figures of net immigration released on Thursday is a heavy blow to the Conservatives as the election is approaching in May. Immigration is a long-term concern of British government, while Prime Minister David Cameron had made promises to reduce the figures below 100,000.

In a speech in 2011, Cameron once said: "Net migration to this country will be in the order of tens of thousands each year, not the hundreds of thousands every year that we have seen over the last decade."

"Britain will always be open to the best and brightest from around the world and those fleeing persecution. ... Our borders will be under control and immigration will be at levels our country can manage. No ifs, no buts," the Prime Minister said, adding "That's a promise we made to the British people. And it's a promise we are keeping." Endit