ALMOST 200,000 more people came to live, work or study in Britain than left the country last year, figures showed yesterday, an annual rise of 35,000 as the number of Britons moving abroad hit its lowest in a decade.
Ministers have pledged to slash net migration, the difference between those entering and leaving the country, from the hundreds of thousands seen this decade under the former Labour government to “the tens of thousands” by 2015.
The government says that it cannot absorb the equivalent of twice the population of the city of Birmingham being added every decade.
Immigration minister Damian Green said the figures reinforced the need or the country to take tough action to reduce numbers to “manageable levels”.
The Office of National Statistics (ONS) figures also showed the number of migrants coming in to study, a sizeable number ministers wish to reduce, jumped 36,000 to a record 211,000 in 2009 versus the previous calendar year.
The government says study routes have been open to significant abuse in the past. It has vowed to root out bogus colleges that issue paper work in the knowledge applicants have no intention of studying, but are seeking to work illegally.
Of the total granted study visas, Indian nationals, 19 per cent, made up the largest slice, with Chinese citizens next at some 10 per cent. About three quarters of the total given visas are from outside the European Union, the ONS said.
It also said the number of migrants coming from overseas on work-related visas fell by 27,000 to 193,000 in 2009 versus 2008. Of that number Polish, 24 per cent, and Indian workers, 13 per cent, supplied the largest number. European Union nationals made up the rest.
While recognising its economic benefits the Conservative-led government says immigration is far too high, putting severe strain on public services in some regions and reducing the pool of jobs for British nationals at a time of recession.
To tackle the issue ministers this week cut the number of skilled workers allowed to enter from outside the European Union by a fifth, capping the number at 21,700 from April next year.
Home secretary Theresa May, who says immigration is out of control causing social divisions and leading to ghetto-like communties, has pledged to review all entry routes with more stringent regulation expected soon.
Student visas given to non European Union nationals and relatives joining their families, which contribute the biggest portion of arrivals, will be tackled next.
The ONS said that while there was an overall fall in the number of British and European Union nationals leaving the UK in 2009, the number of Britons emigrating fell to 140,000 the lowest since 1999.
ONS officials said they did not know the reason behind the trend, but the economic downturn is likely to have played a significant part.
