Nepal UK
London - Net migration - the difference between the number of people arriving and leaving the UK, has dropped sharply in the year to June 2025 to 204,000, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
Among the leading causes of the drop are the fewer non-EU nationals arriving to work or study in the UK and the "continued, gradual increase" of people leaving the country.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed the figures on falling net migration referring to it as a "step in the right direction".
When asked about the rising number of asylum seekers being housed temporarily in hotels, the Prime Minister said he was "determined to close all asylum hotels (in the UK)".
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood welcomed the figures, saying that it was "at its lowest level in half a decade and has fallen by more than two-thirds under this government".
The ONS figures mark a significant drop from 649,000 in the year to June 2024, and an even further drop when compared to when net migration peaked at 944,000 in the 12 months to March 2023, BBC News reported.
But shadow home secretary Chris Philp said that the fall did not go far enough and it was largely due to reforms when the Tories were last in government.
In the meantime, data revealed by the Home Office showed that 110,051 people claimed asylum in the UK in the year ending September 2025.
Over 51,000 people arrived in the UK through illegal routes, with 89% of them coming in via small boats, the Home Office said.
Additionally, the data showed that over 36,000 people were being housed in what are known as asylum hotels in September 2025.
